Demon Frameworks 953 fast touring bike

Can't resist sharing another pic, a little less glare on this one:

Glorious morning for a ride on a new bike. Enjoy it.

Had a 9am curfew this morning, so only managed an hour and 11 mins of riding time, but it was enough to give me a good feel for the new iron. It was 4 degrees when I left the house, but bright and sunny and the roads were dry so an ideal day for a first run out.

After about a mile I pulled over for a little Allen key work on the saddle and seat post and got the bike feeling very comfortable after initially continuously sliding forward on the saddle. Once the saddle position was improved I felt "locked in" to the bike if that makes sense. Reach felt great, but may try a stem 1cm longer for a comparison next time out.

The handling at the front end felt fast and precise without being twitchy like my race bike. My overwhelming first impression was one of comfort. I've had a few "nice" steel bikes and this is by far the smoothest ride of any bike I've ridden. The surfaces of the lanes of Kent are woeful at the moment, but it just seemed to smooth out the broken and rough tarmac. The bike ran silently which is always nice.

It definitely lacked the snap and acceleration of a proper "race" bike when given a kick, but it did hold it's speed very well when holding a steady pace. It just seemed to purr along and preferred steady delivery of power rather than sporadic accelerations. I managed 19.6mph on a pretty flat ride (only 500ft climbing over 23.4 miles) without ever really having to push very hard. The smooth ride and lack of "snap" could be a consequence of the wheels as much as the frame (Fulcrum Racing Zeroes on the race bike), but given the purpose of this bike, smooth and comfortable is exactly what I want, so no complaints. It was strange really, when I did put a little more of an effort in, it didn't feel like I was getting the usual sensation of speed in feedback, yet a glance of the Garmin and it was ticking along nicely, so perhaps the smoothness somehow mutes the sense of any given speed?

It definitely felt composed and stable (a result of the long stays perhaps?) and overall I'm chuffed with the ride. Will know more once I've taken it on some longer trips and will know more still once I take it out loaded. Best of all the sun was out, so with every glance down I saw the lovely bright green paint shining back at me, which put a massive smile on my face. I loved every pedal stroke and to me that's the most important factor of any bike. :-)

So perhaps the smoothness somehow mutes the sense of any given speed?

I reckon so, that's one of the main reason why the conventional wisdom of skinny + hard tyres = faster, you can feel the road buzz giving you the illusion that you're going a lots faster while in reality not much of a difference.

My overwhelming first impression was one of comfort. I've had a few "nice" steel bikes and this is by far the smoothest ride of any bike I've ridden.

I'd always assumed stainless steel would give a harsh ride, but I've heard several people say this about XCr and 953 frames. I want one now. :)

^ hope you have got a big piggy bank 2 fund it m8

I'd always assumed stainless steel would give a harsh ride

You really should try my Reynolds 525 Thorn Sherpa - stiff as fuck.

^ hope you have got a big piggy bank 2 fund it m8

Note I said "want", not "will have".

There are 5 reasons I can afford/justify this bike:

I gave up racing time trials a couple of years ago as I was no longer enjoying it and subsequently sold my racing bikes/kit which allowed me to pay my deposit with Tom and stash most of the rest of the cost of the frameset in the bank. Touring was something I really enjoyed (unlike the racing) so wanted to reinvest the money in a bike to enhance that experience.

Tom's pricing when I ordered it in 2011 was less than it is now. In fairness he was probably selling his frames too cheaply back then (particularly when you consider the attention to detail he lavishes on every frame) and his pricing now is more on a par with the rest of the market (still exceptional value considering the work he puts into each frameset).

I had nearly 20 months to hunt for bargains build kit wise.

I have a dangerous disregard for being overdrawn.

I can justify it to myself as bikes are my passion, I love riding, and I don't spend money on other things.

Not a reason I can afford/justify it , but not unrelated, my wife has never openly asked how much it actually cost!

I have a similarly lengthy justification for my Feather track bike (including exactly the same situation with pricing - he was massively undercharging when I ordered mine) but UK custom builders are still a bargain for the amount of work and craftsmanship involved, and I don't think you have to explain or make excuses, especially here. If I didn't have a young child and wasn't saving for a deposit on a flat I'd be straight on the blower to Ricky about an XCr road frame.

"my wife has never openly asked how much it actually cost!"

dont tell her. ever

In fairness he was probably selling his frames too cheaply back then.

he was massively undercharging when I ordered mine...

I feel the same with Oak after seeing the attention he put on my bike, I think it's quite normal for a fairly new frame builder to be cheaper due to not having much experience.

