Stradalli - New Owner/Review In Progress

Dangerous · Jun 22, 2017

Hey all - new to the forums and having searched both the internet and this forum category I couldn't find much information or reviews on Stradalli's bikes. So figured I could start this thread to give a little of my experience so far (bike was delivered 6/20/17) and hopefully update as I go with impressions or a review of sorts.

I ordered an AR-7 with Stradalli Comet clinchers, SRAM eTap, and a KForce Light evo crank.

I've only taken it around the parking garage (no saddle) but early impressions are that this bike just wants to go FAST!

Dangerous · Jun 23, 2017

Context - incoming!

Background on me: I'm a large rider (Clydesdale Plus status @ 245) who might be about 20/30lbs above my lowest riding weight. My cycling has pretty much centered around charity rides (Waves to Wine, Best Buddies HC, and BikeMS NYC) and while I don't race, I'm relatively competitive on road and in the right groups. Being as gravity efficient as I am, climbing is not my strong suit and have a penchant for descents to help make up on my overall avg speed, haha. In short: I like to go fast & will get up and out of the saddle to get after it when the mood strikes, but sit and spin when I comes to inclines.

What I was riding/have ridden: I've had 2 hand me downs in my 6 years of cycling. My first 6 months was spent on a 1989 Miyata 512 with an old school Exage drivetrain and suicide shifters. Needless to say it was quite a learning experience especially with a massive 52/39 crankset and what I believe was a tiny 6 speed cassette. My benefactor's replacement for this hand me down didn't fit properly so I then switched to an '09 Trek Madone WSD 5.2 with a SRAM Force gruppo: 2 decades worth of upgrade. I did notice that the overall ride was a little springier with a far less harsher ride. Additionally the Miyata was a 52cm ride and resulted in a crazy stacked setup (I'm 5'9") so the geometric shift was much more comfortable. But the gearing on the Trek was around a 50/34 crankset and an 11-28 cassette so I did feel like there was a little less ooomph when I'd pop in the drops for a pull - something I welcomed over struggling to shift mid climb with the Miyata.

So after just shy of 6 years on the Trek I've finally decided to buy a bike all my own - I landed on Stradalli, and here's why.

Being a bigger rider I had to take many aspects into consideration in my search. Though a lot of clydes mention titanium as their frame of choice, knowing that I've ridden and crashed an old carbon frame under a nice range of "Clyde" weights made me feel like my riding style (especially not racing and bombing 50mph decents) is suitable enough for CF to support. Further, my research led me to understand that manufacturer specs on CF frames (usually around 180-220lbs) are general guidelines and not full blown limitations. Given that my weight will always be a factor that could void a warranty, I felt like I had a little less restriction to “trusted/notable” names for peace of mind. Even assuming the worst case scenario of full failure left me feeling like replacing a $400 frame was easier than going through the warranty dance with an Italian company for a $5,000 frame.

I know there’s a tremendous amount of debate and opinion on Taiwanese/Chinese fiber frames purchased directly, through a “brander” like Stradalli, or industry “giants.” Pros/cons are plenty for both and I simply approached the process as a heavier non-racer with a budget of around $4,500. Already having identified the frame as the “expendable” portion of my setup, that left me wanting to make sure my component groupset was of quality and known brand (no Alibaba clones). Having ridden a SRAM Force setup for years I was very drawn to upgrading from there, and naturally being a gear head (across all hobbies) the eTap was #1 on my list.

While Stradalli has come up in my searches for years, I finally was in a position to buy and tried doing as much searching as I could regarding the reliability of their rides and had a really hard time finding reviews of their actual bikes (this forum did have a few mentions, but nothing recent). With my weight being one of my major considerations I reached out to the sales team directly to inquire about the weight limits on their Faenza model. From there Stephen worked with me to spec out a setup with a frame that he noted “beastly” guys on their team rode “very hard” while racing. After some debate, discussion with my wife (who gifted me the ride to begin with), and more searching on the web I pulled the trigger.

