custom steel frame advice for big rider

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Concept2
Posts: 20
Joined: Mon Jun 30, 2014 10:08 am

by Concept2

Has anyone ever heard of Vetta? They seem to be making frames at a reasonable price, but can't find that much info on them.

by Weenie


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xnavalav8r
Posts: 2594
Joined: Mon Jan 21, 2008 12:09 pm

by xnavalav8r

Not your region, but I highly recommend Rob English. He built me a beautiful, lightweight steel custom. But he can build to suit anyone's needs or desires. Although he doesnt do lugged frames...

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kdawg
Posts: 194
Joined: Wed Nov 20, 2013 9:10 pm

by kdawg

Bit more expensive but I really like the look of one of these.

http://cremacycles.com/?page_id=1515
I'm left handed, if that matters.

boots2000
Posts: 1393
Joined: Mon Oct 15, 2007 9:28 pm

by boots2000

Jaeger in Belgium, Savine in Germany?

RichTheRoadie
Tinker, Taylor, Tart
Posts: 2070
Joined: Sat Nov 29, 2008 8:00 pm
Location: Sydney, Aus.

by RichTheRoadie

Jaegher and Savine would be good options. Also Enigma in the UK.

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vejnemojnen
Posts: 406
Joined: Fri Nov 08, 2013 7:11 pm

by vejnemojnen

Just trying to be patriotic.

Merényi
https://www.facebook.com/merenyibicycles
http://www.merenyi.eu/en/

or Kurtz
http://www.kurtz.hu/?portfolio-page=bikes&lang=en

The first one can be pricey, though.. I would not call you heavy. Most guys weigh over 80kgs around here (though I mostly know gym-folk..), myself included. Good luck with choosing a suitable tube-set. I'd definitely write-inquire from the framebuilder, what he'd recommend.

Regards.

Concept2
Posts: 20
Joined: Mon Jun 30, 2014 10:08 am

by Concept2

He guys thanks for all the good help! Many names that I don't know yet. Belgium might be nice, I'm Dutch so in a way this is close to home.

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Stolichnaya
Posts: 2621
Joined: Wed Oct 06, 2004 6:55 pm
Location: Vienna, AUT

by Stolichnaya

Rychtarski.
I believe the company is based on Poland.
Prices are quite affordable for custom and quality looks solid.
There are a few of them on the forum so run a search and reach out to those owners.

Franklin
Posts: 400
Joined: Mon Aug 04, 2008 11:09 am

by Franklin

Concept2 wrote:He guys thanks for all the good help! Many names that I don't know yet. Belgium might be nice, I'm Dutch so in a way this is close to home.
If you are Dutch there are two places you should check out.

Lugs: RIH!: http://www.rihsportamsterdam.nl/

Tig Duell: http://www.duell.nl/

Duell has great racing pedigree in the Dutch rough and tumble kermesses and amateur classics. The racing pedigree of Rih is about as great as it gets with multiple olympic medals....

There also is a popular builder in the middle of the Netherlands, but what I saw of the raw tigs I would skip them even though they are hyped quite a bit.

Concept2
Posts: 20
Joined: Mon Jun 30, 2014 10:08 am

by Concept2

Yes Duell is really nice! My first racing bike is a Duell professional (steel). Was looking at them, it would be very nice for sure. Good to hear that they're raced on by the amateurs.
the RIH seems very good as well, didn't know about this one yet, I'll ask them how much a frame costs. I am still just a PhD student, so the price has to be right you know.

Franklin
Posts: 400
Joined: Mon Aug 04, 2008 11:09 am

by Franklin

If budget is an issue; Rebadged Alu!

Ger and Snel are good examples. Advantages:

1. Pick your color/design, usually anything goes.
2. Cheap
3. Stiff
4. Support from the bikeshop.

Reason I say this is because custom at a constrained budget is very limiting and hardly any advantages. Better safe more moeny and get the bike you really want than to go to a builder like Vetta (who is very good if you really know what you get into).

Concept2
Posts: 20
Joined: Mon Jun 30, 2014 10:08 am

by Concept2

oke that's probably the best tip so far, besides I've got a nice CF ride so I've got nothing to complain. Just had some extra money so wanted to see what the options were.