I'm sure Robin Mather were in a similar price bracket when he first build recumbent.

The handling at the front end felt fast and precise without being twitchy like my race bike. My overwhelming first impression was one of comfort. I've had a few "nice" steel bikes and this is by far the smoothest ride of any bike I've ridden. The surfaces of the lanes of Kent are woeful at the moment, but it just seemed to smooth out the broken and rough tarmac. The bike ran silently which is always nice.

Incidentally I was reading a review with Robin Mather and this is almost revelant to what you're talking about;

63xc.com: What about the forks?

RM: Well, they're better than the dead straight ones, anyway.

**63xc.com: Those ones always looked crazy to me. Where did they come from?
**
RM: I dunno. I remember watching the Tour one year when they were quite new. The camera bike was following the pack down a mountain, hairpins, the whole lot. A bunch of 12 riders came up to this fast corner. Most of the group went round, but three of them went straight off. And they were all from the same team. And the voiceover goes, "That's interesting, that's the team that uses straight forks."

**63xc.com: Arg!
**
RM: But straight ones have this kind of aggressive look that some people go for. I think with roadbikes, people get muddled between responsiveness and speed, and they put up with a harsh uncomfortable ride because they think it makes them faster. Time trials bikes are often built with very upright head angles, and the twitchiness gives you a sense of speed. But in fact a bike with more stable steering is probably faster in most practical applications, because you can ride a straight line with no effort.

Interesting read ( http://www.63xc.com/willm/rmint.htm ).

Should note that's from 2002. Views change, experience is acquired, etc.

but the Daytona rear mech works perfectly with the 13-29 cassette ;-)

I think getting Campag 10sp mechs to run 13-29 with standard chain rimgs depends on the frame; chain stay length has something to do with the length of chain the mech has to take up, but can't say I really understand.

Bike looks tremendous btw!

Thanks. The chainset is compact if that makes any difference. The Daytona rear mech blurb states that it will work with the 13-29 cassettes, and its silver so works with what I had in mind aesthetically which is obviously more important :-)

Should note that's from 2002. Views change, experience is acquired, etc.

Prices (&costs) mutiply...

Finally finish reading the entire thread. I absolutely love your bike! But since I have something of a frame fascination, I found the frame itself to be even more amazing. The amount of detailing that has gone into it is unbelievable. The choice of paint is also top notch.

The only thing I don't like about the bike is the Thompson stem. A personal favourite of mine on steel bikes is the Genetic AQ stem (also sold by Velo Orange). I also have one on my Renovo and it looks very nice and subtle.

I am a bit puzzled by your choice of a Brooks Swift. For me this saddle did not work at all. Tried to 'brake it in' for almost half a season, but it never did. I changed it for a Gilles Berthoud which was the most comfortable saddle I had ever ridden from day one. I had it carved, making it truly unique.

For pics of the stem and the saddle, check out my Flickr page: https://www.flickr.com/photos/quality_vintage_bikes/sets/72157628619318141/

I am a bit puzzled by your choice of a Brooks Swift. For me this saddle did not work at all.

Horses for courses innit? Or in this case saddles for arses.

Edit: looks like you had the Swift carved form those pics?

Odd thing to says since it's very much a personal preference, let alone a puzzle to see why other than himself find it comfortable.

I had both the Swift and the Gilles Berthoud carved, but the Swift looked better when carved. In the pictures anyway ;)

Thanks for the compliments on the frameset. As is usually the case it looks better in the flesh than in the pictures, but the pics are good enough to get the gist.

I agree on the thomson front. If it has a thomson post then the stem might be ok, but ever since I acquired the Chorus Ti post I've wanted something more subtle and more "slender". The idea was to originally use the deda 100mm stem I had but my bike mechanic mate who gave up an evening to help me assemble the bike took a shine to that for his Ti 29er so I let him have it. This left the 90mm thomson to facilitate the build. From the first ride I know 90mm is too short. Once I've tried a few stems to find the right fit, then and only then will I endeavour to find something more in keeping with the rest of the build stem wise. Thanks for your Velo Orange stem suggestion. I'll look into it.

Re the Swift. I bought one some time ago and it felt extremely comfortable straight out the box. No break in period, just extremely comfortable. As others have said, saddles are very personal but I have a toupe/romin shaped race arse and a swift shaped touring arse. ;-)

Those wooden frames are beautifully made btw. How do they ride?

I guess the best comparison for the ride of a wooden frame is a modern steel frame: comfortable yet plenty stiff, but a bit heavy. Much like yours I suspect ;)

Awesome bike. Mega jels. But are you going to put the mudguards on?