Cielo Rosso Bikes
Simmo72
Posts: 262
Just wanted to give a round of applause and big up to Neil at Cielo Rosso Bikes.
I started looking for a Ti road frame back in December last year and toyed around with some of the established names, both custom and off the peg. Reading up a lot I found that most of the stuff apart from top, top end was coming out of china so I though what about going direct. This led me to further reading and whilst the outcome was often good in both quality and price, there were also some horror stories.
Then I came across Neil @ Cielo Rosso Bikes. A pleasant conversation with Neil made up my mind I wanted to go through him. The company is new, it’s in its early stages but I felt confident that this was what I wanted. Cielo Rosso are covering a market of people who want a custom Ti bike, don’t want to spend big brand prices but also don’t want the hassle of dealing direct with a manufacturer thousands of miles away and in a different time zone & language who you don’t know.
Neil has built a good reputation with a frame builder in China and being a UK company mitigates a lot of risk, so I took the plunge.
I had a good idea of what I wanted but working with Neil and the builder, we went through 4 or 5 revisions before we got it right (it’s a black art). Neil’s knowledge came across well and he helped get to a final version, all rather painless but very interesting.
Once a deposit was paid, it was just a case of waiting.
Neil also helped out with some of the other components. I was building this up using some existing bits (maybe chorus group set next year, bank willing) but he sourced a fitted Chris King headset, a set of Columbus forks, some freebie extra blue bling, fitted bottom bracket, snazzy ti bottle cages, all at what can only be described as online matching prices or in some cases even better.
Unfortunately the frame was delivered the day after I wiped myself out on some gravel and because of injuries I couldn’t even begin to build the frame up for 4 weeks…..bugger.
Finally I got there and I have to say I am very happy. Injuries persist but I have been able to ride 5 or 6 times, whilst also using another Ti frame from a well-known brand as a comparison. The result is a great bike. Its stiff, compliant, slightly springy, but not flexible. It feels a hell of a of lot light than my other Ti and it handles well. I am very happy with this. The welding is top notch, it looks comparable to a friend’s enigma. The graphics are subtle and look good. In a nutshell it is what I wanted.
£800 for a custom double butted ti frame, you really cannot knock it one bit. All the measurements stack up, as do all the finishing touches – internal rear brake cable, removable gear hanger (all included in price) and all of the threads are perfect.
So this is to give Neil a good write up, I can recommend him thoroughly and wish him all the best with his business (I expect I’ll be back at some point for a new winter bike). Please bear in mind that Neil is still building up the business and it will take a while – expect 10-14 weeks for the whole process depending on how quickly you get the drawings agreed. Providing you can wait, it’s well worth it but I wouldn’t have thought this deviates much from any other custom build.
My only issue has been the Columbus fork which has no bearing on Cielo Rosso. It is slightly out of alignment and will not accept a wheel easily. Neil is sorting by sending out a new one as soon as it arrives, not waiting for me to send the faulty one back, great customer service.
Yep, it’s a big bike and isn’t to everyone’s taste, but I’m a tall chap and it’s a one off.
230 head tube (74)
59.5 effective top tube
60 set tube (72.5)
A slightly longer chain stay for comfort
A slightly oversized downtube for stiffness – it works well
I started looking for a Ti road frame back in December last year and toyed around with some of the established names, both custom and off the peg. Reading up a lot I found that most of the stuff apart from top, top end was coming out of china so I though what about going direct. This led me to further reading and whilst the outcome was often good in both quality and price, there were also some horror stories.
Then I came across Neil @ Cielo Rosso Bikes. A pleasant conversation with Neil made up my mind I wanted to go through him. The company is new, it’s in its early stages but I felt confident that this was what I wanted. Cielo Rosso are covering a market of people who want a custom Ti bike, don’t want to spend big brand prices but also don’t want the hassle of dealing direct with a manufacturer thousands of miles away and in a different time zone & language who you don’t know.
Neil has built a good reputation with a frame builder in China and being a UK company mitigates a lot of risk, so I took the plunge.
I had a good idea of what I wanted but working with Neil and the builder, we went through 4 or 5 revisions before we got it right (it’s a black art). Neil’s knowledge came across well and he helped get to a final version, all rather painless but very interesting.
Once a deposit was paid, it was just a case of waiting.
Neil also helped out with some of the other components. I was building this up using some existing bits (maybe chorus group set next year, bank willing) but he sourced a fitted Chris King headset, a set of Columbus forks, some freebie extra blue bling, fitted bottom bracket, snazzy ti bottle cages, all at what can only be described as online matching prices or in some cases even better.
Unfortunately the frame was delivered the day after I wiped myself out on some gravel and because of injuries I couldn’t even begin to build the frame up for 4 weeks…..bugger.
Finally I got there and I have to say I am very happy. Injuries persist but I have been able to ride 5 or 6 times, whilst also using another Ti frame from a well-known brand as a comparison. The result is a great bike. Its stiff, compliant, slightly springy, but not flexible. It feels a hell of a of lot light than my other Ti and it handles well. I am very happy with this. The welding is top notch, it looks comparable to a friend’s enigma. The graphics are subtle and look good. In a nutshell it is what I wanted.
