# Condor Flight SRF on Bikes Direct



## jpfirefly

If I'm not mistaken, Condor is a new "mark" for Bikes Direct. I was trying to figure out what the frame geometry resembled. As first glance I thought they might be NOS Madone frames from a couple of years back, but after comparing them I'm not confident in that one. Anyone have any guesses?


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## decayny

*Condor Flight on BD*

It is indeed new - didn't see it there a couple days ago. Do you know anything about the brand and frame? 

The head tube juncture looks kind of the like the Scott CR1 to me - although the Condor head tube might be a bit more rounded in profile. The seat tube/stay looks familiar - but I can't quite place it.

If the Condor frame is any good this could be a very good deal. Almost full Force gruppo [except for the Tektro calipers] and the Ksyrium Elite wheels are a nice surprise at this price point.


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## JasonB176

I don't think they equip any of their other bikes in that price range with the Ksyrium Elite wheels.

Link:
http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/condor/flight_srf_xii.htm

It does look like a good deal.


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## jpfirefly

It is. The cost of Force and Ksyrium Elites gets you to $1,699 before you even factor in frame & cockpit.


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## youngmth

Am I the only one seeing the resemblance between the Condor CF frame and BD's own Century CF frame? They look identical too me.. and I believe the geometries match too..


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## jpfirefly

Good catch, those are definitely the same frame. Strange that they only offer the Century CF in Apex or various levels of Shimano with a triple.


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## youngmth

There is actually another on-line outfit selling the Condor bikes: http://bikeshopwarehouse.com/

Same models, very close in prices, also in Texas, which makes me think it's affiliated with BD in some way.

The reason I know all this is because I recently bought a Century Comp with Apex from BD. I was tempted to spend a little more and get the Condor Flight SRV, with Rival group and better wheelset, and was convinced that they were the same frame with different build-up. I went with Century Comp because I already have a road bike with Ultegra and wanted to buy a bike with Apex's granny gearing for certain rides. Also I was not able to find much feedback on Condor on the internet. Finally, the paint job (or graphics, logo, whatever you call) of Condor just look plain *cough* ugly.


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## ovcyclist

just ordered the condor flight sr-f from bikeshopewarehouse. same deal as BD but BSW shows force brakes, so i went with them since they both also now have the ksyrium elite wheels. should show up next week, and i'll let you know how it goes, if you would like to hear about it.


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## youngmth

ovcyclist said:


> just ordered the condor flight sr-f from bikeshopewarehouse. same deal as BD but BSW shows force brakes, so i went with them since they both also now have the ksyrium elite wheels. should show up next week, and i'll let you know how it goes, if you would like to hear about it.


yeah, tell us once you get the bike


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## ovcyclist

condor flight sr-f arrived as scheduled from BSW. no issues whatsoever. just as advertised. great bike. also excellent advice from Dave on size. highly recommended.


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## decayny

*Any photos of the Condor Flight SRF yet?*

How''s the new bike? I would love to see pics and hear your review.


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## ovcyclist

My old bike was old school, so my first new bike in many years. did not actually ride any other bikes at all, with the exceptiion of several year old specialized M4 with ultegra, so again, can't compare all the different new rides. however, if you like sram force (which i do very much now - rode the ultegra and did not like the brake being a shifter), if you like mavic ksyrium elite wheels (which seem fine to me - about 150 on them now), and all the rest ritchey stuff (post, stem, bars, seat), then so far so good. bike rides great. showed up perfectly packed with no damage whatsoever. wheels perfectly true (still are). quick setup. only adjustment was about 1 turn on the adjuster barrel on rd, and about 1/3-1/2 turn on the fd large ring stop. been fine ever since. bike looks exactly like the pictures, and was equipped exactly as spec'd on the website. nice looking bike. 100% recommend. a lot of bike for the money. came with all factory literature for wheels (as well as bearing adjuster, etc) and sram stuff. read a lot about fit, so was a little concerned, since i have noticed that different manuf. and bikes fit different with the same size rating. i was pretty much convinced a 58 would be my best bet. spoke to David there, as i mentioned, who suggested the 61. i was a little worried about the reach on this frame, but after a couple rides, i'm totally used to it. came with a 110 ritchey stem. the pedals are inexpensive wellgo rc-713 (an spd pedal), seem fine, but i have some cheapo shimano spd-sl pedals i put on from my old bike. definitely not the fanciest finish on a bike compared to some (i.e. paint) i've seen in the shops, but it is a very nice frame. can't say anything about stiffness compared to other carbon bikes, but it moves out good when you stand up on it and does have a nice ride, for sure. nicer than my old aluminum frame. also, have no idea of the weight, other than its noticeably lighter than my old bike. it's always over 100 deg here now, so usually limited to earlier or later rides, but i always look forward to it!


