how much?

The blue Baracchi with the SRAM wheels looks hideous

The condor Calssico looks rubbish - an old frame with cheap new components...and that blue fixie is beyond words....hideous.

Couldn't agree more with the comments here. Sorely disappointed with the appearance of the new range. All we need now are tassles and a pink basket. Shame.

Has the Condor association with Rapha gone to their heads? I think so. Shame.

Maybe condor thought they were getting too popular and decided to make some really hideous looking bikes to make sure only 'real' cyclists would them. Either that or they thought "Now that we have all these fashionistas buying our bikes, we'll churn out a bunch of really awful looking frames and laugh as they pose next to them outside some swanky coffee shops".

I work near Condor and it's long been over-priced fashion kit. Sure, the couriers hang out there, but you don't see them on £5k pink carbon bikes. They've sold out to the rich folk who want to look 'pro' - buy the same bikes from Ribble for much less.

Sorry Tim, but please don't compare our bikes to Ribble. They are not the same frames. We have left them with the monocoque frames while we continue to develop our tube to tube carbon wrapped frames. There is a big difference between a monocoque frame and a tube to tube carbon frame. Tube to tube means that each tube has its own mold so different tube shapes can be used for a frame depending on it's intended use and size. With this we can use our own geometry and can offer custom sized carbon frames. We were the first company to offer this in the uk and our 09 models are by far the best I have tested. One of our test riders prefered our new frameset to his own Colnago Extreme Power which costs 2 1/2 times more expensive. Please feel free to come into the shop and we can explain it in detail.

Sorry to dissapoint those who love the pink(or hate it) The tape was a one-off run given to us by Fizik and will unfortuately not be available for general sale. The Pink Saddle on the team bike is again a one-off by Fizik, they have been trying to develop ways of inserting colours on their K:1 saddle so were using the team as guinea pigs. It is a shame as there were a lot of people at the show who really loved the pink. The boys will probably be using White for the bars and Black for the saddle as this year.

Now, where did I leave those tassles.

Bern.

Well I've got a 2007 Squadra (sorry - not a 2006 one). Much prefer the paintjob to the 2008 ones which were hideous, and the 2009 ones too it seems.

But who cares what they look like really - shouldn't we be more concerned with how they ride and how the shop treats you?

And on that count Condor loses on every point. The bike looks good but isn't a shadow of my BMC for performance. The shifting never worked properly because the B/B wasn't faced properly. The bike was three months late, and when it did arrive the finishing of the paintjob was shoddy and the service at the shop was perfunctory. And the stories I've heard about warranty service on the frames . . . cracks around the bottom bracket shell on the EMC2 frames anyone?

Sure, if you want to support the lifestyle of a bunch of guys selling substandard bikes dressed up as something else using all the right words and the hype . . . trading off a name that's long since been discredited and outmoded by far better bikes designed in Europe and the US and made in taiwan . . .

Hell, if you feel such sympathy to the story of London cycling and like being talked down to and having to wait an eternity to get served. . . well, go to Condor. Go buy your overpriced frame, get yourself a pair of Rapha armwarmers that don't fit properly and a pair of Assos bibs and enjoy your 30 miles around Richmond Park.

Actually enjoy cycling and want to get a decent bike? Stop being so parochial. Buy a BMC SLC01, buy a Giant TCR Advanced, buy a Trek Madone . . . hell, buy a Dolan. Go and see Cycle Surgery just down the road. You won't wait as long and the guys won't talk down to you.

Better still, get out of London. The cycling is terrible. London may be great at a lot of things, but cycling ain't one of them.

Sorry, we obviously can't keep everyone happy. A lot of effort goes into the frames, but I won't bore you as you probably wouldn't believe it. Our aim is to offer the best service possible, but the down side to that is when we are busy, as we quite often are it is difficult to serve everyone at the same time.

We could just employ more staff, but of course they have to be paid a decent London wage which would push the prices up so we have to have a fine balance.

I agree that the BMC is a great frame, it should be a lot better than the Squadra as it is 3 times the price.

Only if you pay ticket.

Everyone seems to pay ticket at Condor because you deal with lawyers and doctors.

I got the BMC frame for a fraction over what the frame price of the squadra was.

I'm one of the lawyer doctor types, but I resent being ripped off.

I know we can be a drag, but don't stop listening to the people who are dissatisfied Bern. If you just listen to the cheerleaders you'll keep doing the same thing. Read how many other negative comments there are on this story.

I used to be a cheerleader but the experience didn't match the hype. Make the experience match the hype again.

Paul.

Paul, your feedback is appreciated. we can only act on feedback that we receive, both positive and negative. There have been a lot of negative things on this thread, but we do have to listen to everyone and we try to take all comments on board and make changes where necessary.

Our prices are fair in the market and we take care to be accessible to all. We are not the cheapest because running a business in central London is not cheap and the books have to balance. With the recent exchange rates we have had to absorb a lot of price increases from suppliers instead of passing it on to the consumer. Just look at other cycle shops in London who are shedding staff at the moment to reign in the costs. We want to be here for many years to come and our goal is always to offer the best service possible. I know we have had some hiccups this year and we are trying to improve this.

In January 09 we will be starting work on the shop layout which has not changed since we moved to the current site 10 years ago. Once this work is completed we should me more customer orientated with more space to move around, more and faster till points, better changing room facilities, better stock control system, etc. I hope we can improve your experience next year if you choose to visit.

Bern

Cheers Bern. Yeah - space is a real challenge where you are, I can see that. There are benefits to a cosy shop but when you get as busy as Condor gets . . . well I'm sure you know as you're doing the re-organisation.

I'll be back, but it'll be a while, I've just left London for other reasons.

In terms of look and feel - those Rapha bikes are hot, the 06 bikes were very nice, and the classic minimalistic look is great. I'm not sure Condor is ever going to be a "sexy / modern" brand - that classic look and the whole Rapha aesthetic (no matter how overpriced Rapha may be . . . the socks are great) works really well.

But yes, impossible to please everyone. Best of luck. I'll be back when I'm next in London (well, next in England or Europe even).