Custom Carbon Framebuilders

[LenJ]

Crumpton's work looks amazing, but the waiting list really puts me off at the moment. I had to wait about 7 months for my Saffron, and I'm not keen to do that again so soon! I can deal with 3-4 months, but double that is pushing it for me for this project.

From someone who waited almost 3 years for my Sachs, my advice is order the bike from the builder you want and just do another project in the meantime.

Time flies.

Len


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[DanW]

Appleman is the only other that springs to mind

[Poulidor]

I'd settle for a custom Colnago C60. Or a custom C40 even better.

[kgt]

A custom C60 is a good as anything else.
In case you want to go custom and monocoque (something more rare) Gram is a nice option.
http://gramcarbon.com/en/

[jpanspac]

I only had to wait 2-3 months for my Crumpton. Rather than assume you'll have a long wait (for any builder), just contact them to see what it really is at the moment.

[bonedpwinkle]

Alchemy has been seriously good to me. They have exceptional paint guys now as well. They will do whatever you ask and honor their products. They recently converted my custom cx frame from canti's to discs and did it for a song for me. Love those guys...a lot.

[dmp]

Alchemy?
Any feedback on Alchemy?
I really like what I see on their Facebook page-

I've never ridden one, but they are esthetically beautiful. Their shop is a few miles from my house.

[2old4this]

If you want to ride very rare bikes...
Guru Photon HL; my frame is about 641grs with the HW. Nuf said
Calfee Manta; never had one of these but I've seen a few. Their paint jobs are amazing. One of these days I'll go to their warehouse and get one built...

[boysa]

I'm biased, but Crumpton gets my vote. Absolutely incredible journey from initial contact to receipt of your frame. Lifelong relationship. I agree with Len 100%... pick the frame you want, wait times be damned.

[wheelsONfire]

I have one thing i have always wondered when you go custom. Let's say you come to an conclusion and when you get the bike built, you notice it is not what you expected! To stiff or too soft, perhaps something else that suddenly proves a big deal for you. How is such a thing solved?

It's impossible to have the hands on without the finished product at hand.

[2old4this]

I have one thing i have always wondered when you go custom. Let's say you come to an conclusion and when you get the bike built, you notice it is not what you expected! To stiff or too soft, perhaps something else that suddenly proves a big deal for you. How is such a thing solved?

It's impossible to have the hands on without the finished product at hand.

Well, you don't, I guess. After paying a substantial amount of money, you have a good tendency to not to admit it was a bad decision if your fitter did not do a good job, or the frame is too soft etc.

Joking aside, if you are going to go custom, I would recommend going to the company who will build your frame and test one of their test bikes. It won't fit you well but at least you'll know what the bike feels like. They also have adjustable rigs that they will put you on, where they can adjust the length of this and angle of that. They can even micro adjust the shape by measuring the power you are generating on the rig. Then you can make a decision on your custom shape based on your preference (comfort vs power vs ...)

[Poulidor]

I have one thing i have always wondered when you go custom. Let's say you come to an conclusion and when you get the bike built, you notice it is not what you expected! To stiff or too soft, perhaps something else that suddenly proves a big deal for you. How is such a thing solved?

It's impossible to have the hands on without the finished product at hand.

Great observation. Been there done that. I have a beautiful looking steel custom frame which was made small and now hangs prettily on a wall at home. And then... I'll avoid the horror stories from some of the frame builders hall of rock stars. Anyhow, I wouldn't dream going into the lay-up of carbon fiber because I don't know the first thing about it, and where the variables are almost infinite. In my case, I only ride custom frames because I was lucky enough, after many failures, to find the perfect geometry for me so I just order more of the same. And if I'm familiar with, say, Colnago, then I'll have made a custom geometry Colnago. You'll learn by experimenting, though, which is a good thing.

[Poulidor]

I have one thing i have always wondered when you go custom. Let's say you come to an conclusion and when you get the bike built, you notice it is not what you expected! To stiff or too soft, perhaps something else that suddenly proves a big deal for you. How is such a thing solved?

It's impossible to have the hands on without the finished product at hand.

Well, you don't, I guess. After paying a substantial amount of money, you have a good tendency to not to admit it was a bad decision if your fitter did not do a good job, or the frame is too soft etc.

Joking aside, if you are going to go custom, I would recommend going to the company who will build your frame and test one of their test bikes. It won't fit you well but at least you'll know what the bike feels like. They also have adjustable rigs that they will put you on, where they can adjust the length of this and angle of that. They can even micro adjust the shape by measuring the power you are generating on the rig. Then you can make a decision on your custom shape based on your preference (comfort vs power vs ...)

And then there is the matter of the self-fulfilling prophesy where one is so star struck by the builder of the frame that one assumes that what you find wrong with the frame is your fault; that you must adapt to the "superior" build of the frame. BS. And BS abounds in the world of frame builders. Beware.

[2old4this]

So true. That is why I highly recommend dealing with a custom builder local to you, where they will do the fitting in house. And no matter what you do, do not go a very high-end custom builder (Guru, Baum etc) for your first custom. If you end up not liking the geometry, your losses will be less (I've heard horror stories on custom builds, in which the fitters never take responsibilities. All BS, if you ask me...)

[campbellrae]

Cheers for all the recommendations, Crumpton certainly seem to be out in front. I've dropped him am email to see if he can accommodate a few things I really want(ISP, clearance for 28s and direct mount brakes) so we'll see what he says.

Wyndymilla are able to accommodate all of those, and I think Legend can too, although the shop I spoke with weren't sure about direct mount brakes.

Given the intended use for this bike, and the big premium the American brands seem to attract here I'm not sure I can justify them yet. Most of the $6500 frames cost in the region of £5000 here instead of ~£4200 at current exchange rates which makes a big difference unfortunately.

I'm already pretty set on my geometry, and it's not my first custom frame, so I'm not worried about the fit as much as the performance.