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## decayny

*photos of the Condor Flight SRF?*

Thanks for the reply. The photos on BSW are not much - all just crops of the same side view. I always like seeing real photos by the actual riders. Glad you are enjoying the bike. I too, would be upgrading from much older technology [31 year old steel frame, downtube shifters, etc.] I'm sure this bike would be a quantum leap for me.


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## BDragon

*Condor Flight S6F*

I have the Condor Flight S6F, the one with full Ultegra groupo. The site states it has Tektro brakes but mine came with Ultegra brakes which I'd much rather have. I decided on this one because it's one hell of a deal and the relaxed geometry of the frame. Full ultegra groupo minus the pedals is $1450 from performancebike and Mavic Kysrium elite wheels is $650 from performancebike. So you get a carbon fiber frame and cockpit for free.....great deal! The frame is made by TorayCA which I think makes the frames for Motobecane. They do make frames for Orbea, Felt, and Pinarello as well. Those are high end brands with the price tag to match. My bike is a 61cm and weighs in at 18lbs without pedals. I put ultegra pedals on it and that added 11oz. The seat is garbage as are most stock seats so figure on replacing that. I got a selle italia Man. I'm used to shimano shifting so that's why i got this instead of the one with force. I've only had it up to 35 mph but it handles very well. It also holds me at 6'3" and 245lbs very nicely. I think bikesdirect ships these bikes with components based on the size of frame you order. ie. the bars are 146 not the usual 144, the stem is 120 and the cranks are 175 (the longest they make.) So that tells me that someone over knows what they are doing.


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## girona10

*It's the Real Deal!*

Just received the Condor Flight SR-F with the SRAM Force. It has all Force drivetrain, Ritchey Pro cockpit, Ksyrium Elite wheels and Force brakeset. It's a beautiful bike. The bike reminds me of the Litespeed M1 which is their entry level carbon frame. Hope to ride this bike over the weekend.


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## jjames0302

I am curious, are the decals under the clear coat?


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## girona10

The gray decals are under the clearcoat and blends with the glossy black nude carbon finish. I prefer the letter style used instead of the block letters because they look more subdued.


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## Hiro11

I'm pretty sure Bikeshopwarehouse is just another DBA for BikesDirect.

The Condor does look like a very good deal. It's the lowest price I've seen on a Force bike with full carbon. It would be impossible to get anywhere near that price even if you used Ebay generic stuff. I'd be interested to see how one of these holds up after 5K miles. I've considered buying an aluminum Condor as a rain bike, it's extremely cheap for what you get.


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## jpfirefly

ovcyclist or bdragon -- any chance you can post some shots of your new rides? Also any update on how they're holding up would be great.


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## Michael Weston

I am looking at a Condor Superbird SR-A for 895. It seems like a steal. BD is out of my size, but bike wholesale has the same bike and price. Any opinions on it?


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## girona10

Comment on Geometry

I think the bike measures rather tall so pay attention to the top tube vs. standover height geometry. I purchased based on top tube but I wished the standover height was a bit lower. Don't get me wrong but I would not have purchased any other size. The fit is good but I just prefer a lower standover height.


