[eflayer2]

After much consideration I decided on a custom ti frame purchased through a US company, manufactured in China, and finish applied back in the US.

1. Design and tube selection was a collaboration between me and Davis Carver of Carver Bikes/Bikeman in Woolwich, ME.

.9 straight gauge tubes for the most part, 9.7.9 double butted downtube.

2. Design sent to XACD in China to be turned into a titianim frameset. Someone there knows how to weld quite nicely...to my eye at least. The welds are just right and I love the look of how the chainstays bend and taper up to finely done rear dropouts.

3. Completed frame sent to Carver Bikes where Jesse the Mechanic hand brushed the frame. The finish looks great in real life, but a bit dull in the photos. Supposedly it comes from China blasted and Carver uses 400 grit and purple Scotchbrite to apply a more polished looking finish.

4. Cosmetic surgery on Enve fork courtesy of the cosmeticians at Firefly Bikes. Hats off to them for their involvement in the project. Sort of minimal in some ways, but really important to the aesthetic I was shooting for.

5. I love how it rides. A tweener between the much praised Roubaix Pro and the custom steel Curtlo Coupled steel travel bike. Ti has this amazing springiness and yet this is designed so there is no flex I can feel when doing hard climbing out the saddle. See the honking chainstays!

 

[Zeet]

Beautiful!...Truly an everlasting masterpiece of art! :thumbsup:

 

[mjduct]

be careful that Ti will probably outlast you!

 

[flatsix911]

Well done!

 

[martino]

hi eflayer2,
congrats on a great looking bike. can you tell me how long your head tube on the bike is and how long the stearing tube on the enve fork is ? i have some serious problems in my neck and the usual 30cm uncut fork is simply missing 2cm for my purpose, plus i end up with sooo many spacers. your head tube looks like the answer for me.
thanx in advance,
martin

 

[Tachycardic]

Welds look nice and clean to me too! Nice ride!

 

[tommyosmena]

great one how much is that

 

[lampshade]

That's a cool idea right in between US ($$$) custom Ti and blindly ordering from a mystery Asian manufacturer. Get your own specs, the savings of "China Ti", then a quality finish/prep.

 

[eflayer2]

Headtube is 226 mm. Enve 2.0 forks all come with 350 mm steerers. So on this bike 226 headtube, headset stack 32, spacers 25, stem 40, top cap spacer 5 = around 330 for final cut steer tube. I chose more headtube above top tube in order to have less spacers and get to install a stem at 0 degrees. I prefer this look to shorter headtube more spacers and upjutting stem.

hi eflayer2,
congrats on a great looking bike. can you tell me how long your head tube on the bike is and how long the stearing tube on the enve fork is ? i have some serious problems in my neck and the usual 30cm uncut fork is simply missing 2cm for my purpose, plus i end up with sooo many spacers. your head tube looks like the answer for me.
thanx in advance,
martin

 

[eflayer2]

right around $1500 to my doorstep. Took about 10 weeks instead of the quoted 6 to 8.

great one how much is that

 

[martino]

hi eflayer2,
thanks for the head tube specs, i have the feeling i'm looking at my future bike.
enjoy the ride

 

[Randy99CL]

I am considering a Carver also.
Lynskey has a line of $1100 frames but they're only in standard sizes and don't have disc mounts.

That extended head tube is a great idea! I like my bars about even with the saddle and yours looks good; not a big stack of spacers.

Any chance you weighed the parts before you assembled the bike? Or after?
It would be great to hear what the bare frame weighs.

Were there any extra charges for your frame? The $1500 price included the fork?
Thanks

 

[eflayer2]

check the carver website for custom. All the prices are there. I paid extra $100 for double butted downtube, $40 extra for more robust chainstays, and $100 extra for brushed finish. No the fork was mine already.

This is a big frame equal to about a normal size 62. Bare naked frame weighed 1700 grams. Built bike is about a pound heavier than my Roubaix and about a pound lighter than my steel Curtlo. For $200 more I could have gotten it down to about 1500 grams. You noticed I did not post any photos of my belly fat.

I am considering a Carver also.
Lynskey has a line of $1100 frames but they're only in standard sizes and don't have disc mounts.

That extended head tube is a great idea! I like my bars about even with the saddle and yours looks good; not a big stack of spacers.

Any chance you weighed the parts before you assembled the bike? Or after?
It would be great to hear what the bare frame weighs.

Were there any extra charges for your frame? The $1500 price included the fork?
Thanks

 

[Lelandjt]

Two fit related questions:
Is that the seat height you ride with?
Why do some people like the handlebar near seat level?

 

[eflayer2]

Yes, that is the seat height I ride with.

I like the handlebar near seat level otherwise my hands would not reach the bars .

All kidding aside, maybe my age, flexibility in general, and the actual/real length of my arms are all related to this style of fit.

Two fit related questions:
Is that the seat height you ride with?
Why do some people like the handlebar near seat level?

 

[c_h_i_n_a_m_a_n]

Congrats on the bike ... It sure is a looker and I am sure it rides even better. :thumbsup: