Scattante or Douglas experiences?

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by joker
Scattante or Douglas experiences?? I am looking to purchase either Scattante CFR [supergo] or Douglas Fusion [coloradocyclist]. Please let me know if you have experiences or information regarding either of these frame manufacturers, specific bikes, or the dealers. Specifically, quality of work, materials, fit, finish, design... I'm looking for new road bike, inexpensive, with ultegra gruppo - if you have any suggestions other than these two, please let me know. Thanks in advance.
-joker

I'm interested in this same topic. Please post if you find a location to find info on these two rides...

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by joker
Scattante or Douglas experiences?? I am looking to purchase either Scattante CFR [supergo] or Douglas Fusion [coloradocyclist]. Please let me know if you have experiences or information regarding either of these frame manufacturers, specific bikes, or the dealers. Specifically, quality of work, materials, fit, finish, design... I'm looking for new road bike, inexpensive, with ultegra gruppo - if you have any suggestions other than these two, please let me know. Thanks in advance.
-joker

My Douglas fusion is being delivered today via UPS. As soon as I set it up and take it for a ride I'll let you know how it is.

-Dave

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by dlwaldron
My Douglas fusion is being delivered today via UPS. As soon as I set it up and take it for a ride I'll let you know how it is.

-Dave

ANYBODY?? I'm still curious about this subject and am surprised that nobody in the forum is familiar with it. Please let me know if you have any experience info. re: Douglas or Scattante bikes/frames.

DLWaldron - please let me know if you had an opportunity to take your Fusion for a ride this weekend...

Thanks,
-joker

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by joker
ANYBODY?? I'm still curious about this subject and am surprised that nobody in the forum is familiar with it. Please let me know if you have any experience info. re: Douglas or Scattante bikes/frames.

DLWaldron - please let me know if you had an opportunity to take your Fusion for a ride this weekend...

Thanks,
-joker

I am close to buying a Douglas bike. It most likely will be the Fusion. Or maybe a titanium model. I called Colorado Cyclist and they told me Douglas frames(CC house brand) are made in Taiwan. Of course they told me they ride like bikes twice their worth. So I'm waiting for some owners to give their opinions too. Personally, I think these are going to be great bikes. People are curious because of the prices. But I think the prices are lower because you don't have to pay for the NAME

I've got 112 miles on my Scattante CFR and it's been a real nice ride till today. Going downhill on some switchbacks, I noticed the front forks oscillating sideways about 1/2" at 34 mph. Handling was scary and I'm glad I wasn't going any faster. The bike is back at Supergo but so far no answer. They say there hasn't been any complaints on the Weyless forks so mine must be defective. If not then the Weyless forks are not built to handle a 195 lb man. I expect to have to invest in a better pair of forks and I am not happy about the expense but at least I didn't get hurt in a crash.
The rest of the bike is great though and I'm glad for the Ultegra components. Perhaps Supergo will give you a deal to swap the forks for a better pair?

Good luck on your purchase.

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by joker
ANYBODY?? I'm still curious about this subject and am surprised that nobody in the forum is familiar with it. Please let me know if you have any experience info. re: Douglas or Scattante bikes/frames.

DLWaldron - please let me know if you had an opportunity to take your Fusion for a ride this weekend...

Thanks,
-joker

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by joker
ANYBODY?? I'm still curious about this subject and am surprised that nobody in the forum is familiar with it. Please let me know if you have any experience info. re: Douglas or Scattante bikes/frames.

DLWaldron - please let me know if you had an opportunity to take your Fusion for a ride this weekend...

