Demon Frameworks mtb, pro pics on page 14! update 25/12/21

jonnyboy666

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Please note i have changed the thread title, as i have now ordered the Demon but i have left the thought process as to why i chose what i chose, maybe it might help someone in their quest for a custom frame


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this is something i have been thinking about for a while. lets face it we all would have a custom frame if we could afford it. but i might beable to stretch to a frame in a few months.

what started it with me recently was Gus (wu-tangled), we were on the IOW around xmas last year, me, him and makster, we got talking about it coz Gus had recently got his litespeed and a merlin and felt they were all the bikes he needed and suggested that i might have too many bikes and if i sold a few i could afford the unicorn of a custom build.

it made sense . . . . but the custom frame i was thinking of was a Lynskey, built to my chosen geometry, nothing super weird just different to what they do off the peg, basically a Ti version of my 07 clockwork but with a slightly longer toptube. i enquired, got a message back via a familiar face (a member here who worked for the UK importer), was looking at £3500ish for the frame alone!!! :shock: :shock: :shock:

no way could i justify that!!

so i started re-thinking about it, do i need titanium? realistic answer is no.

i don't race (seriously) anymore so why go that far financially? so the obvious choice then became steel. started looking at various frame builders in the US, the usual suspects Independent fabrications for example, but the frame price is about $1895 so over here that would likely be almost the same in pounds. i am not suggesting it's overpriced but the taxes and vat make it seem that way.

then i thought to myself why does it have to be a US builder? what's wrong with the guys we have over here? the answer is nothing, nothing at all. not to mention not having import taxes etc to worry about.

so i have decided to look at the UK builders.


i have to say this re-ignition of my interest in a custom frame was brought back on by the recent article in Privateer magazine (DAMN YOU!!!)

the people i am thinking of going to see are:-

www.hammooncycles.com

www.robertscycles.com

www.demonframeworks.com

i have read up on their websites about who they are and what they do, roberts need no introduction and have the history, hammoon i think just look cool, demon i like the traditionalist style and the "dirt frame" though not my style looks beautiful.

are there any other framebuilders new or old you think i should look at?

i have to say though i have looked into these 3 partly because of their location, demon are in southampton 20 minutes away, hammoon are in shaftesbury so not too far and roberts are in croyden so about 2 hours away.

who would you use and why? links to websites for info would be cool aswel

:D
 
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the show is perfect! i will be leaving bristol that morning after a stag weekend so hitting that after will be perfect!! :D :D

thanks for that!! :D :D
 
yours is looking cool Ed, want to stay british on this though (if i can stretch to the money that is) i like the internal cables
 
you could add this guy too.

http://www.englishcycles.com/

Can I play devils advocate? Your initial thought was custom Lynskey Ti and admittedly your not after anything bizzare, so instead of off the peg which I thought would have been a natural progression you've stuck with custom but went with steel.
 
the english bikes are interesting, look very techy though, not sure if i like that or not!

the reason i'd prefer custom steel as opposed to off the peg Ti is that the geometry and fit is more important to me than the material in this case, i already know i like steel.

there is also one more advantage of steel (or disadvantage depending on your opinion) and that is the paint. i like a good paint job, titanium should never be painted in my opinion and as a result can look . . . well . . . boring. :oops: where as steel can be painted in a myriad of colours to suit what you want.
 
TheGreenRabbit":s8tkcki6 said:
Roberts are very nice bikes, but never quite cut it for me, plus parking is crap at the shop. What about Enigma http://www.enigmabikes.com/ I am sure you also order a custom bike direct from China, If I can find the link I'll let you know.

i must admit the roberts thing with me is i feel i would be walking in there saying i'd like dogs bolx and they'd sort of groan and say, black and white by any chance? yes, it does ooze 'thing' on the carpet.

the enigma steel looks nice, but on the same page it mentions the highly influential 'singletrack world guys' which makes me think that i'd have to change forums and become an absolute abusive pillock to ride one, then the next thing i'd know i'd be riding a combination of a 650c/29er singlespeed but with hammersmidt cranks and drivel on about how crap everything is.

;)
 
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