In his Cervelo thread he mentioned that he is currently experiencing back problems, which explains the stem and spacers. While it might not be a good look, as long as it fits the rider and he/she is comfortable, that's what really matters. A bike isn't any good if you're not riding it

Ahem.... maybe one that fits? How about a shorter top tube and a taller head tube. Plenty of options out there.

Mr. JWolf,

These are nice bikes, but I am concerned that your dealer is taking advantage of you.

The Cervelo you show here is about $20k worth of ill-fitting bicycle. There is no way it handles as the Cervelo engineers intended with a 60mm upturned stem and 4cm of spacers. You simply should not be on this frame.

Likewise, the BMC Impec is an astoundingly stiff RACING bike and to be building one up for a "touring bike" is insanity.

I admire your intentions of researching parts and not just buying off-the-shelf, but we need to take this to the next level of proper fit and understanding of geometry and bike design and materials. Your dealer is not helping you in this regard, though he is setting your Mastercard on FIRE with the parts.

Ah, misunderstanding, my bad. I thought when you said size, you meant size, but you meant different model. I didn't see how a different size could eliminate spacers and require a longer stem so I was a little confused there.

I see where people suggesting a different bike are coming from, but I'd still be careful drawing conclusions from the pics.

And while it might be true that Cervélo engineers didn't optimize the bike to be used with a bunch of spacers and a short stem, that just means the bike will behave differently, not necessairly worse.

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"Nothing compares to the simple pleasures of a bike ride," said John F. Kennedy, a man who had the pleasure of Marilyn Monroe.

The spacers are gone. I asked my dealer to leave them there while I was healing from a neck injury. You right about the IMPEC - I cancelled that project - I did not like the size of the frame.

In order to make the bike more of a touring / comfort bike, we though to order the performance fit frame / not race. When it arrived it looked like someone took a regular frame and made it 2 inches taller everywhere. Very bulky and big - also, the dropouts were subpar IMO and it was difficult to even mount the front wheel quickly.

FYI, my neck is almost healed and I am riding the CA with 1 10MM spacer, and my stem turned down. My guess is that when my neck and back are totally back to normal, that last spacer will go, and I will be able to have the stem on the top tube. And remember, I am using a small headset, not one of those tall jobs.

And guys, one of the reasons I bought the cervelo was because they tend to have taller head tubes. Of I was on a trek race geometry with my neck, I would have 6 spacers. But that's in the past.

Very nice! Let's get some new pics of your proper setup going in this thread then!

You have done great to escape Trek and get as far as Cervelo or BMC, but maybe time to take the next step - in performance, in customization, and in originality.

Since you clearly can afford anything, maybe it's time for you to experiment beyond mass-produced race-oriented plastic bikes. If you must continue with plastic, look at Crumpton. You will find gumgardner built up a Crumpton to under 10 lbs if uber-light is your goal. A bit heavier, there is some great Titanium like Moots or Hampsten or Eriksen or Potts. Some awesome steel by Pegoretti, Icarus Cycles, English Cycles, or Carl Strong. If you have not attended one yet, start looking into going to next year's North American Hand Made Bicycle Show (NAHBS) and see who catches your fancy.

+1 on the chainrings.
+100 on the stem ( ).
I am not sure about the golden decals LW. Standards would look better.

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Wilier Cento Uno
Colnago Master X-light
Wilier 18carati

Not decals - thats his signature and the spokes are gold and black. Got the praxis black 52/36 on - looks better. Waiting on custom stem for my Schmolke bar.

Been very interested in steel lately. Has anyone heard of a Japaneese builder called Cherebim. Read one review on his frames and it was very good. Apparently, he can make a steel bike - classic geometry - with fork around 1400 grams - which seems light to me.

Modern Cinelli is about 1kg more and modern Colnago Master about 700 or so I think.

You mean Cherubim.
http://www.cherubim.jp/
The 1400gr steel frame-fork sounds extremely optimistic though. Maybe 1400gr for the frame alone when a master x-light weights about 1700-1800gr.

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Wilier Cento Uno
Colnago Master X-light
Wilier 18carati

one of my friend built one using the new sram red. I also agree that you might not be on the best size.

I think the bike looks good, and hope you enjoy riding it. I think some of the previous comments on fit are a bit out of line - it's like a complete stranger telling me that I would never fit an Armani suit.

I think there are some very creative things you could do with a custom bike. If you like touring a Parlee Z1 custom disc tourer would be nice and pretty unique. Something like a green clearcoat with one gold hand painted script logo and panelling would be a unique mix of old and new. Then for equipment maybe a best of the US setup? Or mabe steel or titanium? Lots of good ideas out there, so let us know what you plan.