Materials
Why custom?
How long does it take?
What kind of bikes do you make?
Do you sell complete bikes or just frames?
What colors can I choose from?
Who does the powder coating?
Why powder coating?
Weight
How long have you been building?

Materials
I build using heat treated steel alloy frame tubing, sometimes adding carbon fiber seat stays.  The tubing is very high strength and subsequently is drawn quite thin, resulting in a light frame with a lively ride.  There are more tube sizes, shapes, thicknesses, and alloys available in steel than other frame materials, which allows for greater selection and matching the tubeset to the rider's needs.  Steel is very durable, as it is very tough and has a long fatigue life.  Today's alloys are more corrosion resistant than ever and when the outside is powdercoated and the inside is treated with Framesaver it is literally "covered" and protected from the elements.  The weight of steel frames is lower than in years past,  but not as light as super light aluminum, titanium, or carbon fiber frames, a steel frame is a couple of clif bars heavier - not much.  Where steel excels is durability, ride, and tunability.  The FEEL OF STEEL has long been revered and for good reason.  Today's tubing is better than ever.  A good steel frame has a life to it, it responds to acceleration with a liveliness that is not found in Aluminum or carbon.  It allows the rider to read the road surface, understanding it's texture without being rattled by it.  The subtle springiness to the material is helpful in corners where the bike doesn't skip across the surface, but solidly tracks through giving enough information to the rider to read the corner and react.  I select tubing appropriate for the design of each bike from Columbus Life and Spirit Niobium alloyed tubes, Columbus Zona Nivachrome alloyed tubes, True Temper OX Platinum and Verus Heat Treated, and sometimes tubing from Dedacciai and Nova.  Carbon fiber seat stays are used on some road and cyclocross bikes.

Here is an example of a carbon seat stay on a cyclocross bike.

Visit the Columbus web site

Why custom?
The short answer is that a custom bicycle is the most rewarding. There are many reasons for this. The primary reason is fit. Many think of the custom bicycle owner as the person who is particularly tall or short, or has long/short arms/legs, or an injury they are dealing with. While those folks certainly will benefit from a custom bike, they aren't the only ones who would benefit from a properly fitting bicycle. The current carbon fiber fad, as well as the cost effectiveness campaigns of big bike companies, has reduced the number of frame sizes to what you can count on one hand. Sloping top tubes and short/tall stems do not solve the dilemma of fitting the riding population on a handful of sizes. Like Flavor Flav says, "don't believe the hype!"

With custom geometry I can start with a proper fit, add in appropriately sized bars, stem, saddle, and seat post, and then design the frame around this. It’s really the job of the frame to work for the rider, not the job of the rider to contort to a long/short frame, or a stem to fill the gap. So with the custom bike, the rider has a comfortable position, an efficient position for delivery of power, a position and design that supports the favorable front/rear weight distribution upon which stable and precise handling depends, and it all looks great!

Custom design allows for special requests and fine tuning. For example a rider might want their cables routed a certain way, or mounts for a rear rack, or a bottle opener on the dropout, or a bike that is particularly stable, or a bike that responds to every bit of sudden acceleration; it’s all available. The customer gets to select components that they prefer, and a finish for the frame that turns them on, a myriad of colors are available. All this happens through a conversation directly with me, the builder of your bike. I hope that we have a good time with it and learn something along the way.

Paul dropouts with built in chain tensioners for your groovy single speed.  Note:  this bike got rear rack mounts brazed onto the dropouts.

How long does it take?
Expect the whole process to last about 3 months.  I can give you an estimate of when your bike will be ready based on how many I have in the cue ahead of it.  Each frame has it's own timing variables so please remember it is an estimate and we can talk along the way if the timing changes significantly.  You will go into the cue when your deposit is in ($550 for a frame, or $1500 for a complete bike.) 

What kind of bikes do you make?
I enjoy building and riding most types of bikes.  I'm happy to make you the style you like, including customizing it.  Each bike is unique, but in general terms I build road, cyclocross, mountain (Bigfoot 29ers, 26", or 650B) geared or one speed, townie bikes, cafe racers, track bikes, and more.  The best thing to do is give me a call and we can discuss YOUR bike.

Do you sell complete bikes or just frames?
You can get a frame, a complete bike or somewhere in between.  I offer custom forks and stems, as well as carbon and suspension forks.  My preference is to provide a complete bike.  The reason is that I want to provide the customer with suitable parts for them and their design and I want to make sure it all goes together just right.  It helps with overall function, fit, and design of the bike. 

What colors can I choose from?
Just about anything you like.  A color chart is available for download.  Also, you can send a sample color and they will match it as best they can.  Please be advised that if you look at the color chart on your computer screen it's not going to be a perfect representation of the actual color as display settings vary.  I have color chart here as well that you can come by to look at. 

Who does the powder coating?
Frames are finished by the masters at Spectrum Powderworks in Colorado.  Almost all frames are powdercoated, not painted. (read more below)  Spectrum costs more than regular industrial powdercoaters, but they do a better job, they do a lot of top end bikes, and they have many options and effects that are not available anywhere else.  A very cool feature is that the Caletti logo is actually painted onto the frame beneath a clear coat for an ultra clean look and durability.

Why powdercoating?
Powdercoating is more durable, better for the environment, and costs a bit less than wet paint.  The frame is electrically charged so the powder sprayed onto it sticks to it to reduce waste from over spray.  Additionally, there are more chemicals and solvents in wet paint than in powder.  The heat curing creates a very durable finish.

Weight
Frames vary according to size, type, who they are made for, and what they are designed to do.  In general terms expect a mountain bike frame to be about 3.8-4.3 pounds, a road frame to be 3.1 to 3.8.  Frames made with Life or OX Platinum will be lighter than a frame made using Zona or Verus HT tubing.  These modern high strength tubes are much lighter than the steel of yesterday.  A light steel bike will not be as low in weight as the super light aluminum, titanium, or carbon bikes; it will be lighter than older steel bikes or regular aluminum bikes.

The weight of a bike/frame is constantly being cited these days as a performance characteristic.  It's true that when going uphill, the more weight the rider has to move up the hill the more energy required, but I think that weight gets paid undue attention.  It is talked about a lot because it's easy to quantify.  But with a rider and bike combined weight of 175 pounds, is the small weight difference in going with a steel frame going to matter?  If it means better durability, superior ride feel, tunability, good traction, stability, good fit, is it a problem to have a few more ounces on board.  Also consider if a rider is looking for a light bike, they should be running top end parts (Dura Ace, Record, Red, Force).  The top groups not only weigh less than the lower groups but offer better performance and durability.  Also consider that if someone is carrying a phone, or a bunch of tools, or a large frame pump, they've got more extra weight than they would be saving with the SSL frame.  So let's keep it in perspective.  I think it's unfortunate that someone would shy away from steel, which is a great material, just because of the weight. 

How long have you been building?
I have been building since 2005.  I built under the name "Cloud Nine Design" until February of 2008 at which point the name of the bikes was changed to "Caletti Cycles."