Here’s the spec:

Frame & Fork - AR7 Frameset
Fork Brand & Model: Stradalli Velocità Massima Fork

Components
Brakeset: FSA Gossamer
Shift Levers: SRAM Red E-Tap 2x11
Front Derailleur: SRAM Red E-Tap
Rear Derailleur: SRAM Red E-Tap
Crankset: FSA KForce Evo BB386 172.5mm 53x39
Bottom Bracket: FSA BB386 Sealed Bearings
Cassette: Shimano 11 Speed (11-28)
Chain: FSA 11 Speed
Seatpost: Stradalli Full Carbon Seat Post
Saddle: Prologo Nago evo Pro T 2.0
Handlebar: Stradalli Carbon (42cm)
Handlebar Stem: FSA OS Alloy (90mm)
Headset: FSA Sealed bearing 1-1/8” top 1-1/2" bottom Integrated
Wheels: Stradalli Full Carbon 50mm x 27mm Wide Black Comet Clincher
Hubs: Stradalli
Rims: Stradalli Full Carbon 50mm x 27mm Wide Comet Clincher
Tires: Kenda Kriterium 23mm
Spokes: X-Ray Saipim

Here is my look at weighing the options:

Dangerous · Jun 28, 2017

Did a quick first ride (freshly post-rain).

The Kendas left me feeling a little hesitant given I'm not as sure footed on rainy pavement, but couldn't help bringing this out on it's maiden voyage. The BB did creak a little but that's to be expected during the break in and honestly there were decent amounts of creaking after full bike overhauls on the Trek.

Given that the components were a bit different on the old bike, I found myself really really enjoying the eTap system. Ridiculously intuitive and felt very very natural in hand. The shifters felt closer in size to the Shimanos on the Miyata and were far less bulky than the Force's. Really a joy to ride with. Additionally I went from a compact crank to a 53/39 so I didn't get the chance to really spend any time in the smaller range of the cassette - even PR'd my local segment near home without popping into the hardest gear.

As far as the frame goes, I felt extremely comfortable with the fit right out of the box with the stem slammed. I did a lot of comparisons to geometry so I was sure to get a shorter stem and really feel like I nailed the overall fit and may only be adjusting saddle angle to round out fitment. Now having carbon bars I get to feel the variety of hand positioning. I enjoy that the flats feel much more pronounced in hand (aero) and that the angle of the bars put the hoods a little further out front and somewhere between the drops and the flats. My old bike had only a minor difference in the hood and flat positions. The drops have an "ergo-ish" bend in them and also feel very comfortable in hand.

The responsiveness of the frame is also a great attribute. Getting up out of the saddle for a sprint or a climb has a nice stiff response and the transfer of power feels much better than the Trek. Granted the Trek is old so the frame flex might be a little exaggerated, but I don't mind the stark comparison.

My bigger concern was the wheels given my stature and the site actually calls out 240lbs as the max. I took note of how true the wheels were out of the box (quite nice I might add) and made a point to check them after my quick ride: all was good. No spoke pinging during the ride, the rear hub is somewhat throaty, but the overall roll feels amazing. Not having ridden aero wheels before I haven't found any major differences, but can tell the stiffness is definitely there... even with the wet roads I didn't find braking to be severely impacted nor a large difference from my old ride.

I've also added on a Garmin 520 to my list of new kit to justify with the new bike, you know because eTap

. So far I'm also very please with this unit and might get a wild hair and pull the trigger on some sort of power meter (bought a Garmin mount with just this thing in mind).

More to come over the next few weeks, but feel free to ask any questions. Thanks!

Dangerous · Jun 28, 2017

As I had forgotten about my break in with the Trek, the only noise was from the seatpost. Not having had to adjust a wedge clamp on my old ride I don't think I tightened enough. Sadly the slip scratched up the paint/numbers on the post but I am not too worried about that... more important is the ride.

Really felt comfortable with the rigidity of the frame and wheels. Even with much more feedback, I didn't feel fatigued from it from what I noticed. Still a little hesitant with the cornering given the unfamiliar tires that feel slightly less grippy than my Conti 4 seasons. My guess is that I'll be moving up to 25mm tires given the 27mm wheels.

Sprints felt really good! PR'd 4 segments over the last two rides and can definitely say I feel faster. Avg speed was already 1mph more, but again I could just be in my honeymoon phase.

The bars felt great through incline and descent. The position variance really let's me pop up and drop down in a way I don't feel I could with my Trek.

The only thing I might work to change could be the saddle. I've been running a Fizik Arione and this base level Prologo Nago Evo isn't as comfortable. It's a little bit of a bummer since I just ordered a saddle bag for it, but suppose I could CL that if needed.

