Fezzari Empire

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BagelMaster
Posts: 180
Joined: Fri Aug 10, 2018 11:13 pm

by BagelMaster

I saw this article on BikeRumor while reading about SeaOtter and came across a brand I wasn't familiar with, Fezzari. It seems like they primarily sold open-mold frames but have no moved into designing and selling their own proprietary bikes. The article claims that they are able to mold the entire frame at once rather than the rear and front triangles seperately and later joining them, which allow them to use less material. They claim the Medium frame comes in at 815g, which is on the lighter side, but not groundbreaking.

They seem to be a direct brand, so prices are friendlier. Since I've never heard of them before I've looked around and it seems like most comments have been about their moutain bikes, and are usually relatively positive or they're good value. I'm going to be pulling the trigger in hoepfully June/July, as there are a couple more bikes that should be available around that time that I'm interested in. Has anyone had any experience with Fezzari, particularly their road offerings?

Fezzari Empire SL breaks the mold for lightweight disc brake road bikes

joeyb1000
Posts: 487
Joined: Thu Mar 03, 2016 8:37 pm

by joeyb1000

In the past, many of their frame were made by Axman in Taiwan, a high-end Private Label producer. The Look 564 is an Axman as well as the bikes of the Manzana Postobon pro team.
Last edited by joeyb1000 on Sun Apr 21, 2019 2:05 pm, edited 1 time in total.

by Weenie


Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
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Sojodave
Posts: 37
Joined: Tue Feb 19, 2019 2:59 am

by Sojodave

I have a Fezzari Fore Cr3 with Di2. They customize the fit with your measurements, but they are not custom frames. They are great bikes.

jkonst
Posts: 41
Joined: Mon Jul 01, 2019 6:42 pm

by jkonst

Bump on this. Anyone have any experience with/see one of these in the wild?

I think this is tied with the Canyon Endurace CF SLX Disc 9.0 SL for the least expensive Red eTAP AXS 12 speed bike I've seen (not including a Ribble model that doesn't seem terribly trustworthy) - $7,500 including a sense of ENVE SES 3.4 AR wheels. Maybe it's crazy to put that groupset on a $2k frame, but it's certainly an option...

https://www.fezzari.com/empire

The marketing materials seem well thought-out, if not always the most detailed (Fezzari uses the latest technologies, along with our own proprietary technologies to build our bikes).

30 day return policy including return shipping is nice, too.

BagelMaster
Posts: 180
Joined: Fri Aug 10, 2018 11:13 pm

by BagelMaster

I saw a bunch of ads during the Tour of Utah. I ultimately decided to forgo waiting and bought a CAAD13 and used the extra dough for wheels and for some other upgrades down the road.

ghdana
Posts: 69
Joined: Mon Jul 05, 2021 4:43 pm

by ghdana

I've yet to see one in person, I've still only seen older Fore models. I'm curious, here 2 years later, if anyone was able to confirm it was a proprietary design and not an open mold?
7.7kg Allez Sprint
9kg Exploro Ultra

TobinHatesYou
Posts: 12443
Joined: Mon Jul 24, 2017 12:02 pm

by TobinHatesYou

Fezzari are not open-mold AFAIK. We love to question smaller brands, but hardly anyone bats an eye when a Ridley Kanzo is actually a Carbonda CFR696.

BagelMaster
Posts: 180
Joined: Fri Aug 10, 2018 11:13 pm

by BagelMaster

TobinHatesYou wrote:
Wed Jul 07, 2021 11:26 pm
Fezzari are not open-mold AFAIK. We love to question smaller brands, but hardly anyone bats an eye when a Ridley Kanzo is actually a Carbonda CFR696.
They have also been in the MTB scene for some time. It isn't rare to see them out on the west coast and they have done some legitimate sponsorships/advertising. Those things plus some happy MTB friends make me have more confidence than your local guy and his storage unit that many open mold small businesses are.

