My new Condor Fratello

bobmcstuff

I have been riding a 2012 Giant Defy 2 (alu) which I got on cyclescheme at the end of 2012. Decided I wanted a winter bike, but also I might want to do some light touring next year so ended up settling on a Fratello (will take better pics soon, phone pics for now):



Frame: Condor Fratello, Slate, 52cm
Forks: Condor Pioggio Carbon
Bars: Condor Strada
Stem: Condor Strada
Headset: Condor branded
Bar Tape: Brooks Leather

Front Brake Lever: Tiagra
Front Caliper: Condor long drop
Rear Brake Lever: Tiagra
Rear Caliper: Condor long drop

Shifters: Tiagra
Cables: Tiagra
Front Mech: Tiagra
Rear Mech: Tiagra

Seat: Brooks B17
Seat Post: Condor Strada
Seat Post Clamp: Condor Strada

Cranks: Tiagra
Chainring(s): Tiagra compact
Chain: Tiagra 10sp
Cassette: Tiagra 10sp 12-30
Pedals: XT (yes I ride SPDs... Went for caged ones on this so I can ride it in normal shoes if needed)
Bottom Bracket: Tiagra

Wheelset:
Rim: Condor Strada Miche
Spokes: ?
Hub: Condor Strada Miche
Tube: ?
Tire: Continental GP4 Seasons in 28c flavour

Accessories: Elite Ciussi Inox bottle cages

Weight: 11.1kg, a little heavier than I thought. Makes it 2.2kg heavier than my Defy.

Other info:
First off it definitely said 9 speed on the build list when I bought it, but having looked in more detail it's definitely Tiagra 10sp

Seb at Condor was really helpful in helping me choose the bike/build, sizing etc and very responsive on emails and over the phone. As it was mail order I obviously couldn't try it out but he asked a lot of questions about my measurements and the setup of my Defy and suggested what frame size and bar/stem combo to go with. Also I was told that I might not be getting the bike for another couple of weeks, so was caught completely off guard when it arrived today - according to my colleagues it was like having a small child in the office

Only possible negative is a bit of damage to the Brooks bar tape and end caps during delivery:

I couldn't see any damage to the box so my thinking is that maybe the box was kept upside down for a time and the bike was resting on the end cap. In any case Seb kindly offered to send me a new set of bar tape and end caps, which I really can't complain about as the damage is mostly cosmetic.

There's no getting around the fact that this is one of the cheapest possible Fratello builds - the only real "premium" parts (apart from the frame) are the Brooks saddle and tape. I did look at some more expensive builds, but I decided that it wasn't worth getting fancy wheels and groupset on a winter bike, and if I do decide to do much touring I might want different wheels for that. My Defy has Tiagra and that's run faultlessly so I just decided to keep the same.
Plus, I already have a set of Zondas on my Defy which I can always borrow if I decide I need lighter wheels for whatever reason (I have Tiagra 10sp on that one as well so should be interchangeable).

All in all very happy with the service from Condor - wasn't planning to go cycling today, but going to have to go for a quick one to try it out...

Of course this does mean my winter bike is now worth more than my "summer" bike... Wonder what I'll be getting next year

bobmcstuff

Quick 27km down. I did a really hard circuit training workout thingy yesterday and I cycled Sunday-Monday-Tuesday, so my legs were feeling pretty tired (and actually so are most of my other muscles after yesterday!), so I don't think I would have got a fair speed comparison with my Defy - but definitely feels a bit slower off the mark and up hills. Strava says I was about 3km/h slower than normal but it was pretty windy, and I stopped a few times to muck about with the setup.

However it's also incredibly smooth, I don't know how much of it is the tyres being slightly bigger (28c as opposed to 25c on the other bike) and how much is the frame, but it's such a comfy ride! Feels like you could just keep going and going.

logitech208

That's very nice.

marcusjb

Can't go wrong with a Fratello. Great frameset.

MountainMonster

Very retro cool. I need a bike along those lines for commuting in all weather, but budget doesn't stretch.

Does it have rack mounts? Sorry if I missed you mentioning it in the post.

bobmcstuff

Yup sure does - can take a rack and guards. Reckon I could get 32c tyres in as well

ti_yred

That's lovely Bob!
How do you find the Condor long drop brakes? Any particular reason for choosing them over other available long drops? I'm assuming colour match may have been one?

bobmcstuff

Well I've only done a short ride on it so far and the brakes feel fine, nice and powerful - but still clean rims and new pads so bound to feel OK.

Main reason I chose them was because the Condor bike builder only has two long drop options, both of which are Condor... And these ones were the cheapest

ti_yred

bobmcstuff wrote:

Well I've only done a short ride on it so far and the brakes feel fine, nice and powerful - but still clean rims and new pads so bound to feel OK.

Main reason I chose them was because the Condor bike builder only has two long drop options, both of which are Condor... And these ones were the cheapest

Fair play

mikenetic

Condor long drops are (or certainly used to be) rebadged Tektros. On the pair we have you can see the Tektro product number cast into the caliper arm. The good news is Tektro long drops are pretty decent.

MountainMonster

I've had good experience with Tektro brakes. For the money they are super. Great to hear it has rack mounts too. Perfect winter/commute bike!

bobmcstuff

Commuting? I live a nice 12 minute stroll from work so I won't be doing any of that nonsense

Planning some light touring on it next year, and maybe some longer distance day stuff... Maybe.

ianbar

i like this bike, i might make it my next purchase too, a good do it all set up.

bobmcstuff

Did a 140km on it yesterday out over Cairn o Mount which is the biggest hill local to me. Has a couple of 16% sections.