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## Corncob3000

I can speak for the Condor brand. I bought the Superbird S5D from Bike Shop Warehouse about a year ago and I could not be more happy with it. It's a CAAD5 copy with 105 components. I've put near 1k miles on it and have had zero problems. I also can not say enough about BSW's customer service; the margins those guys are making on these bikes have got to be tiny, but they still put in a lot of effort into making their customers happy. I don't think they are a very big company either, because every time I call, the same guy answers the phone. I have recommended them to 2 different people and both have had good experiences.


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## klo

I received my Condor SR-F in early August and didn't get a chance to try it out until last week. As girona10 said the bike measures a little tall but it's fine with me. It's a nice bike except I'm not too impressed with the paint job. It has this checkerbox pattern on the frame. My old bike was a 2009 Specialized Allez Triple and this new bike feels so much better and faster than it. When going downhill, it's very stable and smooth even at 40 miles/hr. Going uphill is fun too since it's much lighter than my old bike. I used my bathroom scale to check and it weighs in at 18 lb (as pictured).


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## drteming

klo said:


> ...It's a nice bike except I'm not too impressed with the paint job. It has this checkerbox pattern on the frame...


Um, that's just clear coat over carbon fiber, not a paint job. Looks pretty cool to me.


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## klo

The checkerbox pattern is under the clear coat, I think. Since someone above mentioned the frame is similar to the Century CF that I checked and he's right. They look the same, not just the geometry, but Century elite and team CF has the same checkerbox pattern on them too. I got my bike from bikeshopwarehouse and it came with the SRAM Force caliper brake, not the Tekro one. Very good deal. The only thing not good is the saddle. I swapped it with my old Specialized seat even though it's not good either but at least better than the stock Ritchey one.


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## vautrain

The "checkerbox" pattern is the visible weave pattern of the actual carbon fiber construction of the frame.


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## Hawk85

*Condor SR-F*

Hi, I'm a total newbie to road bikes, bicycle forums, etc. This July I rode the final 3 days of RAGBRAI - an annual bike trek across the state of Iowa - and loved it. The only problem was that the old Trek 700 I was riding was a bit limiting on long stretches, and also ran out of pedal on descents (yes, contrary to popular opinion Iowa does have hills). While researching components, checking LBS bikes (Trek, Giant, Felt, Specialized and Cannondale) and lurking around forums like this one, I found out about the Condor Flight SR-F. It Looked like a great combination of components and price, so I took the plunge and ordered the SR-F from bikeshopwarehouse.com. Six days later it was in my garage. The only thing I'm not sure of is the manufacturer of the frame. The rest of the components seem great. The bike has held up very well over the 45 miles I've put on it . One thing I AM sure of is that the seat is killing my seat! Will have to swap that out. At any rate, I love the bike so far and will keep you posted as to its performance. BTW Bikeshopwarehouse is now out of the SR-F in 55cm.


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## Michael Weston

My Superbird SR-A is a Kinesis Taiwan frame and has so far been great. I do not know about the Flight, but assume it is also Kinesis Taiwan.


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## klo

Bikeshopwarehouse said it's torayca ultra high modulus carbon which is made by Toray.


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## jpfirefly

Does anyone know, warranty notwithstanding, if simple nailpolish remover will take the decals off? I was thinking of getting one and putting my own badging on it but I'm wondering if the clearcoat would prevent the decals from coming off.


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## mattheis

All of the BD bikes have the decals under the clear coat, except for the titanium frames, which dont have any clear coat except on the carbon forks.


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## ovcyclist

*Condor SR-F*

about 1600 miles on the condor with sram force from BSW. good luck getting close to this bike in your LBS for almost twice the money (don't forget taxes!). if you need their input for fit, or continuous mechanical support that usually accompanies a new bike purchase, then that would be the way to go. only thing i swapped out was the saddle. went with the selle-anatomica "clydesdale". so far, great. no problems at all with the bike. went through and tightened everything after about 500 miles, and thats it. also got the two shorts available from BD. also awesome. i honestly don't know how they do it. maybe the frame just disintegrates after one year.


