Condor Classico 2011

[daveytouch]

I'm very much interested in buying a new bike for all round purposes. I have a 1970's viscount sport at the moment, running on original components, off the peg so to speak. Its fine, a bit of a mess, its not made for my body and is also slightly too small. This bike also cost me next to nothing.

Looking to upgrade and invest in a bike which is almost a modern, lighter version than this which ticks all the boxes. Condor is very close to where i work, so obviously i have been popping in to drool... I am yet to testride a condor bike, but know i am a fan of classic/traditional geometries. I like the feel of steel but also know it can rust if not looked after. As well as commuting, i'm looking use the bike for distance rides of maybe up to 60-70miles, the odd cycle weekend away with an adaptable road bike rack perhaps. Generally want to have a solid, reliable, fast, comfortable, light, durable, long lasting bike which i like.

So i'm very drawn to the Classico with either a veloce or centaur groupset. At the moment, unsure on either the brown or red frameset but was wondering if anyone had any hands on experience of the bike? Also if any of you think im barking up the wrong or right tree by focusing on the Condor. Are there any other suggestions for a similar bike? Condor Classico frames are handmade in italy dont forget, and at a fairly small extra cost can be custom made and painted.

Are condor just overpriced? Would say, £1700 be considered a lot of money for a bike of this calibre? I know you can buy alu frames from the likes of Canyon, Cube, De Rose, Ribble, etc etc with Ultegra for maybe £1200, but i really believe those frame aren't built to last.

Anyway, lets talk the Condor Classico, or any other complete builds at either 1700 or less.

Thanks

DT

http://www.condorcycles.com/Road/9455-Condor-Classico-2011/flypage.tpl.html

brown&red colour options.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/condorcycles/5392748116/lightbox/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/condorcycles/5392760770/lightbox/

 

[brockers]

It's a nice looking frame, but there are other English custom framebuilders out there who can offer you something similar, although they're unlikely to build in Deda acciaio (steel), and more likely to use Reynolds or Columbus. I'm not wholly convinced that Condor offer the best value for money, but I know how nice the frames look as I go downstairs in their shop every month or so to look at the things! However, I'm a bit skeptical as to whether the frames are built solely for Condor. I'm not saying they're not, but they used to badge up a whole manner of Deda carbon frames, and put a massive mark up on them, which they can get away with because of the 'Condor' name. Shopping around would find the same frame under a different name for a lot less.

That said, their after sales care is pretty good, and if you can afford it and want to treat yourself, then go ahead. You won't go far wrong.

 

[daveytouch]

So how would you compare Deda Acciao to Reynolds or Columbus? I hear the tubing is put together in italy, and i wouldnt expect the frames to be solely put together for Condor alone, as money needs to be made. Condor didnt claim this when i spoke to the sales ass, he just informed that they were hand built at 'our' factory in italy.

So it would be interesting to know whether i can find other companies who use the same 14.5 SAT Deca frames built to the same geometries. Any suggestions of who makes the Classico but at a cheaper price?

I'm genuinely interested in having a bike made properly for me, tweaking it to perfection and possibly having a custom build if needs be. Condor can offer this service with ease, and the after sales service will be very loyal and deserving im sure. What will this actually include though? Apart from a 6week free service?


Thanks for your opinion, and which colour do you prefer, out of curiosity?

 

[brockers]

The whole idea of custom building is that you can more or less replicate any ride quality by playing around with tube thickness and profile, the thickness/butting of the walls, and the frame angles. I, or indeed anybody, can't really say whether one manufacturer's tubing is better than another's as they're all made of pretty much the same stuff. Reynolds and Columbus have been around a lot longer than Deda, and as such many builders are used to the first two's products and use them out of familiarity. I'm sure you could approach any builder and ask him to use Deda if that's what you want, but whether he can get be arsed to get hold of some is another matter. That said, the Classico has a claimed weight of 1700g which is good for steel. My restored 531 Orbit is 1850g and would have been considered fairly light 'back in the day'.


So scattergun 'what's the best tubing' questions are a bit like asking how long a piece of string is. There's Reynolds 525,725, 853, and stainless 953. Columbus produce Zona, Spirit, Life and stainless XCr amongst others and all of these tubes exhibit different characteristics when built into a frame, contributing to a different ride. Phone some builders (google) and ask their opinion. Any good builder will form a pretty good idea of what you're about and what kind of riding you'll be doing. He'll decide on tubing, angles, lugs or fillet brazed (again depending on the type of tube), dropouts, crown, and whether you want or need rack and bottle bosses. £8-900 will get you something pretty darn good, but the downside is the costs of forks will add to this, and that the builder might ask you why you want him to make an exact copy of a bog-standard shop-bought frame...


In short, what I'm saying is if I had £900 to drop on a steel frame, I'd have one custom made to fit me, with tubing selected to suit my weight and style of riding.

As to the colour, well, the link's kaput!

 

[brockers]

Here's a link to some builders. Some of whom seem not to be doing too well as they can't even afford the web-hosting/server fees.

The ones I'd investigate are Burls, Roberts, Donhoe, and Robin Mather if he's still into making bike frames. There are also some old-skool gurus listed in there such as Ron Cooper, who used to build Gillott frames in the 60's, and who would know exactly what you're after, but I don't know how much persuasion it would take to get him to pick up his brazing torch to build an entire frame again.

 

[daveytouch]

thanks for the list.

Donhoe seems to make a gorgeous lugged grey road frame and robin mather has the touring bikes down to a T. Although i'm dubous as to how much one of these builds would cost and whether it is within my budget. I will take a test ride on the condor classico this weekend and see how it feels...

thanks again

 

[Pottsy]

A few reasons I bought Condor were:

Only another £100 for custom frame sizing
The shop is local to my old work place
Great service
My choice on every component in the build
I think a good brand name

Of course many of these apply to other brands and the locality is specific to individuals, but if you like the look of the bike and it suits what you need then you can't go wrong, even if there is a slight cost premium.

I say go for it

 

[daveytouch]

pottsy thse are similar reasons to why i want condor. I'm just being very cautious about spending £1500 and don't just want to go out there and spend my welll earnt cash on something i know nothing about.

I have had the chance to ride a reynolds 501 frame recently. I wonder how light this compares to the Deda SAT 14.5? Any ideas guys?