New bike time.

[Marcus Aurelius]

I’m thinking of buying myself a nice shiny new road bike. Now because of fortunate circumstances ( which is a nice thing to have happened in these unfortunate times ) money is pretty much no object for this bike. I am as fond of ( proper ) steel retro road bikes as I am of Carlos Fandango super machines with space age materials and tech. What would your road bike of choice be? This isn’t a theoretical question either. I have a couple of ideas, but it’s always nice to get the opinions of a knowledgeable crowd.

[Bonefishblues]

I would be going to a good frame builder and having a chat.

[roberts8]

I was in your position when I had one bike squashed by a car, me included then when I was up and about my spare bike was stolen. My wife pointed out that it would be a good time to splash out so I went to Roberts for a custom bike. After talking my interests over I ended up with a roughstuff model, similar to that used by Josie Dew. 20 years later it is still a perfect fit and a joy to ride. Worth looking at a custom bike in my opinion.

[Marcus Aurelius]

I would be going to a good frame builder and having a chat.

That’s what I was thinking, unfortunately the circumstances of the world at present mean that there’s an unavoidable delay at present.

[Marcus Aurelius]

I was in your position when I had one bike squashed by a car, me included then when I was up and about my spare bike was stolen. My wife pointed out that it would be a good time to splash out so I went to Roberts for a custom bike. After talking my interests over I ended up with a roughstuff model, similar to that used by Josie Dew. 20 years later it is still a perfect fit and a joy to ride. Worth looking at a custom bike in my opinion.

I was thinking of having a look at WindyMilla, they aren’t too far from where I’m based, and I’ve heard great things about them.

[Bonefishblues]

I would be going to a good frame builder and having a chat.

That’s what I was thinking, unfortunately the circumstances of the world at present mean that there’s an unavoidable delay at present.

For good builders there's a significant delay anyway - and I suspect that this might be exactly the time to get a cancelled slot, given the times we are in?

If racy/sporty then Rourkes, perhaps? If esoteric/non-standard, then Beaumont. If cool and trendy then somewhere in the East End (usually ending in ...frameworks, or similar) or Brighton. If utilitarian, the outfit in Weymouth (whose name will come to me...Sven). If good value Ti, then Burts. And so on

Notable that many are starting to embrace e-Bikes now.

[reohn2]

"Burls" Shirley

[Bonefishblues]

I was in your position when I had one bike squashed by a car, me included then when I was up and about my spare bike was stolen. My wife pointed out that it would be a good time to splash out so I went to Roberts for a custom bike. After talking my interests over I ended up with a roughstuff model, similar to that used by Josie Dew. 20 years later it is still a perfect fit and a joy to ride. Worth looking at a custom bike in my opinion.

I was thinking of having a look at WindyMilla, they aren’t too far from where I’m based, and I’ve heard great things about them.

Check for corrosion. Their custom frames are made in Venice and it's awfully damp there

[Bonefishblues]

"Burls" Shirley

Has he put on weight?

You are of course, correct.

...although dullard that I am I did go and look up Burts which was stuck somewhere in the recesses, amongst much other ephemera, and here they are:
https://www.burtscycles.co.uk/

Specialist film cycle hire, which is niche and interesting

I like 17 - what is it, anyone help?

[Marcus Aurelius]

"Burls" Shirley

That’s one that wasn’t on my radar, have you got a link?

[Bonefishblues]

Justin Burls. Long-established. Frames from Russia, IIRC.

http://www.burls.co.uk/

He's refreshed his site to good effect, I notice, although I'd definitely check durability of any attachments:

"Titanium Audax frames come with all the braise-ons you'd expect for a long-haul ride."

[Marcus Aurelius]

Justin Burls. Long-established. Frames from Russia, IIRC.

http://www.burls.co.uk/

He's refreshed his site to good effect, I notice, although I'd definitely check durability of any attachments:

"Titanium Audax frames come with all the braise-ons you'd expect for a long-haul ride."

Oh my, there’s some works of art there.

[Bonefishblues]

He has a good reputation, and has been working with Ti longer than most. Nice bloke, too.

[Marcus Aurelius]

He has a good reputation, and has been working with Ti longer than most. Nice bloke, too.

It’s not obvious where he is, where is he?

[boblo]

Really depends what you want it for...

If it's the lightest, brightest from the pukka road bike genre, you'll be looking at one of the high end off the peg carbon jobbies with a nice build and fantastic carbon mid or deep section wheels. You'll be aiming for a sub 7kg build and whizzing around like a dog with two... errrm, without a care in theworld...

If you're after a more conventional do it all audaxy/light tourer, it's perhaps time to see a frame builder. There's lots of nice stuff around without going bespoke but it is nice to spec everything. You'll be faced with a myriad of steel and titanium choices for material (I don't know if anybody is doing bespoke aluminium). Ti was the nirvana until recently. It's nice but not necessarily the last word...

So you're first choice is what's it for then you can plump for one of the above then decide off the peg or custom then short list based on what features are important to you.

I did this recently for a new tourer after mine was destroyed in an accident. I wanted an up to date version of my old bike with 853 steel, fillet brazing, disks and thru axles. I struggled to find, a builder that would do the combo but found one through the bike show at the NEC. I posted this yesterday so apologies for the repetition. Finished last night: