I have an Empire SL, it's been great. Interestingly, I've also seen a couple other Empire SLs on the road this year (mid-Atlantic area USA) as well as some of the older Fore models.
As someone else mentioned, not a custom bike, but they size the components to your fit. They can also swap out some components, for example I called them up and requested Ultegra Di2 w/ENVE 3.4 on mine and saved a bit of cash and grams vs the AXS specs on offer.
Fezzari Empire
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So my comparison was to my Tarmac Sl6 which is a high bar (to me) but Ventum is pricing their bike as a premium product so it is fair. The NS1 felt sluggish and did not handle particularly well (wheels were enve and tires conti so hard to find fault there) especially on the downhills. I am not super sensitive to carbon stiffness etc...but I can generally tell when I think a bike is good as opposed to when it is poor. So, for instance, the first time I pedaled the Factor One rim, it was a wow feeling. Great transfer of power and I felt like I was on a rocket ship. Same for my Venge. And for lightweight bikes, I love the feeling of "dancing on the pedals on a climb." My old supersix evo was great for this as is the Factor Vam 02. Light, responsive, stiff. The NS1 just felt dull in every way to me. Not particularly fast nor responsive nor stiff. Just kind of dead. And a bit heavier than advertised. While it was touted as some kind of proprietary aero design, as someone else mentioned, it looked completely generic and common to the frames one can purchase for about 400-800 dollars. I won't make any false statements about knowing where their frames are made, but I would be shocked if they did not come from one of the open mold sites. So, I guess, I would say the bike is fine for what it is (I have no issues riding open mold frames and did so when I lived in Asia for a few months / bought one in China and built it up and it was more than adequate) but probably quite overpriced. And I would be about as excited to own one as I would to buy another Cannondale Synapse - another fine but very dead bike.
Last edited by sigma on Thu Jul 08, 2021 3:54 pm, 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
In build: SW SL8
-
photovongsa
- Posts: 1
- Joined: Fri Dec 03, 2021 10:06 pm
Hi all,
I’m new to this forum and wanted to chime in as I used this thread to influence my purchase of a Fezzari Empire SL Pro. There just isn’t a ton of info out there on this bike and I wanted to add to the general conversation to help others considering the Empire.
I’ve been riding bikes consistently for years, mostly commuting to work on fixed geared bikes. I began road cycling three years ago and decided to take things more seriously this summer.
My first carbon road bike, a Viathon R1(54cm frame), was purchased shortly before the pandemic began here in the states. The bike was an impulse buy to get ahead of the supply chain scare and didn’t fit me well, I did a pro bike fit and made it work but it just didn’t feel right.
Working with a budget of approx $5000 I was leaning more towards a “do-it-all” bike. Something not too aggressive and racey but not entirely slack either.
Bikes I short-listed:
* BMC Teammachine SLR FOUR
* Tarmac SL7 comp
* Ventum NS1
* Canyon Ultimate CF SL 8
So, how did I come around to the Fezzari? Despite the questionable brand name (where/how did they come up with Fezzari?) it came down to value for my money and stock availability. Trying to stick to a budget that included a possible wheel upgrade was important to me. I’m riding the SL Pro size Small configuration which includes SRAM Force eTap and mid-grade DT Swiss ER1600 wheels and 350 hubs upgraded to the 54t ratchet. A fully integrated cable routing system is also something I wanted that was available on the Empire SL Pro. After purchasing I had the bike to me in 9 days. All other options on my list had questionable delivery dates reaching as far back as the summer of 2022 via my local bike shops.
Yes, the frame may not be as light as a Tarmac or a BMC Teammachine but those options left me wanting more in the wheel department (I have a set of Zipp 303S wheels coming my way in a few weeks and will update this again after I have some time on those wheels). My attempt at weighing the bike via bathroom scale clocked in right at 17.8 lbs with pedals, cages, and Wahoo attached. Not a featherweight but not heavy either.
Fezzari’s warranty also gave me peace of mind as too did Fezzaris place in the mountain bike market. I spoke via text and phone call with the same customer service rep for nearly two months while I was researching my purchase. They were polite and helpful the entire time.
The bike is fast enough and certainly feels faster than my last bike. After two weeks on the bike with 309 miles and over 17,000 ft of elevation, I feel confident saying the bike is efficient. It climbs very well, no creaks from the BB when I’m out of the saddle and when descending the bike does exactly what I want it to do. It feels planted on 35 mph switchback descents, never making me second guess my line and scrubbing speed on the brakes. It certainly has boosted my confidence out on the roads. Is this bike as good as a big brand “allroad” or “do-it-all” bike? I honestly can’t say as I have never ridden any of the bikes on my shortlist. I know things can only get better once I throw on the Zipp wheels so in general, I believe I got the best bike package I could with the budget I set for myself.