Thanks,
-joker

I got the bike Thursday night and immidiately put it together. It went together very smoth. They sent an Easton EC70 Carbon seatpost instead of the Thompson that is advertised. That would have been great but the EC70 has too much of a setback for me. I also ordered with a 120mm stem which is to long for me. So I called them up and they are sending me the Campy Record carbon post (10$ upgrade) and a 100mm stem. I took it for a ride on Friday and it feels great. Very light and nimble. There is a certain road near me that I used as a test to see how well the bike road. The road has an uphill grade and is very chattery. On my old steel road bike I used to have to shift to my small chainring and like a 24 in the back because the vibration would kill all my speed. On the Fusion I was able to keep it in the 53 on the front and the 23 in the back. The Carbon fibre seat stays and the Renoylds Ouzo Comp fork really sucked up the bumps and vibration to let me spin through without losing power. the bike feels very stable at high speeds as well. When I first sat on the seat I thought this is going to hurt. But to my suprise It wasn't that bad. I'll have to see what I think after a 4 hour ride. All in all I think the Fusion is great so far. The parts package that you get for the money is amazing. The Frame looks beautiful. nice welds. The badge is a little cheesy. It isn't fully glued on. But I wouldn't let that stop you from buying the bike.

One more thing, if you buy spare tubes from them make sure you tell them you need long stems for the Aero wheels. You would think they would have known that.

2 people i know that got Scattante bikes had faulty headsets on them. this could just be a local issue im not sure

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by dlwaldron
I got the bike Thursday night and immidiately put it together. It went together very smoth. They sent an Easton EC70 Carbon seatpost instead of the Thompson that is advertised. That would have been great but the EC70 has too much of a setback for me. I also ordered with a 120mm stem which is to long for me. So I called them up and they are sending me the Campy Record carbon post (10$ upgrade) and a 100mm stem. I took it for a ride on Friday and it feels great. Very light and nimble. There is a certain road near me that I used as a test to see how well the bike road. The road has an uphill grade and is very chattery. On my old steel road bike I used to have to shift to my small chainring and like a 24 in the back because the vibration would kill all my speed. On the Fusion I was able to keep it in the 53 on the front and the 23 in the back. The Carbon fibre seat stays and the Renoylds Ouzo Comp fork really sucked up the bumps and vibration to let me spin through without losing power. the bike feels very stable at high speeds as well. When I first sat on the seat I thought this is going to hurt. But to my suprise It wasn't that bad. I'll have to see what I think after a 4 hour ride. All in all I think the Fusion is great so far. The parts package that you get for the money is amazing. The Frame looks beautiful. nice welds. The badge is a little cheesy. It isn't fully glued on. But I wouldn't let that stop you from buying the bike.

One more thing, if you buy spare tubes from them make sure you tell them you need long stems for the Aero wheels. You would think they would have known that.

Thanks for the detailed feedback. I appreciate it. It looks like this is the bike I will purchase. I'm surprised CC sent wrong or different items. I would expect that from nashbar and supergo though. I know the stem on my order will probably be wrong but that's because I don't know what length I'll need yet. I was also looking at the Scattante CFR but it looks like there's some problems with that bike. Anyway, the Fusion is cheaper.

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by joker
Scattante or Douglas experiences?? I am looking to purchase either Scattante CFR [supergo] or Douglas Fusion [coloradocyclist]. Please let me know if you have experiences or information regarding either of these frame manufacturers, specific bikes, or the dealers. Specifically, quality of work, materials, fit, finish, design... I'm looking for new road bike, inexpensive, with ultegra gruppo - if you have any suggestions other than these two, please let me know. Thanks in advance.
-joker

Just a bump - hoping for more responses. Leaning towards Scattante CFR. Please reply if you have info.

According to a Supergo Sales Rep, the Scattante CFR frame is made by Kestrel and is very similar to the Kestrel 303.
Interesting to say the least.

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by joker
Just a bump - hoping for more responses. Leaning towards Scattante CFR. Please reply if you have info.

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by dlwaldron
I got the bike Thursday night and immidiately put it together. It went together very smoth. They sent an Easton EC70 Carbon seatpost instead of the Thompson that is advertised. That would have been great but the EC70 has too much of a setback for me. I also ordered with a 120mm stem which is to long for me. So I called them up and they are sending me the Campy Record carbon post (10$ upgrade) and a 100mm stem. I took it for a ride on Friday and it feels great. Very light and nimble. There is a certain road near me that I used as a test to see how well the bike road. The road has an uphill grade and is very chattery. On my old steel road bike I used to have to shift to my small chainring and like a 24 in the back because the vibration would kill all my speed. On the Fusion I was able to keep it in the 53 on the front and the 23 in the back. The Carbon fibre seat stays and the Renoylds Ouzo Comp fork really sucked up the bumps and vibration to let me spin through without losing power. the bike feels very stable at high speeds as well. When I first sat on the seat I thought this is going to hurt. But to my suprise It wasn't that bad. I'll have to see what I think after a 4 hour ride. All in all I think the Fusion is great so far. The parts package that you get for the money is amazing. The Frame looks beautiful. nice welds. The badge is a little cheesy. It isn't fully glued on. But I wouldn't let that stop you from buying the bike.

