Nice call. I happen to own three Ves Mandaric bikes - a blue Mariola DL that I use as my road bike, a red Carbo tri bike, and a blue Carbo that is my dedicated trainer bike (it was destroyed in a bike-v-car, damaged so it can't be used on the road, but is fine on the trainer

I can't say enough good things about his bikes - stable as hell, perfect fit and super fast.

"Should I expect 1 mph avg. improvement? More? I hope more, but I'll try to curb the enthusiasm until I hear from guys with multiple bikes. "

Oh, expect at least 1 min per K. So for 40K you should drop 40 mins. :)

That should help you sell the spouse on the idea. Enjoy the new ride.

You'll love it. I went with Ves over a TitanFlex and have never looked back. I'm sure the TF is one sweet ride, but I LOVE my Yaqui more than a man really ought to. One of these days I'll get off my lazy ass, glue a tyre onto my new Corima disc and post a pic in the "hottest bike" thread.

I can't give you any sort of metrics on how much faster you'll be, and will also say that you'd probably be faster on any new bike due to "new bike effect" - but your Yaqui will fit you like a glove, and allow you to concentrate on putting power to the wheels, rather than squirming to get comfortable or worry about handling. Aside from stiffness (which Ves will also deliver in spades), what more can you ask for in a frame?

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Thanks for the vote of confidence. Three Yaqui's...you and slowman must own stock!

I assume that you rode something other than Yaqui's prior to hoarding. What did you ride before and how did it compare?

I was a mouse click away on three occasions from orderring a TF from Tom and this post makes me feel better about that as well. If the Yaqui doesn't work out, or $3k falls into my lap and my wife and kids don't know about it...a TF will be on the way to my door.

I road a Bianchi with clip-ons, then got the Mariola DL as a do-everything bike (over the Soloist, Giant TCR, Bianchi Carbon and Kesrel Talon SL). Then I got a year end bonus and wanted a dedicated TT bike and got a matching Carbo. That was busted up two months after I got it, and was replaced with another Carbo.

Here's another cool story about Ves, and one reason I am a very loyal customer. Last year I was training for Ironman CDA (June 27, 2004) when I was taken out by a car on June 12 - my last training ride before taper. I was mostly unhurt, but the bike was pretty messed up with ripple in the down tube and a badly dented chainstay. I sent Ves an e-mail that day, asking if he had any loaners in stock. He called me at home and after we talked for a bit, he let me know that he would be cutting the tubes for my replacement that day, and I would have it in time for the race.

The new bike met me in Idaho on June 25th, I put it together that day, checked it in the next and raced it the day after that. I really could not have been happier with the way that turned out. Some day I will go back to Ves so he can build me my dream road bike, but until then I will be more than satisfied with the bikes I already have.

A buddy of mine got a Carbo about a week before the 1/2 Vineman. He raced it with practically zero miles on it and no adaptation (he was coming from a Lemond with clip-ons) and kicked ass - PR'd the bike by 15 minutes over his 2004 Big Kahuna and 45 minutes over his 2005 Wildflower.

Ves will build me at least one more bike - the Davo. I dream about that one weekly.

I rode a Scott Waimea and a Cervelo P2 before the Yaqui. Both were way too long for me in the top tube and that was with 78 degree seat angles. On both bikes I used forward seatposts to make them rideable but the resulting handling was horrific.

At some point I decided I may need a custom bike and then I ran across the Dan Emfield article on the Geometry experiment.

So I wrote Ves and told him my dilemma and he said he could make the bike I needed. I followed his recommendations and he built a Mariola DE with an 81.5 degree seat tube and shorter top tube. On the first ride I was totally comfortable and loved the stability. Two days later I raced it to my fastest multi-sport bike split ever.

You will not regret your purchase. I expect to still be riding this bike 20 years from now.



Chad

Yaqui's are the BOMB! (How much does using that phrase show I am not cool?) Several years ago, I got my Carbo, put maybe 10 miles on it, and raced it the next day. On this particular course, there is a downhill chicane of traffic cones. Previously, and like most other riders, I had to get off the bars to make sure I could successfully navigate through the gauntlet. Not so with the Yaqui. Set a PR for myself on that bike course by a significant margin...at least partly because I maintained much more speed through this chicane due to the bike's superior handling.

"It's not the usual Time Trial bike." Plus, Mr. Mandaric is a real pleasure to work with.

Tom at TitanFlex is wonderful to work with too. I imagine Dave(?) at Elite is the same. Many of this smaller companies are run by Real Bike Riders, that treat their customers great. Oh, just to be fair, there is that Gerard fellow that runs a slightly larger company...he seems to be OK. ;-D

I can't say it's harder and harder to find a bad bike, but, it is easier to find a good one than say, 10 years ago!

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Quid quid latine dictum sit altum videtur
(That which is said in Latin sounds profound)

"Nice call. I happen to own three Ves Mandaric bikes"

between you and i we could open a mandaric concept store. funny, usually i think i need a new bike every year or two just 'cause. i'm now riding a tiphoon for aero bar riding, but i'm still riding my mandaric road bikes (i've got three of those), and i think my newest one is 4 years old, maybe 5. i have no desire to get a new road bike, and doubt that i will for several more years to come.

