lrzipris

I'd summarize his outlook this way: he is extremely conservative, very much a man of the right.

johnny99

If he is a right wing fanatic, then why is he importing bicycles from a communist country?

cyclintom

When I was welding I could make the prettiest welds in the business and you could break them right off. I could never get the hang of welding though I was the best cutting torch man this side of a machine. And I could braze as good as anyone.

Pretty welds DO NOT mean strong welds. Habanero welds are very well made and very strong.

Dead Roman

Yeah, you dont have to tell me, Im a welder. But you can see a pretty weak weld most of the time. You can just eye the moots and habanero welds and see good penetration for the most part. Im sure they have much more strenuous(sp?) criterium than just lookin, but titanium welds usually dont lie.

HAMMER MAN

my old age has made me picky
hard for me comprehend habanero frames @$795..00-$895.00 even if they do come from china
the Tsports $1150,00
then Serotta on the Concours around $2,800.00
Serotta has yet to return my call or E-mail do not believe they are that busy.They will probably loose my business
Habanero and I keep missing each other via cell phone
tsport will call monday Morning.

HAMMER MAN

Profit, the amount of Greenbacks that goes into his pocket. Don't agree with that but obviously a savy business man and that I respect

rob999

TiSport is the same as TST? if so check out:
https://www.cambriabike.com/shopexd.asp?id=20809
they have the 56cm frame for under $500...not bad for TI. way too small for me though.

Naidu

China is communist in name only. Even the party loyalists don't spin out the Communist propaganda anymore. The rhetoric is mostly nationalist. Today's China: Single party dictatorship, with a capitalist economy where it suits them and monopolism where it doesn't. Hard to define them with a soundbite these days.

johnny99

They are moving to a more free market economy in at least the eastern industrial cities, but the government is still very brutal with little respect for workers right's or even basic human rights (like almost anything in the USA Bill of Rights). It is definately not the kind of place I would like to grow up in.

Naidu

I didn't mean to come across as an apologist for the current regime in China. I generally agree with you; their political rights record is abysmal. But that's what the party has decided is needed to pull a billion people to economic well being. They're up for a major upheaval when the people decide they want both economic and political rights.

Sorry for the thread hijack. Let's get back to discussing Habanero's bikes.

HAMMER MAN

to small for me also
I need a 57.5 top tube
seat mast around a 58-59
appreciate the thought , thank you

ruly62

I buy the Nuevo Team Issue 1/8 headtube Habanero.I love this frame.Is stiff for me a 220 6'2" guy. Have nice welds. My brother has a older 1" habanero frame and Look titanium frame and both has the Look decals and you dont know was the original Look.My brother said the habanero is best and stiff than the Look. Sorry with my english.

iamsomeguy

mine should be here some time this week , i hope to get it wednesday and get it out to the group ride on thursday , ill update after its built

RFC

+1

dnslater

Not to hijack, but I have been looking at value priced titanium frames including the Hababero's. I stumbled upon Pride Cycles, www.pridecyclesusa.com. Prices are almost as cheap as the Hab and made in America with American tubing. I emailed them with a few questions, and asking to see more photos. I'm not a big fan of the american flag logo. I think the owner used to work for Litespeed. Anyone bought from Pride? Any comments on how the rear seat stay design effects bike handling?

H1449-6

Thanks for the link. Attractive price point. I didn't see any photos, though. EDIT: scroll down on the home page to see a few.

redfooj

long while ago i saw the website of the chinese vendor that provides Hab with his bikes. Their list price is (obviously) much lower than Hab's. Hab provides as warranty a new frame at 1/2th the cost of the original. In fact, that same money money (1.50x Hab msrp) is how much it cost to get 2 frames from the original vendor/builder, so Hab is guaranteed to at least break even with every customer.

Good business model.

Moontrane

Just got my Habanero frame last week. It looks great, and I will be getting parts for the build over the next tow weeks. Mark’s quite easy to work with, and he answered all my questions and clued me in to a few things I didn’t know.

dnslater

Update, as I am comparing Habs to Pride Cycles, I emailed Pride with some questions and a request for better photos. David Atkins, the owner, emailed me back promptly. He confirmed that he was the plant manager at Litespeed for many years. He said that his ML compact road frame weighs in at 2.6 lbs which is very impressive at this pricepoint. He sounds like he definitely knows what he is talking about and he said that they build each frame to order, with a 2 week lead time. He will be sending me better photos soon. I will definitely give Pride strong consideration when I am ready to order a frame, along with Habanero and Everti and a few others.

CyLowe97

You sure he said Litespeed and not GT?

jfmckenna

That Pride site is now on my list of the worlds worst web site designs.

Bah Humbug

That and some seriously ugly frames. Yikes.

dnslater

I actually asked him in the email about the rear seat stay design and he said that it enhances lateral stiffness. Any thoughts on this? Seems like if it worked so well others would do it, although I don't mind the "unique" looking frame. He did say that he can build the frame with a more traditional rear triangle if preferred.

I agree regarding the website. Perhaps this is one of the reasons shops like Hab and Pride can sell his frames for so cheap.......the websites are made by the welders....

I also asked about a more discreet logo and didn't get an answer.......... I suppose with Ti, it would be easy enough to modify myself.

bigtea

[QUOTE=dnslater;9271794]I actually asked him in the email about the rear seat stay design and he said that it enhances lateral stiffness. Any thoughts on this? .... QUOTE]

That double triangle geometry was popularized by GT about 10 or 15 years ago. It is stiffer in the rear triangle. I'm not sure how foregiving ti would be with that geometry; maybe it would ruin the best characteristic of ti, a smooth ride.

I had an aluminum GT with that frame configuration and the ride was cruel and inhumane. Even the Spanish Inquisition didn't have an implement of ***** destruction quite like that GT.

iamsomeguy

habanero cycles nuevo road frame
generic poopoo turd heavy carbon fork (with danger dimples !)
chris kind head set
itm millenium stem (reversed)
itm bars
campy chorus brifters , brakes , drive train
speedplay pedals
specialized carbon seat post
butthurt seat (have a brooks swift)

wheels

white industry h2 laced to mavic open pro on sapim cx-ray spokes 28 spoke
salsa skewers

19 pounds , can get it lower though (all in good time)