A Big and Elegant Seven Cycles Axiom SL
Rob C., gave me a call in late February when he decided he couldn’t research his next bike any longer and the time had come to make a move. According to him, it was the end of a five year search that had him pouring over review after review while he logged miles on his bike, his first real road bike. Looking at that bike, it had all the adjustments you’d expect to find on an XL stock bike adjusted to fit a 6’7” rider. The result was a comfortable bike that he crushed uphills with, but one that didn’t handle well and shimmied on high speeds descents. Rob was looking for something that kept him in a comfortable position, but had him brimming with confidence.
Researching bikes for so long, Rob decided on a few, but held off for one reason or another, until finally choosing Seven Cycles. He like their expertise with titanium, and their rapid turn around times. After an initial phone consultation, we set up a time to chat about his new bike, and take his measurements, while at his office. We discussed what he wanted out of his next bike, and penciled in those thoughts on even’s Custom Kit order form. Clear early on, was that Rob was after a classic road bike. Side pull road calipers, narrow tires, and minimal top tube slope set the foundation. He wanted the ride quality, and durability of titanium. He might not have known it at first, but what he wanted was an Axiom SL.
Once we received the Frame Specification Confirmation Form back from Seven, we compared the specs to his previous bike. His fit was similar, though the frame geometry was noticeably different. Gone was the high rise stem, and the saddle slammed all the way back. I made a few minor adjustments to his bike to give Rob an opportunity to ride the recommended positionals on a bike in which he was familiar. After a weekend of riding, he was on board. Digging into the frame’s CAD drawing, Rob had some reservations on the 2cm head tube extension. Seven drafted up a few options to look at, and we all decided that the bike would afford the most flexibility if we used a 2cm head tube extension, and a 1cm spacer. On a bike this large, we felt the extension would blend right in, and Rob took our word for it.
After some strong consideration for Shimano’s top tier level Dura-Ace components, we decided a complete Ultegra build, with some burly but light Chris King Alloy Ride wheels and matching headset would yield a bike that would help Rob enjoy riding more than ever before. I built it up last week, and was pleased with how proportional, how elegant, it looked. Check it out:
Photo courtesy of John Martin
Photo Courtesy of John Martin