One more thing, if you buy spare tubes from them make sure you tell them you need long stems for the Aero wheels. You would think they would have known that.

I received my Fusion today. Like you said, it's an excellent bike. Very light and comfortable. A natural climber. I'm happy with it so far. The bike came in when I was riding my brothers Raleigh Technium Scott Tinley. I put it together in about 45 minutes and went out for an hour. The 12cm stem is too long also. Looking at getting a 10cm. The EC70 post I'll keep cause I can get my knees over the pedals. The bike is solid. I'm coming off a Trek 5200 and this bike is a little stiffer than the Trek. This bike is just as good or better than the Trek. $2700 VS. $1400 make this bike a GREAT deal. I have been riding since '82 and I know a good one when I ride one. Good luck and happy riding.

I've had my Fusion for about 2,500 miles and I'm even happier with it now than I was the day I took it out of the box. I moved up from a LeMond Tourmalet, so the weight savings and stiffness increase were dramatic. I'm still stunned by how much better I climb on this bike.

I've recently ridden a Trek 5200, a Litespeed Vortex (not that I could ever afford one!)and a Cannondale R2000, and the Cannondale is the only one that comes close to the Fusion in terms of responsiveness (it also costs almost $1,000 more).

I was always reluctant to buy an aluminum bike because of concerns about a rough, jarring ride. The carbon seat stays and fork eliminate that concern. I've ridden a bunch of centuries on this bike and I find that I'm less fatigued after than I was with my steel LeMond.

Overall, I'm really impressed with the Fusion.

Hope this helps.

It's funny I come across your spoke. I have had the same issue with a R650 that has the same Weyless fork. I also moved the form over to a Jamis Nova cyclocross over the summer (for touring) and noticed the same wheel wobble experience. I thought it was a frame mismatch feature (for my inseam), getting too much weight over the front. But I find it also a bit strange that you've also seen the same thing on the same fork.

I've had the wobble scare the mess out of me on several occasions and have read a lot about it. Also had it occur on a Litespeed Capella that was definitely too small of a frame for me, but that wasn't the case with the Scattante.

Any followup on this that you've had? Mine was also a 2003 R650. I have a 34" inseam, riding a 57cm R650, and weigh around 175lbs. I experienced the wobble on the Alex 300 rims and also on CXP-33/Ultegras. Wobble on the Litespeed was on Mavic Cosmos, which I thought might have been due to not tight enough bearing adjustment (but since read that's not a likely contributor).

Wheel wobble is the most scary feeling...

Spunky99 said:

I've got 112 miles on my Scattante CFR and it's been a real nice ride till today. Going downhill on some switchbacks, I noticed the front forks oscillating sideways about 1/2" at 34 mph. Handling was scary and I'm glad I wasn't going any faster. The bike is back at Supergo but so far no answer. They say there hasn't been any complaints on the Weyless forks so mine must be defective. If not then the Weyless forks are not built to handle a 195 lb man. I expect to have to invest in a better pair of forks and I am not happy about the expense but at least I didn't get hurt in a crash.
The rest of the bike is great though and I'm glad for the Ultegra components. Perhaps Supergo will give you a deal to swap the forks for a better pair?

Good luck on your purchase.

jasong said:

It's funny I come across your spoke. I have had the same issue with a R650 that has the same Weyless fork. I also moved the form over to a Jamis Nova cyclocross over the summer (for touring) and noticed the same wheel wobble experience. I thought it was a frame mismatch feature (for my inseam), getting too much weight over the front. But I find it also a bit strange that you've also seen the same thing on the same fork.

I've had the wobble scare the mess out of me on several occasions and have read a lot about it. Also had it occur on a Litespeed Capella that was definitely too small of a frame for me, but that wasn't the case with the Scattante.

