"Surprised by how little difference there was between his high-end Cervelo race bike and much cheaper Pedal Force winter training machine, Roberts decided there was a gap in the market for a stylish performance bike at an affordable price. "

Doesn't bode well for the brand if this is his comment on frames. Don't really like the name either.

*British*, but with French name? That's not very British.

Agree with Padova on the name. All I hear is the 'tat' part. Not saying the bike is. But, the name definitely detracts (imo) from the design.

check out the forks on the Sablet...Tres nice!

They look like mixes between Dedaccaii and Pinarello's. Not my cup of tea (how very british), but they're alright.

I getting the felling that Adam Roberts is a bit of a novice bike rider with too much money to spend on hobbies. It looks like he has taken his favourite parts from different bikes and shoved them together with no consideration for how they look together, Pinarello forks on what is basically a Deda frame. He must have next to no power in his legs to not notice a difference between a Cervelo and a Kenisis winter bike. Thats like Mazda designers saying that they could not tell the difference between a Ford and a Ferrari.

I think his comment regards the compartive difference between his Cervelo and winter bike is very relavent. I have posted on here in forum about the difference between my S Works carbon hardtail which retails at over 1k for frame and a £250.00 On One Scandal. My experince is yes there is a difference in quality but is the percentage difference equal to £700+ I don't think so. He should do well and as for the name - face bothered

some harsh unnecessary & somewhat personal comments here I think as well this bloke is trying to bring something to the table that all of us can benefit from in a time when the bike industry is charging more and more for negligable improvements in kit and performance Good luck fella

How very British! A guys job goes down the pan, he puts his own money into developing his own brand of bike and selling it to the public and all people can moan about is that they don't like the name or presume that he is a novice rider with too much money to waste.

Fine, the bike style may not be to your taste but how about giving the guy some props by getting off his arse and doing something he clearly has a passion for. Wish i had the guts to. Regarding the last comment, without knowing this Adam Roberts, it's dangerous to assume that he has "has next to no power in his legs". It could be that he is that compotent a rider that he can push both bikes along as equals.

Totally agree with dinsdale81.

The more choice and competition there is in the bike trade then we as cyclists will benefit (would people prefer we were all still riding Raleigh Clubman's?), as will the bike trade that we rely on as consumers.

As for complaining that the firm has chosen a French name, give me strength. Nothing to do with snobbery that Adam Roberts is from that London and the club he named the firm after doesn't have a history stretching back to the BLRC wars?

If the bikes are good and the company reliable then they'll thrive...

Best of luck to him.

Similar frames are being sold on Ebay for around $300.00US, I bought one myself and built it for approx £800.00 using Campag Veloce.

In business your products need to be named as correctly as possible to their intended market. "Comtat" sounds and looks awful to British eyes and ears. To a French or German it may sound better. If Adam expects sales in Britain, he'll need to change that name, no matter how good a bike is.

Let's be honest, it sounds like Dell boy's "Commercial Tat"!

Other then that, I hope Adam does well with his venture. It's a tough market out there and it is all about a "name".

The point about buying a frame on Ebay for small money and building your own is only valid if you have the time, inclination and skills required to do that-most people don't and won't but may develop into perfectly good riders.

I know this because I build and modify bikes for all levels of rider.

The brandname issues are frankly a nitpick, and more power to the guy for having the balls to do this. In time and with a bit of success he can evolve his brand and I wish him every bit of luck he can get.

Great looking bikes, and speccing to individual requirements at what appear to be good prices is a business model that should succeed in the present climate (think Ribble, Merlin etc.) If people can't see past the name then that probably says more about them than it does the bikes!

Nice job copying Lemond's design and putting it on $250 chinese frame u douchebags.

This is such crap i don't know where to start.

This EXACT frame (minus the logo) can be had for under $300 American if you do the research! What makes me so mad about this is that this guy is lying, these are not his designs nor is this frame designed in the UK. Call it what it is, a wolesale frameset made in the east bought at an awesome price and then put together and jacked up by Comtat

if all the critics would like to share links to these wonder $300 frames for all to see...

IndependentMind: so he's got a copy of the Taiwanese bike parts catalogue? And this is something that most other British/European/American bike businesses don't?

Bigmiksears: Go on alibaba.com and search carbon frame

Oh shit revelation & crime of the year somebody purchasiing an item at a certain price then reselling it at a higher premium, he should be hung, where does he live lets burn his house down now, he's a witch.

BTW have you seen the new Dura ace is 100% stiffer this year but so light in theory it can float and I love that new Shitello bike it has a flash on it and a wiggle researched on mars by NASA but built by tiny hands in burma.

All very interesting comments.

Tubularity & Independentmind

My take is that I should get on Alibaba and try to find the cervelo frame I want - especially as this year's paint job is so nasty - or are some brands not made in China?

Thanks all.

The website is honest about the bikes and from where they are sourced - he doesn't talk about designing the frames from scratch, only about the brand and the aim of selling good bikes that look good at good prices.

The angry criticism on here seems unnecessary - if anyone wants to buy the frame from China using Alibaba, he's not stopping them (although there is a minimum order of 10 on every supplier I found, so most people will be put off by that). On the other hand, if anyone is partial to a nicely-branded, good looking bit of cycling kit (and I know I am) sold by a guy using the Planet X model of bike sales, Comtat doesn't seem like a bad option.