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

my yaqui ocotillo is now five years old and is still wonderful. if anything happens to it i'll get another.
peggy

4-5 years, that's pretty durable for the type of mileage you describe in your articles. I was hoping to get that sort of lifespan out of the bike, but I probably only ride a quarter of what you do. This may be a 16 year bike for me:-)

I am curious how you get the fit right with a Yaqui. From my understanding, he builds a bike based on your body measurements. This seems contrary to many who say that they need to see your pedaling dynamics, range of motion, etc. to design the proper bike.

And, what do you do about the final fitting, i.e. getting the right angle/length stem, aerobar position, headet spacrs, etc. Is Ves able to tell all that from the fit form and never seeing you on a bike, or are you supposed to take the bike to your LBS for that stuff?

I ask because I see myself deciding on a Yaqui Carbo or a Guru Trilite in the next year or so. THX.

" 4-5 years, that's pretty durable for the type of mileage you describe in your articles."

keep in mind i have three of these, a campy record, a dura ace, and the third is a frame that isn't built up right now but has gotten its share of miles. and these are the road bikes. quite a bit of the time i'm on the tri bike. so the mileage gets spread around. still, the bikes ride as if they were new, so they may be 16yr bikes for me as well.

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

"This seems contrary to many who say that they need to see your pedaling dynamics, range of motion"

i'm not much for the pedaling dynamics and range of motion. imho they are generally not impactful on the final product (i know that others violently disagree with this, but whatever). there is one element about the ves' experience, you pretty much have to know in advance how you want to ride, that is, how steep or shallow, and i think that's somewhat going to be the case whether it's road or tri, but esp w/tri. i think you have to decide that first, going in.

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

[reply]Ves will build me at least one more bike - the Davo. I dream about that one weekly.[/reply]

I've heard this mentioned here before, but have not seen it on either of Ves' websites... What's the story on the Davo?

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http://forum.slowtwitch.com/gforum.cgi?post=414931;search_string=search_string;#414931

This is the Davo.

Go Yaqui go! You will not regret your purchase! I bought a Carbo in 2004 and it's been a great bike. Definitely fast and fits me very well. Plus Ves is a good guy to deal with, Eastern European rockstar. To me this bike has soul, especially in Euro Red! Some people might wonder why buy an aluminum bike these days with carbon being all the rage. Total BS, leave them in a cloud of dust staring at the beautiful rear end of your Yaqui. Bwahaha!

All of a sudden I like the bike I don't own yet a little less!!!!

Davo is $4,995 for the frame and fork, custom three color paint included. It will be tough to convince the wife that I need one - especially since the bikes I already own are so, well, great...

I did exactly the same thing last weekend, but mine will be a road bike, which will see most use in crits and a handful of road races. Cant wait to see his drawings and measurements. I am leaving it up to him as regards all the angles and tube measurements. Will even take his recomendation on tubing.

My wife has had her Yaqui DL for an entire race season and cant say enough good things about it. When we went to pick it up in January the moment she got on the bike I knew it fit her perfectly. She has ridden it 9 days of out 10 through the summer and raced just about every week to more than a few podium spots.

Her method of valuation for expensive items is now based on the Yaqui currency, for instance if a wedding dress cost $5,000 it will be equivelent to a Yaqui with Record and Zipps or close to it. We had that exact conversation this afternoon after attending a wedding ceremony this morning!

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__________________________________________________
Simple Simon
Where's the Fried Chicken??

Hey I will soon be a card carrying member of the Yaqui/Ves club in Vancouver. Sent in the depoist and the measurements and waiting to hear back

p/s it will not be the same colour as the other two!

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__________________________________________________
Simple Simon
Where's the Fried Chicken??

Ah yes - I remember that one now... (How could I forget?) I didn't know it was called "Davo" though...

I have at least one more Mandaric bike in my future, possibly many. But not likely for a few years at least.

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<If you're gonna be dumb, you gotta be tough>
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NICE! I can't wait to see the geometry diagrams, discussion threads and rants. ;-)

Have you specified anything at all, or just given him a blank slate (and cheque)?


Now of course you realize that you have no excuse when the wife kicks your ass...

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<If you're gonna be dumb, you gotta be tough>
Get Fitter!
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left all geometry issues to him - once I told him what my main usage will be - crit and road racing, not IM/all day comfort type riding.

However I did specify, a) not to design around a Thompson set back post (for no other reason other than I dont like the way it looks), B) if custom compact is the recommended option then (if possible) the slope of the top tube and the stem to match (again for the way it looks). And finally, not a spec as such, but that I have a tendency to break bike related items on a regular basis, so ultralight is not really a major design specification! I would make a good alternative to the pro riders for product testing!

I have the ok to go for full Chorus, not sure about the race wheels yet. Also I rather not go with the carbon rear.

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__________________________________________________
Simple Simon
Where's the Fried Chicken??