Sure, it wasn't cheap, but it wasn't meant to be. It was built to be the best bike for this rider, holding back nothing, to create something more than just a bike off of a rack. About 8 weeks after the original design was done, the bike is complete and it's beautiful.
The 2012 SRAM Red gruppo seems to be an enormous jump in the right direction for our local buddies. The brakes originally concerned me with their design, the single pivot when announced made me think "Zero Gravity" which meant light but terrible feel. The 2012 Red brakes actually work really well, though.
Front shifting is also vastly improved which was sorely needed. Previous SRAM Red was at the bottom of the front-shifting list when compared to Campy and Shimano, but the new Yaw front derailleur and stiffened chainrings lead to quality front shifting.
Rear shifting from Red was already very good, but 2012 Red gives you a bit of a sexier look and light action. The new design looks great and shifts well, what more could you ask for?
Ergonomics were already quite good with previous generation Red, though it's extremely personal. The new "wedge" system with gel inserts does ease the transition from the lever to the bars, which was an issue for some.
And oversized bottom bracket is a necessity for a bike like this. There's no reason to build a race bike custom without including this as it can be adopted to standard 24mm cranks or you can use the 30mm cranks made for BB30.
A shot of the 2012 Red Yaw front derailleur, the matching braze-on clamp, and the impressively-machined titanium front derailleur shims from IF
Mad Fiber carbon clincher wheelset. Love it or hate it, their weight is nice and the stiffness is there.
The ENVE 2.0 fork was perfectly painted to match the frame, nothing less than perfection will come out of the Independent paint booth.
Another shot of the inside of the fork legs painted to match the scheme on the bike.
The rear dropouts get an etched treatment on each side and are masked from paint to keep that exposed for everyone sucking your wheel to read.
The rear hub shell on the Mad Fiber wheels is made of carbon and totally sexy, whether it's your style or not. You have to appreciate the amount of work that goes into molding these things.
Skewers are a nice place to make an impact, and Mad Fiber took the opportunity to do so. Titanium and carbon, incredibly sexy.
A shot showing the custom paintwork done to match the Prologo saddle to the stem to the bike to the fork. A scheme perfectly carried throughout the entire bike.
A bit more detail on the saddle, which is a great touch you don't see often. Incredible care was taken to ensure that everything went together.
Ti FLW logo found on the carbon seat mast of each frame out of Somerville. You won't see many, soak it in.
The standard sterling silver head tube badge is all class...and not cheap.
A couple cockpit shots to show the custom-painted Zipp SL Speed stem matching the scheme on the bike. Matte black and gloss orange everywhere.
The new down tube script is quickly becoming a favorite on the frames we've been designing.
This seat mast topper is of course custom, but probably more custom than most. We needed slightly less set-back than the stock hand-made offering, so IF came up with a custom design for us.
