I was an early adopter of disc brakes and gravel bikes. They really suit the riding that I enjoy. One of the joys of early adoption is playing standards roulette and I had my bike built at the time with quick releases, a 135mm rear end and post mount brakes. Now it's all 142mm thru axles and flat mounts.
A forced 6 weeks off the bike after an operation gave me just the right opportunity to send the bike back to Seven to have the rear end updated. A new fork, new axles for the hubs and some new callipers completed the modernisation. They fitted their new lighter XX rear end which has asymmetric dropouts. I quite like the look of it myself. Makes a lot of sense.
First ride today (6 weeks off the bike into a strong headwind!), and it rode brilliantly. You do pay a premium for a Seven, but there aren’t many manufacturers that can do what they do. Try asking Specialized to fit a new rear end to a plastic bike! You can’t see where they have done the work and the ride is unchanged (disappointingly in some ways!).
So are the new standards better? Nah! Other than it becoming more difficult to get spares and not much new kit coming out to suit the older standards, it rides just the same. Hopefully now it is now ready for many more years of great service.
Thanks to Seven and the folks at Sigma Sports for a great job.
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Looks epic ! Always liked the photo of it in HK !
Very very classy.👍
Nice. Would be nicer with skinwalls, but still nice!
I assume your gardener is dead.
Ha, no that’s out in the wild! Forestry Commission not keeping their trails as tidy these days.
Toyed with skin walls, but prefer the blacked out look. Might go that way next time though. I am considering some 650b wheels and will go skin wall on those.
So what’s changed? Seat and chainstays too or just the dropouts?
Everything from the seat tube back. New chain stays, seat stays and dropouts.
Nice! I've wondered about doing something similar to my 'forever' bike, which geometry-wise is spot on, but is a bit tight around the chain-stays for anything >25mm, discs would be nice, etc.
Can I ask how much? Or, if not, just whether it makes financial sense to do this over starting afresh?
Nice to see seven do actually make a bike for life 🙂
I'd love to try a ti hard tail frame at some point, but have been slightly put off by tails of them snapping. If seven can put a rear end on that neatly I guess they can fix replace any part of a frame 🙂
A new frame would be just over £4k at current exchange rates. Frame modifications including shipping were less than £2k. Even factoring in selling the old frame, financially it was (just) better to do it this way, but there is the satisfaction of sustainability (albeit the frame enjoyed a return trans-Atlantic flight to make it happen!). They turned it around in 2 weeks including shipping.
I had to buy new axles, new callipers and a new fork, but would have had to do that anyway. Hopefully now that standards have settled down, this should see me for many years of happy riding.
Seven can keep a bike going and their repairs are outstanding. Back in the day I had Seven's 11th frame off the production line. It was a road bike with a 1 inch head tube. At a certain point I sent it back to them for a 1, 1/8 head tube to be fitted. I also unfortunately had a tube crack on a cyclocross frame and again they replaced it and as far as I know it is still doing excellent service.
No frame is immune from accidental damage, but Seven really do offer a bike for life. Within reason they can repair any frame and replace parts to keep it up to date. And that's partly why I am such a fan. If you are sitting on the fence, get one ordered. You are only here once!
Thanks for the additional info, and I agree: The satisfaction in taking this approach is worth far more than any straight financial calculation.
That is rather nice!
I do envy the mindset of finding a bike you love so much that you're willing to send it away for extensive modification. While not cheap, I dread to think how much money I've wasted over the years buying and selling bikes in such a short period.
I'd have been far too tempted to just sell on and buy new, but that is a handy service to offer.
Very nice!
but......my old HT only has 2 of the original tubes left on it, the RH seat & chainstays.
& It doesn't look as nice as ^^^ either!
Ha ha, that beats my new rear end (fnar fnar).
To me worth every penny, but Cotic have just put the pre orders live for the 2019 Soda. Makes £1,799 for a whole frame look like a bargain!
A bit classier than Trigger's broom.
Not my cup of tea but that is bloody lovely.