I could definitely feel the extra couple of kilos over my other bike on the climbs, but other than that it was great and on the flatter/rolling parts it didn't seem to affect my average speed too much.

It is really comfortable, felt a lot better after that distance than I normally do in terms of random minor aches/pains. Found the Brooks really comfortable too, I think probably due to the larger surface area? It's my first time using one, took me a while to get the angle dialled in as I kept feeling like I was slipping off the front.

bobmcstuff

Felt like a bit of a change for the spring:



Took the mudguards off and stuck my Zondas on off the Defy. Comes in at 9.9kg so it's almost exactly 1kg heavier than the Defy with the same wheels/groupset, not so bad really. I should really be riding the Defy as it's supposed to be my summer bike but I'm doing a hundred miler tomorrow and the Condor is more comfortable over long distances than the Defy. Also riding the Etape Loch Ness next week and the Condor with Zondas is more blingy than the Defy so that's another reason

Mark Alexander

I'm considering a Condor Fratello frame for a general build using a Brooks saddle, Ultergra/DA chainset from my TT frame. I'd love to know what you think of the Fratello now that you've had it for 7 months.

bobmcstuff

Hi Mark, sorry I missed this - just came back on to check the bike weight!

I've had it for a while now as you say and have done 1700km on it including two imperial centuries and a bunch of metric centuries, and I'm going touring on it this weekend (tents and everything!).

I had a few fit issues on longer rides where I had too much weight going through my hands, but I've sorted that now by moving the saddle a bit and it's been really comfortable since. It's probably partly the 28c tyres and the Condor wheels, but even when I was on the zondas and 25c tyres it felt notably more comfortable than my alu Defy with the same wheels. You can get a pretty low aggressive position on it if you want to, to my non-expert eye it has quite a short head tube, definitely compared to my Defy anyway. I had to relax it a bit.

To be honest that build sounds lovely - I'm pretty jealous! Depending on what else you put on the build you could probably get close-ish to 9kg, mine was 9.9 with the zondas and no mudguards. I really like mine, the defy is obviously lighter and feels a bit nippier maybe but the fratello is much easier to love.

Mark Alexander

Thanks very much, I've secured a frame in stock at County Cycles in Cross Hands who are a dealer for condor. They have included a 4 hr bike fit. All I have to do is strip (the bikes) then convince the wife to drive the components and myself to the shop an hour away......

bobmcstuff

Touring mode...

mroli

Lovely. The Fratello is such a great "do it all" bike...

RideOnTime

yes

bobmcstuff

So 5.5 years and 27,500km later, just done a fairly major update! (well, a month ago now, but I forgot about this thread)

I had been thinking about getting another bike but actually I really like this frame and can't really see the point in changing it.



Upgrades: Pretty much everything now...

Wheels: Pro-Lite Bortola
Shifters: Dura-Ace 9000 (off a mate, pre R-series)
Rear mech: Ultegra 11
Front mech: 105, changed that a while ago as the other one broke
Finishing kit: Deda

The Brooks got nicked by my now-wife ages ago. I was using a Specialized Toupe for most of the last 4 years but last year I lost a bit of weight in lockdown and the saddle decided that it hated me, so switched to the Selle Italia Novus after trying it on my turbo trainer bike.

New weight: 9 kilos.

Longest ride: 303km
Hilliest ride: 3,700m (C2C)
Longest tour: Hebridean Way plus Skye etc.
Also ridden for everything from chaingangs to club runs to light gravel rides and sportives.

Ben6899

I love this.

pblakeney

Mine bought in 2011. Pretty much as bought with Chorus and Deda.
Replace the Selle Italia saddle with a Brooks C13 and wheels went from Mavic Open Pro on Record hubs (destroyed by water/poor maintenance 🤬) to disposable whatever is on offer wheels. Currently Scirocco/Khamsin.

bobmcstuff

pblakeney said:

Mine bought in 2011. Pretty much as bought with Chorus and Deda.
Replace the Selle Italia saddle with a Brooks C13 and wheels went from Mavic Open Pro on Record hubs (destroyed by water/poor maintenance 🤬) to disposable whatever is on offer wheels. Currently Scirocco/Khamsin.

Nice! Love that colour. Been thinking about a respray on mine as there are a few chips in the paint now...

I think the "stock" choices were the dark grey/black, orange, or a powder blue when I got mine. I did think about getting a custom colour at the time as it was only £300 but I think there was a 6 week wait or something.

carl_p

Nice classic bike. Looks so much better with the black seatpost and stem imo. Perhaps change the seatpost clamp to black as well? A Thomson clamp would look good.

bobmcstuff

You're right, a black clamp probably would look better.

I need to do a Wiggle order anyway

domdom1980

I've just seen this post and it turns out I'm getting my fratello frame (stone blue) delivered tomorrow!

I'm going to build mine up with campag chorus 12 speed, deda stem, bars and seat post and I've got some Miche 36 rims to go on it (trying to keep the Italian theme)

Hope I enjoy mine as much as you have yours!

elbowloh

domdom1980 said:

I've just seen this post and it turns out I'm getting my fratello frame (stone blue) delivered tomorrow!

I'm going to build mine up with campag chorus 12 speed, deda stem, bars and seat post and I've got some Miche 36 rims to go on it (trying to keep the Italian theme)

Hope I enjoy mine as much as you have yours!

Hope you've bought the components already, particularly the groupset, they're like hen's teeth at the moment

domdom1980

Fortunately enough Elbowloh I ordered it all in March and it is being delivered tomorrow with the frame (all coming from Condor) given the current state of supply a couple of months wait is not too bad!