# Davidson Ti and Elliot Bay Bicycles



## Ride-Fly (Mar 27, 2002)

I just ran across this lady's blog about her negative dealings with Davidson/EBB. 

http://mydavidsonsucks.blogspot.com/

I want to know what you guys think. I am searching for a custom Ti frame for my wife, as she is finishing her PHD at Colorado and her job prospects are very good, even in this economic environment, so as a gift, I am looking at several custom Ti builders. I was looking into Davidson (due to Terry B's high opinion for his custom Davidson Ti), as well as Moots, Ericksen, Titus, Seven, Strong, Lynskey, Holland, Spectrum, Dean, Serotta, and IF. Moots, Ericksen, Titus, Seven lead the list as their custom frames are not priced above my pain threshold. Serotta is not really in the running as their prices are astro. Dean is probably the most affordable but not in the running as well (I will touch on later.) Davidson was right up there with my leaders, probably right behind Eriksen but not anymore due to this lady's horror story. I know it is just one side of the story, but after dealing with Dean, I don't want any potential hassles. 

As for my dealings with Dean bikes, here is my story. I bought a custom Dean Ti frame back in Sept, and was fitted on Sept 17th. I was finally given a delivery date of March 17th! 6 Fookin months!!! I swear my custom El Diente SL better be all it's cracked up to be for a 6 month wait when it was supposed to take 3 to 4 months. Honestly, the lengthy time doesn't really bother me all that much. The thing that ticks me off about Dean (and the reason why I am very hesitant to make another purchase with them) is their lack of communication!!! I have left dozens of messages and emails, I never get a return call or email. I have to drive to their shop to get anywhere with them. Lucky I live in Boulder, but I can just imagine the frustration if I were not local. Anyhow, I was swayed by this lady's blog and her negative experience with Bill Davidson and EBB, enough so that they are no longer being considered for my wife's custom frame. Would any of you feel the same? Or would you discount her experience as a one-off and still give Davidson your money? Ride ON!!!


----------



## sw3759 (Jul 10, 2004)

*jeez....*

wow,a Davidson was always high on my "want" list but after reading that story i would bet alot of folks will have second thoughts before considering one of those frames.
what a nightmare.


Scott


----------



## Ride-Fly (Mar 27, 2002)

sw3759 said:


> wow,a Davidson was always high on my "want" list but after reading that story i would bet alot of folks will have second thoughts before considering one of those frames.
> what a nightmare.
> 
> 
> Scott


Yep, my thoughts exactly. I was wondering if I was being overly harsh in my reaction to this story. After all, there are 2 sides to every story and maybe Bill Davidson has legitimate gripes about the customer. It would be very interesting to get his side of the story as well.


----------



## siclmn (Feb 7, 2004)

Nothing against Elliot Bay bicycles but my two Davidisons are up in the junk room now. I was into all that for twenty years and then I rode a cheap Fuji carbon fiber bike and it was all over. I wish I could take back the last twenty years and have had the bike I own now. All of the new carbon bikes are what the others were promising us for all those years. Try one. You don't need to spend six grand any more.


----------



## Dick Rhee (Jun 15, 2005)

Since I live in Seattle, I stopped in Elliott Bay to check out the Davidsons when shopping for a Ti frame. Mr. Davidson was a friendly enough guy but the bikes didn't really impress me. In his defense, I am not really into his whole "classic' asthetic. I went with the Moots instead. 

What's your lady looking for in a new bike?


----------



## Ride-Fly (Mar 27, 2002)

Dick Rhee said:


> Since I live in Seattle, I stopped in Elliott Bay to check out the Davidsons when shopping for a Ti frame. Mr. Davidson was a friendly enough guy but the bikes didn't really impress me. In his defense, I am not really into his whole "classic' asthetic. I went with the Moots instead.
> 
> What's your lady looking for in a new bike?


My wife doesn't really know as far as stiffness, compliance, tube manipulation, etc. What she really wants is custom geometry as most men's frames doesn't fit her. She has a Orbea Mitis Dama that has a 52.7 cm ETT and 14.5 cm HT and so far it is the best fitting but she still has 1.5 cm of spacers to get the bars at the right height. She has very long legs, short torso and avg arm length. I've been talking up Eriksen, Moots, Strong and Holland mostly. I know with Moots, a custom means only custom geometry. I am pretty sure you can select tubes with the other three. But since she doesn't really know what she wants, and whether she would even like Ti, I came up with a solution- I found a Titus FCR on ebay that has all the right measurements (even a really long HT of 18 cm) so I bought it. IF she likes the feel of Ti, and this bike meets all her needs, we may keep it long term. After riding the Titus for a while, I'll get a true custom for her if she wants another one. After all, we are all bike collectors aren't we???


----------

