Here’s a project that was completed a few weeks ago for Roel Marcus of Mountainbike.nl. Roel is a competitive biker and the project was brought to me via Jeroen van den Brand of The Netherlands (the guy running the show at Velozine.nl). We’ve worked on a few projects in the past as Jeroen is an exceptional engineer and really has honed his mtb chops over the years running several squads with national team riders. It’s was great to reunite with him and get the sparks flying on this one. Jeroen sent over a stellar package and the effect was described as Roel took hold of the frame. Here are a few of his impressions as he took the Crisp Ti out for a break-in, in preparation for the first race…(reprinted with permission)
“Yesterday I went out for the second ride with the lady. Tuesday I rode the larger piece of my “home-route”, but yesterday I went for the full 50 km’s. I’ve ridden it for hundreds of times, so every change is noticed.
And, again it was a great joy to find out that on all aspects the bike really is a leap forward to my previous bike! She’s so eager to descent, it’s like a magnet that pulls you off the hill. Cornering is soo smooth, and the climbing is steady with no intention to lift the frontwheel whatsoever. On flat, slightly up, or slightly down the lady is steady and efficient. I´ve not ridden it full throttle for great distances, but that will happen soon enough. I´m confident that will work out fine! Going airborn at a faster descent is always a great joy, but landing this lady is a whole other story! Its so &^%$&%^$%^-easy!
I suspect you (Darren) of travelling with a box of tubes or perhaps even a finished frame to the heart of Rome, especially the Vatican, to get the blessing of the pope or some other holy guy for it. Where my previous bikes needed guidance, the lady cooperates, or even leads in the action! Just put pressure on the pedals, show the direction, and she’ll go, and fast.
Descending she appears to weigh a ton; tires stick to the ground, and picking up speed is easily achieved by letting the brakes go. Uphill she seems to throw that weight uphill ahead of the bike; you don’t have to carry that up, she seems to think.
Jeroen warned me for several of this experiences, and, Jeroen, I fear you’re right.
It was an incredible experience to gradually go further and further in the descents and the corners. You both did a great job, and my thanks for that will always travel with me! I can’t wait for more adventures with this italian fury. It really feels as if she encourages me to go to the edge, in a positive way.
Besides that misery, it again was great joy riding! She’s so eager to descent, turning, gaining speed, and all the facets of riding in general, I keep being amazed! I concluded that she rides like a 29’er where she has to, and is as nimble as a BMX bike where I want her to be. Previous years I usually had trouble following competitors downhill, but this time I had to hit the brakes frequently to stay behind them. Why not passing them, I asked myself too. Lacking the final “bite”, I guess.”
Well, that will give you a taste of why I build custom titanium frames. Roel’s enthusiasm speaks volumes and it feels just like the first time I hopped on my own Crisp Ti and had that exhilaration you can only get from a custom bike. A special thanks to Jeroen of Velozine for such a great project and Roel of Mountainbike.nl for the opportunity to collaborate and the fun. It was pure joy and I wish Roel years of adventure..
For photos and more details, please have a look on the Projects Page for this bike or click on the photo below. You can also see a link here for my Flickr photos. Thanks Roel for the great photos!
-dmc
