How much did you spend on your last bike? What frame material did you choose? Was it a road, mtb, gravel or something else? Was it custom fabricated and built for you? Some folks balk at even the thought of custom assuming the cost for a tailor made frame to be beyond their budget. While this may be true for some, in a world of $15,000+ hyper bikes, custom is a more affordable option than you may think.
Depending on your needs a custom made bike could be well within your budget, as well as ideal for your specific fit. Steel and titanium are the two most common custom bike materials and, as you may know, steel is the more economical option. I’ll be talking steel since it’s my material of choice at Magnolia.
Cyclists look to custom frames for many reasons. Some can’t find a stock size that fits their needs. Some can’t find a geometry that suits their riding style. Others just love the thought of owning a one of a kind, handcrafted bicycle with all the details they have always dreamed of.
Let’s say you are a road or gravel cyclist. You ride three or more times a week with some bigger rides on the weekends. You love your bike and you’ve had a fit but there’s something you just can’t put your finger on when it comes to the feel of the bike. So you go out and try a few other brands and models but nothing really blows your hair back. You study the numbers and find you like x about one bike and y about another and z about yet another but no bike you look at has all three. This could be a perfect scenario for a custom bike.
So let’s talk about the elephant in the shop, price. If you want a frame with custom geometry and fit with a single color paint and contrasting logo, a Magnolia will start at $2,500. Let’s add $500 for a carbon fork and you are at $3,000. A carbon gravel frame from one of the big brands is going to set you back $2,400 or so. Not too much difference. Sure, weight will be different but weight isn’t the most important factor in choosing a bike for most people.
Once you’ve decided on your components, which will cost virtually the same no matter what frame you choose, a custom bike can cost the same or in some cases less than a model from a large manufacturer. This blog post isn’t intended to sway you to buy a custom frame. I hope it shed some light on just the thought of custom and provides a little transparency in the bike building process.