Ok so after a long drought of not posting i decided to get at it again.
Last Night we had a Vendor Expo for the tri club here in San Fran. Among the many companies that showed up, 1 cought my attention. Prior to posting i did some research about Beyond Fab and here are some key things:
OPEN MOLD FRAMENOT PLANET X MANY OTHER COMPANIES HAVE THE SAME FRAME WITH DIFFERENT LABELS****COST CAN VARY ON HIS FRAMES SOMETIMES ON THE HIGH SIDEITU ATHLETE BRIAN FLEISCHMANN RIDES ONE
Now with that being said i want to know if anyone has ever ridden one of these frames (not xlab or other labels but specifically BEYOND). And if so what are there thoughts on it. At 16.5 pounds for a full build with SRAM it sure sounds appealing. The prices being offered yesterday were much less that what is on his website and much more in-line with whats currently available from other manufacturers. Also, people have mentioned in the past he sells his frames more expensive than what other companies with the same frame are selling them at, but the point of this post is not discuss price but to get feedback on the use of this frame. These frames lack the engineering design that other TOP companies have but then again isn’t Aero mostly about fit and rider position (its the engine not the car right??) So all things being equal whats the deal with BEYOND FABRICATIONS?!?!
Jim who either owns or is a part of Beyond pops up now and again.
Thanks for the reminder, he keeps posting a photo of this wheel that’s a smack dab copy of a 15 year old campy wheel and I asked him about 10 questions about the thing and I don’t think he answered. I need to go bump it.(bumped old wheel thread). And I’m back.
Lets face it. Body position does matter more; but it’s not a one or the other situation. You can have both and there are bikes from bigger companies, with lower price tags with great geometry that I would place more trust in.
If I were going to go for some generic open mold frame I would go for the X-Lab/Dalkia over the frame that beyond is using but that’s just my opinion.
It has always puzzled me that a brand that doesn’t fabricate anything calls themselves xxxxxx fabrications. It is a bit of an insult to a company like Independent Fab.
SOOTAEB “selling out of trunks at expos bicycles” might be more appropriate.
yeah i agree. The matte carbon finish did look slick! As far as design is concerned i personally think its not all that bad looking, rear triangle resembles the Felt’s.
Ahhhh…I was way off base as at first I was looking at the wheels on the bike, not the wheel on its own that is a blatant copy of the campy front track wheel. My failure there.
I’m not trying to promote here, but Jim is a down to earth nice guy, and he is very willing to help out aspiring Triathletes.
In 06, my first Kona (and Ironman) his TT bike, the blink, took me to a 4:46. I though it rode very smooth, moreso than my aluminum soloist, and was plenty stiff. About the same compliance as a P3C. I think his bikes look pretty simple and stealth, and it was actually pretty light, came in at sub 16lbs with his race wheels. Cable routing was kinda cumbersome, interal with some housing stop inserts, simmilar to a P3, but all run through the top tube.
No complaints about his bikes, even if they are generic.
jh
That bike looks Euro cruiser slack. Some of these seat posts out there now that try to compensate just plain freak me out.
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The Supernatural frame has a 76 degree seat tube angle.
With an Adamo saddle in the forward position, you can easily attain an 82 degree seat tube angle.
At 16.5 pounds for a full build with SRAM it sure sounds appealing. The prices being offered yesterday were much less that what is on his website and much more in-line with whats currently available from other manufacturers.
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The bike in your pictures would actually weigh 14.5 pounds if the chain and cables were installed.
Here are the specifications for that bike:
Supernatural carbon time trial frame, 50cm (The frame in the picture weighed exactly 1,299 grams)
Supernatural carbon aero seatpost
Supernatural carbon aero fork
FSA 50mm internal headset
SRAM Red rear derailleur
SRAM Red front derailleur, braze-on
SRAM TT900 carbon bar-end shifters
SRAM Red carbon crankset, 53x39, 170mm
Beyond outboard bottom bracket for SRAM cranks with Phil Wood’s “Carbonyte” bearings, English thread
Beyond aluminum race cassette, 11-23 (106 grams)
SRAM RED 1090R chain
Cinelli bar tape
Easton Attack TT carbon aero bar
Deda Newton 26 stem
SRAM carbon aero brake levers
Zero Gravity Ti brakes
Selle Italia SLR saddle
Beyond 50mm carbon tubular race wheels
Continental Podium 22mm tires
The current price for this bike is about $4,300.
MANY OTHER COMPANIES HAVE THE SAME FRAME WITH DIFFERENT LABELS
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Do you know any other companies that have a frame that is the same as the Supernatural?
ITU ATHLETE BRIAN FLEISCHMANN RIDES ONE
So does Peter Kotland and Victor Plata. I do not pay any athletes to ride my bikes.
These frames lack the engineering design that other TOP companies have
I’d beg to disagree with you. Only the highest quality carbon is used. Our rolldown testing has shown that our frames are just as fast as any of the well-known brands. We have never had a frame failure due to a manufacturing defect (How many companies can say that?).
It has always puzzled me that a brand that doesn’t fabricate anything calls themselves xxxxxx fabrications. It is a bit of an insult to a company like Independent Fab.
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I oversee the production of all of our custom frames, including our $68,000 beryllium road frames. I glued the last one up myself.
These frames lack the engineering design that other TOP companies have
I’d beg to disagree with you. Only the highest quality carbon is used. Our rolldown testing has shown that our frames are just as fast as any of the well-known brands. We have never had a frame failure due to a manufacturing defect (How many companies can say that?).
But you (or other companies) do not test the carbon itself. This is all done in Taiwan. So, you’re choosing the same carbon as other companies.
You can’t compare the testing you do with the testing done by Cervelo and Trek for instance. Not even close. Why? Simply because your budgets are not even close. It’s like comparing the budget of the Canutillo Eagles with the NE Patriots.
It’s also a lot easier to have far less manufacturing failures than other brands, simply because of the number of bikes sold.
That doesn’t say anything of the quality of your bikes vs others though.
They are an ADK frame set so yes, I know of many many other companies who use the exact same frame set. I appreciate that you obviously have a good company but please dont promote your bike as a unique frame set.
It has always puzzled me that a brand that doesn’t fabricate anything calls themselves xxxxxx fabrications. It is a bit of an insult to a company like Independent Fab.
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I oversee the production of all of our custom frames, including our $68,000 beryllium road frames. I glued the last one up myself.