Dear All

I don't want to enter into a debate but I felt I should say something.

Thanks for your comments. What I'm trying to do is fill a gap in the market that I think exists. Buying a carbon frame around £600 - 800 you have little choice. What I am doing is offering 3 alternatives to a ribble, planet x, condor ect. In terms of the design of the frames, yes one of them is a popular mold which is used by many factorys (i know of 4) in the far east. The one I use is made by one of the best factories out there in terms of quality and finish. Just because it looks the same it doesn't mean it the same frame because thats not always the case. As someone correctly pointed out, i'm not doing anything different from anyone else in the market by sourcing OEM frames with the exception of a few companies. If someone can point me to a carbon frame manufacturer in the UK then I happily ditch my current range. If I had $150,000 then I 'll develop my own moulds but I don't so I'm starting the way every other bike company does. In terms of my comparision between my winter bike and a cervelo I had, yes there is difference but my point was there wasn't £2500 worth of difference.

So I'm sorry some of you feel I'm douchebag or what I'm doing is crap and that I should burn at the stake but as you a) haven't seen the bikes in flesh b) ridden them everyday for 9 months c) put all you life savings and house on the line in order to provide the market with an alternative-

what I would suggest to you is carry on riding your boring bikes and i'll carry providing decent people with nice stylish bikes who maybe can't strech there budget to a Colnago.

Adam Roberts

Comtat Cycling

Good luck to you Adam.

Some of us get what you're doing..

Same again, Good Luck.

I think with any product there will always be people for and against but some of the comments on here have been a tad un-just.

Keep up with the good work and when i'm looking for a new bike in January i'll definately give Comtat a look.

Best of luck Adam

I don't think the comments have been unjust at all. It's a buyers market out there and if people think it's a good product at the right price then they will buy it.

What we have here is far eastern made frames and 'designed' in the UK. How many more companies are there going to spring up that do just this? How many have we now?

Yes it is a silly name and the top model isn't the prettiest thing in the world either. Why can't they build in the UK and well as design? The overheads can't be that massive for a small company with a few models surely.

And Adam Roberts- there is a helluva lot of diffrerence between a top end carbon bike such as a Cervelo and the much cheaper Pedal Force models, you obviously don't have much experience in knowing the difference between the two.

What you're doing here is nothing new, just another different name.

WOW, whilst I know this is a forum and people are entitled to their opinions I'm a little amazed at some of the comments made about Mr Roberts new cycle brand.

From looking at the site and his comments I think he should be applauded for making a go at making a living from something he clearly loves.

I'd love to know what bikes the guys ride that are making the negative comments, trex, giant etc which are made???? Yep you guessed it.

Dudes drop the 'better than you' attitude and just appreciate it for what it is, a rather stylish looking and affordable new bike brand that is made the same place alot of the big brands are.

And as for the name "not very british is it" whine whine whine shut the fuck up! So what, the graphics look good and the paint job don't look like a bloody rainbow.

And as for getting them made in the UK, idiot.

Guys I think we should support people like Adam who are making the bike market more interesting for all of us and stop the negative comments you miserable gits.

WELL DONE Mr Roberts.

Keep up the good work.

I'm new to road cycling, but i have to say that i don't understand why some people seem to view a company copying other companies (i.e. fames from east, assembled here) is considered an inherently bad thing. Any answers?

Surely more companies = more options, and might force people come up with more competitive pricing to help stand out?

Once again, as a novice, i have to say i think the designs look great and just hope they get good reviews as i'll be looking to get a 'proper' road bike in the near future and these have just been added to the list of potentials.

Some of the comments on here have put me right off the members and views of this forum.

How the British love to shoot people down, although we haven't even built him in the first place which is how we normally operate.

And everyone "knows" of a factory in fucking China - I wish that place was still off limits because all the disposable products that come out of it have changed our world for the worse.

I'm off now because SOME of you lot have really pissed me off. Fucking know it all's.

THE VERY BEST OF LUCK ADAM

Don't understand all the negative comments aimed at someone who's willing to have a go and build his own business. How many of you are prepared to risk your neck? And as for not knowing the difference between frames, yes there are differences between high end bikes and cheap ones, but my £3k Pinarello frame isn't 12 times better than my £250 Kinesis. I suspect those saying otherwise have never ponied up for a top end frame, or if they have, are just trying to convince themselves that it's money well spent.

Good luck to him.

Hmmm, yes good luck to Comtat, however those who are ignoring the effect that a poor choice of name will have on a business are not doing Mr Roberts any favours at all.

I believe it's better to offer constructive criticism and therefore I reckon that if Mr Roberts is indeed staking his house and finance on all of this and wants it to be successful outside of the cozy atmosphere of the Comtat Cycling Club, then its not too late to do a quick name change. In order to ensure some continuity why not use:-

"Comte"

...based on Auguste Comte who was a French philosopher and the founder of Positivism (the philosophical system of thought maintaining that the goal of knowledge is simply to describe the phenomena experienced, not to question whether it exists or not).

I'd buy a Comte but I won't buy a Comtat.