All in all my early impressions are extremely positive. Not having ridden any high end machines, this definitely feels high end and very solid on road. The biggest unknown at this point is durability and longevity. My Trek has gone 8 years and is far from done, so I at least have a good idea of what to bench to. My major focus will be as meticulous of maintenance that I can manage. Not having tuned/wrenched my bike myself, I'll be putting my black belt in Google-Fu to work ;-) Proper lubrication is (what points, lube types, frequency, etc) is my first hurdle.

Dangerous · Jun 28, 2017

Pics for reference:

Dangerous · Aug 25, 2017

So I've gotten a few hundred miles under the bike as of today and am still very much enjoying the ride. I think the biggest difference I can note versus my old Madone is overall compliance, but pretty sure that both the wheels and the frame contribute to the overall stiffness. While my hands have noticed a slight increase in road vibration through the cockpit, I've also switched to thinner gloves. Next on my todo list is some LizardSkins since the factory tape is curling up at the bend from the flats (I seem to be favoring this hand position).

Notable aspects so far:
- Non-drive crank arm tightness: after settling, this needed to be readjusted. I struggled with understanding the 1mm receiver, as it looked like a torx but was actually a standard metric allen. Fortunately both Stradalli and FSA followed up to confirm (I didn't believe Stradalli so went straight to the manufacturer, haha). I don't have a torque wrench, especially one heavy enough for a crank so I adjusted by feel and definitely felt how loose it really was.

- Seat post: I pulled a rookie move and didn't apply any fiber paste. The post slipped during the first few rides without enough tension on the post wedge, then it got to creaking pretty loud about 1 ride after I fixed the crank creak. Finally I have the bike riding at a whisper quiet level! Kinda spooky, but light years away from how creaky and squeeky my old Trek was. Again, given this new piece of gear I'll be doing as much maintenance as I can fit into my schedule.

- Wheels: these things feel pretty bombproof on road, but did have a nip pop off during transport in my backseat. I went through the painstaking task of shaking and snagging the nipple through the valve stem hole, but managed through it. Having only had Mavic Ksyriums in the past this part was relatively new to me, but managed to figure out how to cut the rim tape, re-thread the spoke, patch the rim tape with a number of layers of electrical tape, and then re-true (on bike, as I've not sprung for a truing stand yet). Learning curve will be with the aero spokes + might get a holding tool to keep them from twisting. I'll also be mindful of lubricating them as well. Long to short: I'm getting a hitch rack.

Note: the front wheel has stayed quite true through the riding so far and given that I'm a heavy rider, I was expecting a lot more variance given a few nasty holes I managed to blindly mow through.

- Saddle: the bike came with a base Prologo Nago evo and while I was riding a slightly nicer Fizik, I already purchased a saddle back with clip for the Nago and the one for the Arione was broken in the accident on the Trek. The Prologo isn't horrible, but do want to consider springing for a PAS version of the Nago given my build.

- Bottle cages: minor detail, but don't always love the scuffing that comes with carbon cages. The Stradalli ones are nice and the gloss finish looked amazing out of the box, but understandably they're starting to wear already. Don't know that I'll be changing them since they function well and manage to hold my 32oz Gatorade sideline squeeze bottles.

So far I'm incredibly pleased with the quality of the ride and the components so far. The eTap system is really the part of the machine I'm loving. Sure it's got nothing to do with Stradalli and is easily the most expensive part of the bike, but it's done a tremendous amount to improve my riding style (in my opinion) and feels amazing in hand and under foot. Additionally I've upgraded my Garmin 510 to the new version of the 520, so seeing my gearing on screen and the swift integration with Strava is pretty awesome.

Being a 245lb rider I know that I'm not your average rider and definitely aren't at racing caliber, but I feel pretty confident that if this rig can handle my frame for a couple of months of riding then it can handle just about anything.

Espresso Junkie · Mar 10, 2018

Dangerous good to hear you like your Stradalli, I like mine also, I'm up in Canada and I believe my Stradalli Napoli is the first in this country, I'm in an area where there are more Ferraris and Lamborghinis per capita than anywhere in the world, in saying that it probably hosts the most Pinarellos, Bianchis, De Rosas and Colnagos per capita than anywhere else. I bought my Stradalli for 2 reasons, firstly to be different, secondly- I'm a sandbagger and cheap( that's 3 isn't it).