Any issues I have with the bike are more related to its initial setup. Fezzari’s 23-point custom set-up feels a little gimmicky and should really be the standard operating procedure for any direct-to-consumer brand. It was helpful to talk through that procedure with a rep though. The bike was packaged very well and the Force eTap derailleurs were set up perfectly. Wheels were true and came set up with tubeless tape. Where I had issues was with the front disc braking rubbing and the stem stack height being too high. Easily fixed at home. If I had to do it again, I would’ve asked their techs to leave their branded bar tape off the bike so I could use my preference of tape and route the cables fully through the handlebar and stem instead of just running them underneath the stem. again, easy fixes for anyone with basic bike knowledge.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I’m new to this forum and wanted to chime in as I used this thread to influence my purchase of a Fezzari Empire SL Pro. There just isn’t a ton of info out there on this bike and I wanted to add to the general conversation to help others considering the Empire.
I’ve been riding bikes consistently for years, mostly commuting to work on fixed geared bikes. I began road cycling three years ago and decided to take things more seriously this summer.
My first carbon road bike, a Viathon R1(54cm frame), was purchased shortly before the pandemic began here in the states. The bike was an impulse buy to get ahead of the supply chain scare and didn’t fit me well, I did a pro bike fit and made it work but it just didn’t feel right.
Working with a budget of approx $5000 I was leaning more towards a “do-it-all” bike. Something not too aggressive and racey but not entirely slack either.
Bikes I short-listed:
* BMC Teammachine SLR FOUR
* Tarmac SL7 comp
* Ventum NS1
* Canyon Ultimate CF SL 8
So, how did I come around to the Fezzari? Despite the questionable brand name (where/how did they come up with Fezzari?) it came down to value for my money and stock availability. Trying to stick to a budget that included a possible wheel upgrade was important to me. I’m riding the SL Pro size Small configuration which includes SRAM Force eTap and mid-grade DT Swiss ER1600 wheels and 350 hubs upgraded to the 54t ratchet. A fully integrated cable routing system is also something I wanted that was available on the Empire SL Pro. After purchasing I had the bike to me in 9 days. All other options on my list had questionable delivery dates reaching as far back as the summer of 2022 via my local bike shops.
Yes, the frame may not be as light as a Tarmac or a BMC Teammachine but those options left me wanting more in the wheel department (I have a set of Zipp 303S wheels coming my way in a few weeks and will update this again after I have some time on those wheels). My attempt at weighing the bike via bathroom scale clocked in right at 17.8 lbs with pedals, cages, and Wahoo attached. Not a featherweight but not heavy either.
Fezzari’s warranty also gave me peace of mind as too did Fezzaris place in the mountain bike market. I spoke via text and phone call with the same customer service rep for nearly two months while I was researching my purchase. They were polite and helpful the entire time.
The bike is fast enough and certainly feels faster than my last bike. After two weeks on the bike with 309 miles and over 17,000 ft of elevation, I feel confident saying the bike is efficient. It climbs very well, no creaks from the BB when I’m out of the saddle and when descending the bike does exactly what I want it to do. It feels planted on 35 mph switchback descents, never making me second guess my line and scrubbing speed on the brakes. It certainly has boosted my confidence out on the roads. Is this bike as good as a big brand “allroad” or “do-it-all” bike? I honestly can’t say as I have never ridden any of the bikes on my shortlist. I know things can only get better once I throw on the Zipp wheels so in general, I believe I got the best bike package I could with the budget I set for myself.
Any issues I have with the bike are more related to its initial setup. Fezzari’s 23-point custom set-up feels a little gimmicky and should really be the standard operating procedure for any direct-to-consumer brand. It was helpful to talk through that procedure with a rep though. The bike was packaged very well and the Force eTap derailleurs were set up perfectly. Wheels were true and came set up with tubeless tape. Where I had issues was with the front disc braking rubbing and the stem stack height being too high. Easily fixed at home. If I had to do it again, I would’ve asked their techs to leave their branded bar tape off the bike so I could use my preference of tape and route the cables fully through the handlebar and stem instead of just running them underneath the stem. again, easy fixes for anyone with basic bike knowledge.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
