Born to be a bike connoisseur
A few months ago our friend Vince decided it was time for him to build himself a bike that would be for keeps. A confessed bike geek with a stable of collectible and workhorse bikes, Vince knows his way around two wheels. He's that “former” weight-weenie friend of yours who you go to for sound bike advice. In fact, back when he was a young boy, his dad owned THE classiest bike shop in the Philippines. For those of that age, Corsa Bikes was the name and it was the only shop that had air-conditioning. I remember walking in and ogling at all the beautiful bikes and components on display. It's no surprise that Vince has such a love for bikes. Another bit of trivia, Corsa was the first to bring in Giant bikes into the Philippines. Hence, Vince's affinity for this great value-for-money brand. The time had come for him to experience something different, something custom. After testing out the Festka demo bike for a weekend, he was smitten. A bespoke bike that performed just the way he wanted. This was it. The rest… well we'll tell you all about it here.
Light as a cloud, strong as steel
First order of business was choosing the right model of Festka to have made. Being a weight weenie, the Scalatore was the right choice for him. At 760g for a size 54 frame, this frame met his ultra-light build requirements. As custom bikes go, these are meant to be for keeps. Fortunately, the Festka is built to be both light and durable. Their unique filament wound carbon tubes are built stronger than your usual mass produced carbon frames and thus can handle daily abuse. I’ve seen them squeeze a carbon tube to half its size and not break. Amazing stuff.
Collaborating with the experts
With the bike choice out of the way, the next week was spent going over his fit with Rudy Catindig of Tritech Fit lab and Festka's in-house geometry specialist Vojta. Vince wanted a race bike, so long and low but comfortable was the requirement. Moving him to a longer stem on his new bike and increasing head tube height gave him a more stable feeling and a slammed look. The race bike handling was covered by the short wheelbase and Festka recommended angles. Even his integrated seat post was measured to his saddle height. All the little details were set for his bespoke bike.
The first sneak peek
After submitting all the details of the frame, it was off to production. The wait for the frame was on and Vince decided to pass the time by searching for parts to further customize his dream build. The anticipation for the Festka only got greater though as we were sent a pic of the frame partially done. Here he got to see the tube-to-tube construction in the raw. Outperforming lugs because of their resistance to flex at the joints, tube to tube was the method employed to provide Vince with a race worthy bike.
Art-directed to personal perfection
Fast forward a few weeks and we were informed that it was time to discuss paint. It was time to call Vince in to discuss how he wanted his custom bike to look. Nude carbon was instantly the choice base finish for his weight weenie build. He felt most content with blue as his accent color. What hue of blue though came straight from Festka. Their sweet BMW commissioned bike had the perfect blue on it. As a personal touch, Vince wanted to place the logo of his dad’s shop on the bike. With the aid of Tom, Festka's Art director, Corsa's logo was updated and placed on the fork as an ode to his dad. After approving the mock up, it was off to the Lamborghini painting facility for finishing.
The end of one journey, the start of another
A week later and the bike was done! A truck, plane, and car ride later and it was here in the shop. Unboxing was done by Vince himself and the look on his face was priceless. The big day had come and it was time to build up the bike. With our pro photographer on hand to document the process, putting it together was under way. And what a build it was coming in at only 13lbs 8oz. Next up was to photograph the owner and his bespoke bike. Being a reflection of himself, the bike wouldn’t be complete without a pic of Vince. It’s always a treat for us to see the owner express themselves through their bikes. At last, our work was done. We’ve helped Vince create his masterpiece and all that’s left for him is to paint the streets with it. Enjoy the bike, Vince!