Any followup on this that you've had? Mine was also a 2003 R650. I have a 34" inseam, riding a 57cm R650, and weigh around 175lbs. I experienced the wobble on the Alex 300 rims and also on CXP-33/Ultegras. Wobble on the Litespeed was on Mavic Cosmos, which I thought might have been due to not tight enough bearing adjustment (but since read that's not a likely contributor).

Wheel wobble is the most scary feeling...

Glad to hear you guys talking about high-speed stability and road-holding. I think that's a key indicator of a quality bike, but one often ignored in favor of weight savings. Saving a pound in the wrong places isn't going to turn anyone into Lance going uphill, but may cause you lots of grief on the way down.

Wimpy forks, frames and wheels aren't a good tradeoff if you have to ride the brakes and hang on down big mountains while the other guys fly by. A good bike should be a relaxing and fun ride at 50 mph plus, not a life-or-death experience.

Purchased the Scattante CFR and have been quite pleased. I've had no problems at all. It climbs much better than the Trek I had been riding. Super light and Ultegra comps. The only bad press I've seen has been the seat post. I had no problems adjusting it. I'm sure some posts are easier to adjust but then again how often do you adjust your seat? Top notch finish. Wheels true right out of the box. I did flip the stem; went from neg. 7* to positive 7*. Great bike and $1200 savings over Trek, Giant, Specialized.

Scattante carbon frame is also sold elsewhere under different names. Lately it is sold as the T-Sprint with a Proton badge. Proton is a Malaysian car manufacturer that owns Lotus Car of England and is very into high performance machines. It has a specially made Proton motorcycle racing in the World Superbike Series and a car in the World Rally Championship. I suppose Proton must be pleased with the quality of the carbon frame to allow it carry its badge.

I read elsewhere good reports from those riding a CFR and comparisons were made with better known carbon bikes costing almost twice as much. I suggest you read their reviews.

eismail said:

Scattante carbon frame is also sold elsewhere under different names. Lately it is sold as the T-Sprint with a Proton badge. Proton is a Malaysian car manufacturer that owns Lotus Car of England and is very into high performance machines. It has a specially made Proton motorcycle racing in the World Superbike Series and a car in the World Rally Championship. I suppose Proton must be pleased with the quality of the carbon frame to allow it carry its badge.

I read elsewhere good reports from those riding a CFR and comparisons were made with better known carbon bikes costing almost twice as much. I suggest you read their reviews.

Where are you reading the reviews? Can you post a site (other than roadbikereview.com)

grampy bone said:

Where are you reading the reviews? Can you post a site (other than roadbikereview.com)

I remember reading comments made in the forum pages of bicyling.com. There were some other that I could not exactly remember. I suggest you try the search function.

Some of my friends are riding Scattante bikes but under different names (EPX is one example). They speak highly of the carbon frame although some complain that the headtube is a bit short and needs lots of spacers to put the handlebar at a more comfortable riding position, especially for smaller-sized frames. The frame is manufactured by Martec of Taiwan. Direct comparisons with a Scattante cannot possibly be made because although the frame is the same, the other components that made up the whole bike may not. And these components certainly make one bike different than the other.

dhk said:

Glad to hear you guys talking about high-speed stability and road-holding. I think that's a key indicator of a quality bike, but one often ignored in favor of weight savings. Saving a pound in the wrong places isn't going to turn anyone into Lance going uphill, but may cause you lots of grief on the way down.

Wimpy forks, frames and wheels aren't a good tradeoff if you have to ride the brakes and hang on down big mountains while the other guys fly by. A good bike should be a relaxing and fun ride at 50 mph plus, not a life-or-death experience.

My girlfriend rides a CFR and she hasn't had any problems at all. It was built by her coach and is almost all Ultegra with a Weyless carbon fork. She's put 4000 miles on the frame so far with not a single groan or ping. Aside from a couple of century races, most of her riding is on PCH out by Malibu. Hard roads to say the least. Handling is at least as good as my Klein and almost as good as my Raleigh Prestige. I would go with a Mavic Elite wheelset though. I wasn't over impressed with the stock set.