Italian For a 6+ Footer

navier_stokes

I've been out of cycling for a while but have been wanting to get back into it within the near future. I've looked around a bit and two bikes in particular really stand out for me:

Colnago CLX
Wilier Izoard

Now I'm thinking of building a custom from the respective framesets but possibly will buy a complete bike. Previously I had a Trek 1500 which was reasonably decent but I want a step up this time. Any other recommendations or thoughts on the above?

Also, I notice both the frames are sloping geometry. I'm about 6'4" with a 90-95cm inside leg (approximately). I'm fairly sure my Trek was a 63cm although I'm aware that Trek's usually come up a bit short? The maximum sizes for the Colnago and Wilier are supposedly 59cm and 61cm although looking at the actual geometry number they appear roughly the same size - are these frames big enough for my size? Obviously I'll demo one before I buy but just to get a rough idea...

Lastly, has anyone ordered from here before? Good service? They seem the cheapest around when shipping is included, for framesets at least?

http://www.bellatisport.com/

Cheers!

a_n_t

i ride a size Large wilier mortirolo and its perfect for me at 6'2".

not sure how it compares with the izoard but its a start!

pjm-84

I'm 6 5ft. I also have a Trek 62cm frame and currently have a Colnago Extreme Power on order, going into the paint shop shortly. Should have it for May.

I've gone for the 58cm sloping which equates to a 62cm traditional size. A 585mm effective top tube is 10mm short compared to my Madone but I run the Madone with an inline seat post and an 13cm stem. I might run the Colnago with a 14cm stem or set back seat post.

Lagavulin

a_n_t wrote:

i ride a size Large wilier mortirolo and its perfect for me at 6'2".

not sure how it compares with the izoard but its a start!

Geometry wise the Izoard and Mortirolo are identical (according to their website and the latest Wilier brochure).

For what its worth I saw and felt a 2008 Izoard with Centaur Carbon at the weekend and its simply stunning in red/white/carbon.
I've cleared my credit card this month and I'm going to have one. 8)

acorn_user

Surely it's worth paying a bit extra to get personally fitted at a local or not quite local store? Also, Bellati sell Guerciotti...

a_n_t

Lagavulin wrote:

its simply stunning in red/white/carbon.
)

as soon as i saw the white cabon mortirolo i knew i had to have it!

Lagavulin

Its a damn fine looking bike the Mortirolo. The bike shop I was at had a couple in (with Veloce and Mirage).

My wallet says Mortirolo with Centaur, my heart says Izoard. Its a hell of an investment for me as I'm currently only working part-time but even so I think I'm going to let my heart rule my head with this bike purchase. I'd hate to have any regrets a couple of months down the line after spending the thick end of £2k.

aarw

just be careful with the seat post you use, depending on how much is on show. I'm a fraction over 6ft 4" (but all legs) and rode a sloping frame last year, the flex caused by the seat post was too much for me. I went for a kuota kebel and it feels so much stiffer. a much better job.

Have you looked at the Canyon frmaes? they come in good sizes and are fantastic frames for the money. very stiff and very light. those willer's do like tasy though....

navier_stokes

Thanks for the replies, I'm going to have to try and find a shop which sells both, although from previous experience not many shops have in stock the larger sizes

I take your point on the seatpost, I think the Colnago frameset comes with a Colnago seatpost so that should be fine, I will remeber to keep that in consideration though.

After tax and everything belati doesen't actually seem much cheaper. I've done some more research and supposedly these are the best people to buy Colnagos from?

http://www.maestro-uk.com/

Centaur carbon was my thinking as well in terms of groupset. Have been also considering the Colnago Dream HX, although its not completely carbon which is what I really would like.

pjm-84

I'm dealing with Maestro although I get the distinct impression that Mike is not a great fan of the Taiwan built Colango frames.

a_n_t

i wouldn't call the mortirolo a compact as such, the top tube hardly slopes at all really so the seat post doesn't look like a flagpole!

gjh0702

I currently have a Colnago Active (2006) very disappointed with quality of paint finish. Had to have forks resprayed which my LBS arranged for me locally as he said sending them back to Colnago would take over 4 months.
Coincidentally I am looking to buy a Wilier based on ‘looks’- stunning but also reputation of warranty- lifetime I have been told

il_principe

Mortirolo - lovely bike, used to have one myself. If buying from Italy, try Comobike - they're a great bunch and v helpful.

navier_stokes

Anyone got any thoughts on the Colnago Dream HX?

The emu

FWIW,

I'm 6'4" with long legs. After making a mistake a few years back at buying a Giant TCR (Great Bike but too compact for my size), I was later adivsed to avoid compact frames all together and furthermore smartened up and decided to get sized up before my next purchase.

In the end, I came up with 3 bikes that fit my size requirements off the shelf:
- Cervelo R3 Soloist
- Trek Madone 5.2 Performance (or was it 5.9???)
- Willier Izoard

In terms of value for money and inspiration the Izoard won hands down, so thats what I recently purchased (XXL) from epic cycles, which I think someone mentioned above.

What I would recommend though is to get fitted, and then pick a frame that best fits (I got printed off the ideal frame geometry) and worked from there.

Monty Dog

For Colnago in the UK, nobody can beat Mike at Maestro - or you can pay 20% extra for the 'priviledge' or the 'official UK distributor' - which is a nonsense considering it's a EU product. My Colnago came from Mike along with most of my clubmates who have them. Mike sources his bikes via the Benelux distributor - and most of his business is to the US.