The Parlee Z3 is on its way.....

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So no thanks to Ben, who got his Archon 'Ruler' (wat a shitty name! he'll tell you no thanks to me as well as I was the one who sent him that ebay link) made me think a lot about a new frame. Initially I was looking for the likes of Cervelo R3 or RS.....I'm interested in Italian carbons (yes, carbon!).

Those of you who may not know I was the guy who said a lot of bad things about carbon and I still will but truth is, you have to really sit on one to be able to judge. Cervelo has good reviews and a long string of pro-approvals to support their products. For the life of me, I've not ridden one! But then I stumbled upon some post saying that "nothing beats a Parlee".....and I went "what's that?"...that was the beginning of the end.

I scoured the internet to find that Parlee is really a 'boutique' level shop offering low volume, highly hand-built carbon frames, using high quality tubesets and proprietary layups. They are really made by hand (check out parleecycles.com!) and slowly too. People who rode them say its fast, light, comfortable (yeah most reviews say the same thing for most high end carbon frames anyway) but what really sets it apart is the fact that some reviewers even dared to compare its ride quality with steel! now, that I've not come across in ANY review for any other carbon bike.

I'm looking for something that is lighter than my current bike BUT, retains most of the ride quality of steel.....wait a minute, using a carbon bike to mimic steel?? yup that's the whole idea. I'm not gonna toy around with carbon, this Parlee Z3 is the definitive buy that I will base my decision upon for future bike frame purchases. Its about the best money can buy, and minus a lot of the marketing mumbo jumbo. There is absolutely no compromises made (as in a mass produced frame) for a Parlee Z3.

So I figure, if this carbon frame does not deliver what I want, none other will.


Pre-Build @ Bikeguys


Stan's setup, since dekitted and moi's (awaiting shipment, probably in transit now....long 2 week wait arrrgh)


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