bwj75
new member
Reged: 12/08/04
Posts: 21
Loc: Manchester, Ma
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As a soon to be Calfee owner, I am amazed by the enthusiasm for these beautiful bikes. Looking at the other high end bike forums, I do not see as much activity on those sites. Any idea why the Calfee forum has so much more activity??
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vaxn8r
contributor
Reged: 12/19/03
Posts: 222
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You are going to love it! It's comfortable enough but it is so incredibly efficient. Climbing and sprinting are a revelation compared to whatever else you've ridden. What I am amazed by is why in the world anyone would sell one...unless it's to get a new one.
Enjoy the anticipation. The reward will be worth it.
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Dave_Thompson
prophet
Reged: 12/19/03
Posts: 717
Loc: Spokane, Washington
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Quote:
bwj75 wrote:
As a soon to be Calfee owner, I am amazed by the enthusiasm for these beautiful bikes. Looking at the other high end bike forums, I do not see as much activity on those sites. Any idea why the Calfee forum has so much more activity??
This Calfee forum has been around for a few years, and Calfee owners have a tendency to be more *passionate* and vocal about their bikes.
Another, and not so obvious, reason might be that Calfee is a small operation and their bikes are very hand made. Owners indentify with their bikes more than say, Trek owners. Not a knock on Trek, just that Calfees are more individual than most other bikes.
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Steel lover, but then I like Ti with carbon too.
Licensed bike geek.
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1centaur
journeyman
Reged: 12/24/03
Posts: 126
Loc: Massachusetts
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I have been a little mystified as well by the enthusiasm, but I'll suggest some reasons:
Calfee builds three road racing frames. Which other (non-custom-only) top builder so concentrates his skills? Parlee fits the bill, but hits higher price points and over a shorter history (though his raves are many, his customers are not so many as Craig's). Most Calfeeites have the SAME bike as the others or have the cousin that is supposed to ride the same. Note that Pegoretti also makes very few different models and makes them year after year, and has a similarly rabid fan base. The Porsche 911 looked the same year after year and shared many attributes. There's a trend here.
Calfee is a frame you have to seek out, think about and select based on merits and word of mouth, not ads in the cycling mags. The process of careful self-selection is somewhat self-reinforcing. Is a Richard Sachs frame really a gift from heaven?
Calfee frames reflect a long focus and great experience doing the same thing again and again. They were thoughtfully designed and built to last - they feel like quality no matter what bike you rode before or the one you ride after (and I have some very nice bikes). They don't creak, they're comfortable and fairly light and come in enough stiffness varieties to suit most riders.
The liveliness of my Tetra Pro felt electric, special, while the Trek 5200 felt comfortable, like kissing my sister. There's something in Craig's design that makes that so, and is what framebuilding talent is supposed to be about. It's a great bike for a lot of different tastes.
And finally, I guess the folks who figure all this out tend to be thoughtful, not rash and impulsive, which lends itself to a better spirit on this board than on some others.
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"You never make a gift of Ventoux"
Eddie Merckx to Lance Armstrong
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bwj75
new member
Reged: 12/08/04
Posts: 21
Loc: Manchester, Ma
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Centaur, where in mass. are you located???
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1centaur
journeyman
Reged: 12/24/03
Posts: 126
Loc: Massachusetts
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Boxford, a Pedaler's Paradise" as one local book described it, with access to the best of the North Shore and Southern New Hampshire on reasonable loops. Some day I'll retire to a warmer climate but I'm not sure I'll find the same variety of well paved, quiet country roads going every which way as I have here.
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"You never make a gift of Ventoux"
Eddie Merckx to Lance Armstrong
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bwj75
new member
Reged: 12/08/04
Posts: 21
Loc: Manchester, Ma
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Centaur
Do you do any club rides?? Check out www.ecvcycling.org great club and getting better, we do rides through Boxford all the time.
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timto
new member
Reged: 12/25/03
Posts: 29
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To echo what was said about being hand made... I had an opportunity to visit Calfee before they left Santa Cruz. Almost every single tiny part on a calfee is thought out and made in house. Even the rear brake cable guides are formed in house... after I saw the effort and care that went into each frame, from how the dropouts are cut to how the FD shims are made, it made me think of what a bargain they actually are.
Tim
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1centaur
journeyman
Reged: 12/24/03
Posts: 126
Loc: Massachusetts
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I am a solo rider, but I am aware of ecv (and use Stu as my wrench as much as possible).
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"You never make a gift of Ventoux"
Eddie Merckx to Lance Armstrong
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