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## Hawk85

That's great news, ovcyclist. I've only put 250 on mine and love it. Only thing I changed was the pedals for Shimano A530s as it was my first shot at clipless and I wanted to be able to flip them in town. Reversed them the first time through town and no more. Clipless are the only way to go. For that matter, the Condor Flight SR-F is also a great way to go. However they're doing it I hope they keep it up. Went for a quick ride just before dark this afternoon and noticed that my feet got pretty cold in the 48 degree weather.


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## hockey chris

*Condor flight*

I bought my Condor Flight with Sram Apex from Bikeshopwarehouse.com, and have about 1500 miles on it now. So far it has been awesome. It's a great bike for $1200.00 with a full carbon frame and fork. The Vuelta Pro XRP wheels it came with are very heavy and I replaced them. The bike was about 19 1/2 lbs without pedals before i replaced the wheels, now its under 18 lbs. Knowing that now, I should have chosen the SRF (Sram Force) with a better wheel set for only a couple hundred more. Great bikes for the price.


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## BDragon

Here's an update on how the frames been holding up. It's GREAT! I have about 1500 miles on it so far. It's survived 2 crashes. 1 took me out for a couple of months before the road rash subdued. I was really worried since it's carbon but much to my surprise it's very durable. It's very comfortable even on 75+ mile rides. I did swap out the bars for 3T carbon bars which helps. It's a shame BD stopped carrying this bike. I wonder if it sold out and that's it or maybe they just weren't making money on it. I'd like the condor with DI2 Ultegras but then again the Century Pro is the same thing. The wheelset is awesome. Comfy and rolls for ever! Low rolling resistance. I also put on Conti Gatorskins 25C for comfort.


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## Hawk85

Thanks for the input hockey chris. Got my Condor Flight SRF late last summer. I'm dying to get back on it this spring, and wouldn't you know it the weather has been cold! Last year on St. Patrick's day it was in the 80s. This year in the 20s. I've only been on it once this year. C'mon warm weather!


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## Aquavarna

*I think it is a FELT F 75*



jpfirefly said:


> If I'm not mistaken, Condor is a new "mark" for Bikes Direct. I was trying to figure out what the frame geometry resembled. As first glance I thought they might be NOS Madone frames from a couple of years back, but after comparing them I'm not confident in that one. Anyone have any guesses?


I have this bike and love it, the SRF model, with SRAM APEX group. I have compared this frame to the FELT F75 and they appear identical.


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## Hawk85

Apologies for waiting nearly 4 years to get back on how I like the Condor Flight SRF! I now have a little over 11K miles on it and have only one complaint about the bike. It's built for 23mm or smaller tires - at least with the Kysrium Elites. 25 will work on the front, but the tolerance is so tight that a tar-covered piece of gravel caught in the hole at the bottom of the fork crown and started rubbing on the tire. We were riding up a steep road at the time (Guanella Pass), and it probably happened because we were going pretty slow. After riding in those or similar conditions I make sure the crown is clear. I suppose that switching back to 23s on the front would take care of the issue but it hasn't happened often enough to bother me. There is not enough clearance in the rear to use a 25, so I have a 23 back there. Other than that, the bike has been great. We rode the Triple Bypass last year and there was no vibration during the descents which topped out in the low 40mph range. Drive train has been very dependable - only replacement was a new chain and a derailleur hanger which did it's job in a crash. One side note: the crash occurred during a large group bike ride across Iowa. There are numerous bike repair tents that followed us, and not one of them had the right replacement hanger. One mechanic even said "that's what you get for buying a cut rate bike online". My local bikeshop had the correct replacement part. In short, the bike has been outstanding, and I have no regrets about the purchase.


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