Being up in Canada did not make the purchase easy, bit of a challenge logistically, fitting difficult but with a bit of patience and a number of small reordering I.e. Stem, seat posts, finally got the right fit.

Bit about the: medium frame, with SRAM RED, compact(planned on doing hills) this bike is super stiff and and aggressive fit, yet very comfortable, fast and responsive, very stable at high speeds and climbs and descends as well as all the noted bike mentioned

Took the bike to Giro Sardegna first season I got the bike and this bike got more press than any other bike there, seamed like all the photographers were waiting for this bike to cross the finish line, ask about it and even take it for rides.

I've had the bike for 5 years now, ridden probably 40,000+ kilometres with it and absolutely no issues, gone through a couple of wheel sets, chains, cassettes and all other consumables but is still rides as well as it did new.

All this for a fraction of the cost of other bikes of this caliber!

happy riding! Cheers!!!!!

Dangerous · Mar 10, 2018

Thanks for the reply! Hearing of racing a Stradalli machine has me reminded of how under-equipped I am as a rider to even warrant a bike with half the setup of my AR7, but to your point my "frugal" nature is enough to set me at ease. Fortunately I feel like my setup does have a decent amount of components and elements that are not necessarily consumable, and my low mileage status also helps to extend the life of my bike.

Again, glad to hear I'm not the only crazy person on the forum to pull the trigger and be very pleased with the decision.

Cheers from Connecticut!

Espresso Junkie said:
I've had the bike for 5 years now, ridden probably 40,000+ kilometres with it and absolutely no issues, gone through a couple of wheel sets, chains, cassettes and all other consumables but is still rides as well as it did new.

All this for a fraction of the cost of other bikes of this caliber!

happy riding! Cheers!!!!!

Dangerous · Jun 18, 2018

Update: about 1 year in!

Over the past weekend I returned to NYC for a group ride and did some city riding and some laps around Central Park. While I’ve not been incredibly active in cycling the last year and am not at the height of my cycling fitness since I’ve been on the East Coast (3 years), I did manage to PR all but 3 of the 30+ Strava segments I hit on my loops – some even doubling up PRs. It could be argued that riding with a partner had me pushing harder, but I always go HAM on descents and I popped PRs on both climbs and descents.

The AR7 is a truly fantastic machine. After adding some 25mm tires, the grip into questionable corners felt like the thing was on rails & the spin I’m getting from the wheelset really seems to be improving my average speed. The wheels have maintained their true very nicely considering my weight and rough road riding + the brake track doesn’t show any early indicators of delamination.

I’ve really only upgraded the saddle with plans to eventually get a carbon stem & Garmin/GoPro mount to get as many carbon parts on the bike as possible, haha. I’d also like to upgrade the brakes as well, as the FSA Gossamers don’t feel as “pro” as I’d prefer to have on such a beast of a machine

Hoping I can take the frame and wheelset all the way to an eventual purchase of a new disk brake bike (thinking eTap HRD), but my guess is I'm years out from that jump anywho.

Dangerous · Jun 21, 2018

Also - I caught a write up in Bicycling Mag on Stradalli... They look to be getting good press

https://www.bicycling.com/<wbr>bikes-gear/a19712049/<wbr>stradalli-san-remo-road-bike/

Crash Prone · Oct 3, 2018

http://forums.roadbikereview.com/bikes-frames-forks/stradalli-faenza-aero-bike-365983.html How did you decide on the Stradalli AR7 aero bike over their Stradalli Faenza aero bike? I just posted in the Bikes, Frames, and Forks section about my interest in the Stradalli Faenza and am hoping to get some perspectives on it (see link).

Also, I'm 165 lbs so well within the weight limit for their warrenty, but it sounds like your heavier. How did that discussion go with Stradalli when you were purchasing from them?

Dangerous · Oct 3, 2018

Crash Prone said:
http://forums.roadbikereview.com/bikes-frames-forks/stradalli-faenza-aero-bike-365983.html How did you decide on the Stradalli AR7 aero bike over their Stradalli Faenza aero bike? I just posted in the Bikes, Frames, and Forks section about my interest in the Stradalli Faenza and am hoping to get some perspectives on it (see link).

Also, I'm 165 lbs so well within the weight limit for their warrenty, but it sounds like your heavier. How did that discussion go with Stradalli when you were purchasing from them?

