Perhaps a custom bike?

Written by Michael McKisson

Thursday, 06 August 2009 04:39

I was talking to my friend, co-worker and bike guru, Jay, this morning about how many bikes out there fit my criteria for my new ride. Rather than help me narrow my decision, he through another option out there. He suggested getting a custom bike setup for me.

He is actually the second person who has suggested I look into a custom bike, but I assumed it would be out of my price range. I told Jay that I thought I wouldn't be able to afford it. Instead of leaving it at that, he called local frame builder Andy Gilmour. Jay bought a custom bike from Andy more than 25 years ago and it is still his favorite bike.

Andy told Jay that we could probably put something together for less than $2,000 and that I should get in touch with him. Later in the day I emailed Andy, letting him know I would be interested in getting together and learning more about his bikes. But Jay wanted to go a step further. He suggested we ride down to Andy's warehouse and pcik his brain.

It ended up being a very informative trip and a lot of fun. Andy showed us the frames he was working on and the basic pieces of bikes that weren't yet assembled. He also did a quick fit on my single speed and told me I had terrible riding posture and how to fix it.

We also talked about what I was looking for in my new bike and he thought he could get me setup on a very nice bike within my budget.

The drawback is that it is a few hundred dollars more to get one of his bikes rather than a production bike from one of the major companies.

The bike Andy I discussed would be semi-custom. He said he would measure me and then select the best frame size for me. He'd then build the bike with parts that were also the proper size for me. On a production bike you get whichever parts come on it.

I also really like the idea of knowing where my bike came from and who made it. I am realitively sure this is the route I am going to go for, but I wondered if any of you had any thoughts?