sigma
Posts: 689
Joined: Mon Apr 02, 2018 4:12 am

by sigma

Ok so I am Park City, Utah based and have ridden both their mountain bikes and tried the Empire. It's most similar for me as either the Canyon Endurance or Cannondale Synapse in feeling / handling without the dampening of the Synapse. Finish seemed better than the price and the company seems genuinely interested in keeping customers happy. I don't care as much for their MTBs but this is just personal taste - certainly many of my friends ride them and think they are solid. I would say you don't find people raving about Fezzari like they do about Evil or Ranger (other boutique MTB companies), but you also hear basically no complaints about quality control as you do about companies like Ventum (also local). Personally I think of them in the same class as Rose, Quintaroo, etc...good quality bikes at a decent price. I would have no reservations.

Edit: The bike is named after the road ride I do on my lunch ride. 8 miles of 7.5% goodness at peaks of 11000 feet. Steepest sections of 20+% and normally featured in the tour of Utah.
Last edited by sigma on Thu Jul 08, 2021 5:52 am, edited 1 time in total.
Lots of bikes: currently riding Enve Melee, Krypton Pro, S Works Crux, S Works Epic Evo, SL7.
In build: SW SL8

TobinHatesYou
Posts: 12443
Joined: Mon Jul 24, 2017 12:02 pm

by TobinHatesYou

Quintana Roo is owned by ABG, who also own Litespeed and Obed. Obed definitely uses open mold frames. I put Fezzari and Ventum a cut above both Rose and Quintana Roo. This is mostly based on outward presentation and industry engagement. Fezzari and Ventum just feel like they are professionally run brands when I’ve briefly talked to them at trade shows.

sigma
Posts: 689
Joined: Mon Apr 02, 2018 4:12 am

by sigma

TobinHatesYou wrote:
Thu Jul 08, 2021 5:52 am
Quintana Roo is owned by ABG, who also own Litespeed and Obed. Obed definitely uses open mold frames. I put Fezzari and Ventum a cut above both Rose and Quintana Roo. This is mostly based on outward presentation and industry engagement. Fezzari and Ventum just feel like they are professionally run brands when I’ve briefly talked to them at trade shows.
To be fair, I know little about Quintaroo and Rose other than having tried their bikes a couple of times. I put Fezzari well above Ventum in build quality personally but I am biased from having tried and not liked the Ventum NS1 (I hear the gravel bike is better) at all. That felt and looked like Open Mold to me. And local industry people I trust have had bad experiences with Ventum not standing behind their product.
Lots of bikes: currently riding Enve Melee, Krypton Pro, S Works Crux, S Works Epic Evo, SL7.
In build: SW SL8

sib
Posts: 325
Joined: Mon Jun 15, 2015 2:03 am

by sib

@Sigma
That's interesting. What didn't you like about the Ventum NS1?

Edit: Sorry, I guess I'm asking: what do you mean by it feels "open mold"?
Last edited by sib on Thu Jul 08, 2021 7:48 am, edited 1 time in total.

TobinHatesYou
Posts: 12443
Joined: Mon Jul 24, 2017 12:02 pm

by TobinHatesYou

There’s a couple of Ventum NS1s in my groups. They were bought at a heavy discount with a WEDU/“The Move” promotion. One is a 58cm with Red AXS and it weighs 16lbs stock with pedals/cages/garmin-mount. The owner seems pleased with his bike and I don’t think he cares much about it looking fairly generic/plain.

sib
Posts: 325
Joined: Mon Jun 15, 2015 2:03 am

by sib

@TobinHatesYou
Have you had a chance to ride one?

I've been in contact with the company on a couple of occasions, and they've been very open and responsive to any questions I've asked. Unfortunately, I don't know anyone who's ridden one.

by Weenie


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

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TobinHatesYou
Posts: 12443
Joined: Mon Jul 24, 2017 12:02 pm

by TobinHatesYou

sib wrote:
Thu Jul 08, 2021 7:45 am
@TobinHatesYou
Have you had a chance to ride one?

I've been in contact with the company on a couple of occasions, and they've been very open and responsive to any questions I've asked. Unfortunately, I don't know anyone who's ridden one.

No, sorry, I haven’t.

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