The AR7 seems to have bigger frame tubes + a little more heft at the bottom bracket, but really I leaned on Stradalli to advise on what they thought was best given my riding style/build. I exchanged a few emails with them and they were definitely good to work with as far as I could tell. The only hangup was not having the piece that hold the seatpost into the frame & they weren't super jazzed to have to send me "another" one. They did ask me to re-check the packaging several times, but in their defense I'm assuming their supplier doesn't send full sets of spare parts with all their frame orders so it's probably a PITA.

The one thing I've found with outside perspectives on Stradalli is that anyone who is willing to or has spent top dollar on a big brand bike essentially needs to justify their purchase instead of being transparent about brand preference. Said another way, anyone currently on a comparable bike from a big manufacturer is least likely to throw in a good word. I'd have to agree with the linked article from Bicycling Magazine about their brand being a great value, something brand/label sensitive types aren't concerned with.

If you pull the trigger definitely pop back here and let me know your thoughts!

Crash Prone · Oct 3, 2018

Thanks for the response Dangerous!

The hard part about buy from Stradalli right now is that, outside of the Stradalli San Remo, you usually have to go off of specs on their website and pro results to make your purchasing decision. It's hard to buy a bike that doesn't have any in-depth reviews, online feedback, or a chance to test ride (having at least one of those three choices would make it easier to pull the trigger).

I think that Canyon coming to America this past year has really helped online-only companies like Stradalli and Fezzari look more legitamate in the eyes of consumers. And, I think Stradalli beginning to design their own frames also makes reviews more likely in the future!

Hopefully someone on the forum can give me some insight on the Stradalli Faenza aero bike. Not sure where else to turn to to get real-life perspective!

Dangerous · Oct 3, 2018

Crash Prone said:
Thanks for the response Dangerous!

No problem! Canyons are definitely good looking bikes & do seem competitive pricing wise... plus, to your point, they've gotten a lot of press this season in the peloton.

I think it depends on what you are riding currently. I was on an older Trek Madone with a little less aggressive geometry and a smaller frame, but I did a lot of work comparing the spec on the two as far as lining up the fit. The only difference I could feel was the change in bar shape, but the fit otherwise was easily dialed in.

I suppose since I've only ridden two bikes since I've been cycling I've not developed a keen sense of nuanced details out of a frame. I was only interested in fit & gruppo - easy to determine online.

One thing I will say is that I'm not sure how many miles the Comets have until de-lamination might start to set in, so am wishing there had been a disc brake option with SRAM.

Dangerous · Oct 16, 2018

Update 10/16

As it can happen sometimes I popped a nipple out in the rear wheel. I'd done it once before after having the bike in the backseat (I have a rack now) but this second time was on road. I didn't replace the nipple after the first pop & did the painstaking fish+pull through the valve stem and re-trued. Given I believe this is the same nipple I wanted to have it replaced while my bike was prepped for the Bike MS NYC ride this weekend. While it all sounds easy in theory, my mechanic called me up and said the nipple was proprietary (pic attached) and to reach out to Stradalli about getting extras. I spoke with Jim in sales and he was super nice and accommodating given that their parts mgr and mechanic were both out & offered to have me send a picture of the nipple and he'd send some my way. I figured I'd offer to buy a bunch of them (2 sets) plus some spare spokes for good measure.

After emailing the order/picture over I got a somewhat condescending email letting me know that nipples were out of stock till Christmas & that nearly all wheel builders can fix it "easy and fast" with parts you can order from "90% of all wheel building guys." They also offered a "huge discount" on a new wheelset as an option as well.

Given my previous exchange about getting terminal/battery covers + the USB dongle for my eTap, I'm not too surprised with the response. I understand that these guys technically just have Taiwan "brand" their generic market wheels/frames (though they do have some bespoke gear being made), so it's not like their orders necessarily include all the spare parts you'd get from domestic/branded suppliers. I'm sure my seatpost block had to be taken from another frame & getting a new one will probably be a pain in the translation to get one added to their next overseas shipment.

Granted, even with all that considered for context I still would have appreciated a clear response of "order brand X part Y and Z spec" instead of the salty condescension. Fortunately for my mechanic and the wheel "manufacturer" I'm sharp enough with a search engine and had Stradalli confirm that a 16mm Saipim Polyax would work with the wheelset.

So that's a long winded explanation of some minor downsides to the brand. I'm still loving the bike and wheelset and will be taking it through my 7th year riding in BikeMS events this Sunday.

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