What should a buyer ask, and tell, the builder?: Bikefanclub.com

I think this is a very good question and a difficult one to fully answer.

There are the basic things like height and weight, shoe size, tires used...etc. They are the obvious questions.

I think it's the job of the builder to try to tease out what info he needs to build the ideal bike for the rider. I don't have a standard list of questions but I can tell you that aside from fit the most important thing to me is knowing how and where the bike will be used. Is the bike going to be on perfect pavement all the time or will it see mixed dirt and pavement use ? Are the typical rides short or long ? flat or hilly ? Climbing in or out of the saddle most of the time ? Etc.....

I'm also very interested in knowing how much experience the rider has....are they aggressive in corners and descents or do they take it easy. Do they back off on fast descents because of fear and the lack of stability ? This one can get touchy. It can be hard to not insult the rider if he doesn't have a lot of experience....tact goes a long way here. If you are the customer it pays to be brutally honest with the builder and yourself here. It's hard to do but you'll get a better bike if you do.

I think when you buy a bike from a custom builder they should get into these details. If they don't have this info in front of them then there is no way they can design and build the bike to fit you and your needs. If they don't get into this then I personally might question what you will end up with. If the builder doen't ask these or similar questions then I might look elsewhere. I am by no means the only builder that ask for this type of info...all the best builders do.

I also spend a lot of time digging into what the customer is looking for asthetically. Looks are very important to me and I think they are to most of my customers.

If you feel you need to force this type of info on the builder then I tend to think that he might not use it.

I hope this answers your question. Let me know.

Dave