Cyfac or Alex Singer?

Lucky that I am able to fund the purchase a new steel frameset for 2014, thought I would go for a French builder - either a Cyfac http://cyfac.fr/steel-frames#xcr

or an Alex Singer http://www.cycles-alex-singer.fr/

This will be a touring frame.

Wondered if there are any interesting opinions on either builder or equally any interesting alternatives?

Happy New Year to all.

Jon.

For me it's Alex Singer, because of the heritage and prestige of the name. Although I have not ridden any of their current machines they continue to be highly regarded.

Steven

Hi Jon

Are you buying it off the peg or having something custom made? Just curious what material you are choosing,.........stainless.

My personal choice would be Kevin Sayles, there's Ricky Feather and Kevin Winter who I would also think about.

Shaun

lewisfoto":15esntfk said:

For me it's Alex Singer, because of the heritage and prestige of the name. Although I have not ridden any of their current machines they continue to be highly regarded.

Steven

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Agreed, Alex Singer has heritage, but then so does Cyfac.

J.

Midlife":ai5b6ox9 said:

Hi Jon

Are you buying it off the peg or having something custom made? Just curious what material you are choosing,.........stainless.

My personal choice would be Kevin Sayles, there's Ricky Feather and Kevin Winter who I would also think about.

Shaun

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Hi Shaun,

I've assumed custom made simply because Cyfac only do custom builds, and I guess the same will be for Alex Singer.

Quite like the thought of going to France to order and then collecting; my thinking that going French would add an alternative dimension to the"fleet"which has been severely downsized.

Jon.

I couldn't say who would be the better choice, but I can say first hand that the customer service at Cyfac is second to none.

Matt

Matt_wood55":kzyt2cj4 said:

I couldn't say who would be the better choice, but I can say first hand that the customer service at Cyfac is second to none.

Matt

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That's interesting Matt, do you have personal experience of Cyfac, could you elaborate?

Cheers, Jon.

roadking":35ryc6si said:

Matt_wood55":35ryc6si said:

I couldn't say who would be the better choice, but I can say first hand that the customer service at Cyfac is second to none.

Matt

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That's interesting Matt, do you have personal experience of Cyfac, could you elaborate?

Cheers, Jon.

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I have only had a respray done with them, but both Eric and Aymeric were very easy to deal with, quick to reply to emails, and the job that they did on the frame I sent them was excellent. I am sure that if you went to their workshop / factory they would give you the full VIP treatment. They still have a wealth of steel experience. Have you seen their Facebook page? Do a search for Cyfac Bicycles.

Also if you do a general Cyfac search on Google, there a quite a few threads where people have only positive things to say about them, I have seen nothing negative.

I don't know Alex Singer, so I can't say who would build a better frame. I have a team bike from 1990 built by Cyfac, and it's excellent. This was from the time that they built a lot of frames for various teams that were badged up with other manufactrers names (mine is Castorama 'Raleigh').

Good luck!!
Matt

Midlife":9t5ctdi8 said:

Hi Jon
Are you buying it off the peg or having something custom made? Just curious what material you are choosing,.........stainless.
My personal choice would be Kevin Sayles, there's Ricky Feather and Kevin Winter who I would also think about.
Shaun

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Confused now Shaun!

Quite like the look of Ricky Feather's work, his website is interesting, as for Kevin Sayles (he works at Woodrup?) I cannot see any of his work (with his name).

Might have to get down to Bespoked in April...especially now they've changed the venue to the Olympic Velodrome.

Cheers for the tips.

Jon.

P.S trouble is I am super fussy and need real confidence in the builder to order a new frame - some I've spoken too I wouldn't trust (they might be good but their attitudes don't give me confidence).