£800 for a custom double butted ti frame, you really cannot knock it one bit. All the measurements stack up, as do all the finishing touches – internal rear brake cable, removable gear hanger (all included in price) and all of the threads are perfect.
So this is to give Neil a good write up, I can recommend him thoroughly and wish him all the best with his business (I expect I’ll be back at some point for a new winter bike). Please bear in mind that Neil is still building up the business and it will take a while – expect 10-14 weeks for the whole process depending on how quickly you get the drawings agreed. Providing you can wait, it’s well worth it but I wouldn’t have thought this deviates much from any other custom build.
My only issue has been the Columbus fork which has no bearing on Cielo Rosso. It is slightly out of alignment and will not accept a wheel easily. Neil is sorting by sending out a new one as soon as it arrives, not waiting for me to send the faulty one back, great customer service.
Yep, it’s a big bike and isn’t to everyone’s taste, but I’m a tall chap and it’s a one off.
230 head tube (74)
59.5 effective top tube
60 set tube (72.5)
A slightly longer chain stay for comfort
A slightly oversized downtube for stiffness – it works well
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Comments
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Cheers. Yep, that's for sure. When I spoke to Neil last he was taking an order for someone who was 6ft 10. The headtube is long because I am long! If I could ride lower then I would but I have to blame my parents for that as well as the idiot yoof driver who drove into me and removed some of my flexibility (though it did fund this purchase). I think it is better to have a taller headtube than a load of spacers and -heaven forbid- an inverted stem. If your frame stem is inverted on a road bike, your frame is too possibly too small but if it works then what the hell. Its not like I have the bars up to my ear lobes, there is still a pretty big saddle>bar drop but its how I like it.
The main reason for posting was to get give Ceilo Rosso a recommendation, custom design at an affordable price. Sure, some will choke at going to China, but with -allegedly- some Enigma-, Van Nicholas and even the ever popular Justin Burls doing the same its the way its going, and lets face nearly all production carbon and alu is coming out of China or Taiwan. They know what they are doing.
I did ponder on have a shorter chainstay but I enjoy my roubaix and this is roughly modelled on a 61 size frame. Halfway between roubaix and tarmac territory and with the state of todays British roads, its makes for a comfortable ride and if I want to I can stick on some 28mm tyres.....obviously no mudguard fixtures, that would ruin it!0 -
Its a beautiful bicycle, who cares what anyone else says, its yours. I like the look of your components on the Ti frameset, kind of a classic appearance. Well done, sir, well done.Lets just got for a ride, the heck with all this stuff...0
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Looks great - slammed (130mm?) stem, setback seatpost, horizontal top tube, trimmed cables. Everything you need to make a bike aesthetically pleasing. Better than most of the monstrosities that get posted on this forum!0
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madasahattersley wrote:Too many people set their bikes up around how good the bike looks when nobody's riding it.
Indeed.
That's a lovely looking bike. Could you take a couple more pics and some close ups of the frame please?
“Training is like fighting with a gorilla. You don’t stop when you’re tired. You stop when the gorilla is tired.”0 -
Thank you. I went for semi compact (as much as you can compactify a big frame). Its a bit of a mongrel of parts at the moment, but at least that means its a 1 off! It felt right adding shiny alloy rather than black, though both look good on titanium
Very light Columbus minimal fork, great with an external headset
chris king nothreadset
2006 record 177.5 53/39 chainset
Chorus rear mech - 2006?
veloce front mech, couldn't be bothered to spend any more, it does the job well
centaur shifters & centaur skeleton brakes (braking performance is questionable, especially the rear)
Flite saddle, why change?
The new 105 carbon pedals - really good, didn't think the old ones could be beaten but I was wrong
120 deda 100 stem - purely coincidence but it matches the ti perfectly
Mavic Ksyrium elites, though planning on getting some A23 rims on novatec hubs next year.
It's a mix of spares, lifted from the frame it repalced, new and good old ebay. My friend is going to be selling his 2007 record brakes and rear mech and shifters......sorely tempted
So far, everything all in (down to the bar tape) the total cost is £1700. Careful buying on ebay, some nos, some good quality second hand and a few mates rates (like the wheels). Dread to think what it would have cost full price buying a big brand frame.
I'll take some close ups when I get a chance and put them on the post. thanks for looking.0 -
How tall are you? What's your saddle height?0
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(ish) measurements
height 194cm (6ft 4)
real leg, not trouser measurement 99cm (39")
Saddle height 87-87.5cm, might be able to lower it a fraction because of the longer crank arms.0 -
chainset0
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the bike is tucked away in bits as I'm waiting for the replacement fork to arrive, but a few close up pics -in bad light- of the welds etc.0
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a few more0
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Great bike, looks good for a big bike.
Think this business model will become more popular in the future.eating parmos since 1981
Canyon Ultimate CF SLX Aero 09
Cervelo P5 EPS
www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=40044&t=130387990 -
Anyone have a contact for Cielo Rosso? They don't appear to have a website?0
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I have a ciello rosso disc frame bike....bought it xmas 2014, unfortunatelly i dont think neils webiste is in use anymore.
Here is niels email address
Cielorossobikes@hotmail.co.uk0
