Marie is on the shorter side and couldn't find a comfortable position on off-the-shelf bikes. So we took advantage of the possibilities offered by custom builds to design a bike perfectly adapted to her body shape. During the bike fitting, carried out in our café Cartel Cycles & Café, we worked with her to determine the parameters essential to provide her with maximum efficiency and comfort on the road.

As for her specifications, Marie wanted a sporty bike, suitable for accompanying Patrice on road rides.

We used XCr stainless steel tubing, manufactured by our Italian partner Colombus. Sturdy and resistant to corrosion, they are an ideal choice for making a bespoke frame that is durable and robust.

The junction between the seat tube, main tube, and seat stays features increased thickness, which allows both for an integrated seat clamp by pinching the seat stays and to create a sleek aesthetic area.

The frame features certain aesthetic details, making Marie's bike a unique object that will certainly turn a few heads. Grégoire, the frame builder in charge of the project, even added a small logo on the bridge between the seat stays, evoking a sunset over mountains. No doubt, watchful eyes will spot it.

The groupset is a SRAM Force AXS, offering high-level performance while keeping the bike's lines clean, thanks to electronic shifting right to both derailleurs.

However, we swapped out a few pieces of this group for personalised choices. The chainring is provided by Praxis Cycles, and the cranks by Appleman.

Ah, cranks! A crucial topic, often discussed but rarely given its due value. While stock frames exist in enough different sizes to suit most people, unfortunately that's not the case with cranks.

For example, the difference in length between a large and a small frame is about 25%, but the difference between long and short cranks only covers a gap of 5%. Putting the shortest commercially available cranks (170 mm) on Marie's bike would be like having a 1.80m tall cyclist ride with 200 mm cranks! That's the drawback of industrial processes, which aim to standardise variations as much as possible to optimise production margins.

The unfortunate result for shorter riders: the crank is too long for the frame. You have to compromise the geometry of the frame to avoid the foot touching the wheel when the pedal is at the front ("overlap"). Pedalling also becomes very difficult, with the knee rising more than it should, which causes imbalance, tension, pain and sometimes injury.

To avoid this problem, we work with Appleman, an American frame builder who makes cranks in all sizes. Marie's bike has 145mm cranks, much better suited to the length of her legs.

The benefits are numerous. Pedalling is smoother and the frame's geometry optimised: goodbye to overlap problems, the fork angle is no longer too slack just to move the wheel away from the foot, but now matches angles found on larger frames.

You can also lower the bike's centre of gravity without risking pedal strike when cornering: Marie's bottom bracket is 15 mm lower than average. The result is a bike with better stability and (the cherry on top) easier to step over. Comfort is present in all situations, on the road but also when getting on your bike!

For her wheels, Marie opted for the latest generation from Campagnolo, the Hyperon Ultra. An Enve fork and Chris King components, which allow total hose integration, complete this elegant and high-end build.

While the shade of grey is similar to the bike of her husband Patrice, Marie's machine features mostly pearly white, set off with pink for the Victoire and Enve logos. And a touch of brass, simply lacquered, for the bridge logo...

Marie now enjoys the benefits of a geometry matched to her build, racking up rides with Patrice!

If, like Marie, you can't find a bike that fits you in the shops, don't hesitate to get in touch and benefit from our fifteen years of experience making custom bikes!