New plan is save money and get something without comprises.

Dammit
Posts: 437
Joined: Sun Mar 27, 2011 8:16 pm

by Dammit

Concept2 wrote:Dear all,
After looking at the many options that are out there for a custom steel frame my mind is spinning a bit. Brand names that I've looked at include Tommasini, Pellizoli, Somec, Torelli, Pogliaghi, Zullo.
My main concern is whether or not any tube sets are off limit for me, I weight 85-90 kg and am 1,97m tall. I've got a steel frameset already (my first roadbike), which has a ST of 61cm measured center to center. Also I do like to ride hard and live in a mountainous area, so the frame will be worked a bit. No racing will be done on it though.

For instance, some of the frames that use Spirit tubes look great, but I hear that they can be a bit fragile. Should I go all the way to Zona tubes (hear they are more robust) or would SL niobium still be a good option?
I realize that it's a vague question but it would be very helpful to get some guidance by the people that have experience with this.


You've got 10cm and 10kg on me, but here's what we did in terms of design for a light steel frame that would be very stiff where it counts, but also take advantage of steels ability to flex.

We wanted to use a carbon fork with a tapered steerer, which meant either a straight 44mm headtube with an external bottom cup or a tapered headtube with an internal bottom cup. We decided on the 44mm Paragon Machine Works head tube as an external cup can always be replaced, an internal one is a bit more challenging.

Image

We used a Spirit Megatube for the downtube- nominally 38mm but so heavily shaped that that's a bit of a misleading figure. The tube has "flats" visible from certain angles, from where Columbus bi-axially ovalised the tube (using, no doubt, an array of cunning machines). The end result is a tube that is as stiff as, if not more so, than 853 OS, but a third lighter. It's very thin - 0.3mm in the centre, so don't drop a spanner on it!

This provided a lot of surface area for the junction with the head tube, and the Paragon Machine Works PF30 bottom bracket shell.

Carrying on a theme we used a swaged 853 seat tube- 28.6 at the top, so able to take a conventional 27.2mm seat post, but 31.8mm at the bottom bracket junction for stiffness.

The S-bend chainstays are Zona, again for stiffness, and we tucked an EE Cycleworks brake just behind the BB shell.

We used 14mm tubing from the PMW dropouts to a wishbone, then 16mm tubing from wishbone to seat tube, there's no need for these to be stiff- a degree of flex is desirable.

Now those who have been paying attention will realise that we now have a 28.6mm seat tube that needs to be connected to a 44mm head tube- how are we going to do that? A bi-axially ovalised Columbus MAX tube is the answer, which neatly mates too both tubes.

We've ended up with a frame that (58cm pictured) builds into a 7.4kg bike (inc cages and pedals), and that transmits as much power as I can muster into the road, without beating you up.

Image

It's quite an involved tubeset, and it's fillet brazed which you don't want, but it might give you some ideas to discuss with your builder.

Concept2
Posts: 20
Joined: Mon Jun 30, 2014 10:08 am

by Concept2

:shock: damn that's a pretty incredible frame! Sums up what I mean by 'no compromises'. I'm warming up to the idea of TIG welded or brazed frames, it's a bit more modern and seems to open up a lot of options. But I am guessing that that frame costs a fair bit of money, which I do not have at the time. I'll definitely keep it in mind when I'm ready to order such a thing, although I'll probably shy away from 0.38 mm tubing (seen as my CF frame seems to get a new scratch or bended component with every transport, perhaps a bikebox is a good investment...)

Dammit
Posts: 437
Joined: Sun Mar 27, 2011 8:16 pm

by Dammit

We used a very similar tubeset for our trainer/commuter- but we used 853 OS for the downtube, both to save cost and to have a more robust frame that could be D-locked to street furniture without worry.

Image

We also used PMW rocker dropouts on this to allow a fixed drivetrain (I like training on fixed).

I've put 2,000 miles on the bike pictured since we showed it at Bespoked earlier this year, it's tremendous fun.

by Weenie


Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓    Broad Selection ✓    Worldwide Delivery ✓

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