The Condor Fratello: The Perfect Bicycle?

I'm no expert, but I think this may be the perfect bike…

The Condor Fratello

Last year, I bought and then reviewed a new bike, a Kona DewPlus. At the time, it was the first bicycle I’d ever bought for myself. I wasn’t really into cycling as a sport, seeing it as a method of transport and exploration. And to an extent this is still true, but now I know the technical aspects and also understand the sporting side of riding bikes. Over the course of riding an ‘adult’ bike, I began to appreciate the benefits of better build materials, sensible accessories (nobody really needs a retro style headlamp- it's silly), and decent parts. I’d already been amending and adding to the Kona but eventually the inevitable happened: I bought another bike.

The catalyst for this was in June of this year. I came down to the bikeroom one morning to find, somewhat inexplicably, that my chain had been removed. I say 'removed'…it was stolen. Of all the things to be stolen this was the most strange. It’s not that easy to remove a chain. It’s also not really worth it, seeing as they’re worn, dirty, used, and cost as little as £7 new. Seeing as only people with a key fob to my building can access the bike storeroom, it would appear I have at least one very odd neighbour.

Anyway, whilst buying and then fitting a new chain - I did this in a park and ended up getting help from a random Romanian man who proceeded to tell me about his favourite brand of mushroom coffee and also about the alien portal hidden under a mountain in his home country…obviously - I started to think about upgrading the groupset. And which planet I'd cycle on first. This spiralled into getting the bike sprayed green, and eventually, I found myself online looking at different bikes altogether.

One of the few complaints with the Kona was that it was a little bit big for me, and after a day’s riding, would get pretty tiring due to its weight. Looking into it, I started to research getting a proper bike fit before committing to anything new. After all, if I was going to be spending a large sum of money on something, it may as well be fitted to me exactly, for maximum comfort and efficiency.

As with everything, browsing Google leads you down all sorts of paths, and I veered from off-the-peg frames that I'd add to myself, to having a totally custom built bike from one of many the artisan bike builders around the UK (this was prohibitively expensive and time consuming). Eventually, after a brief detour into the world of animation, I stumbled (or maybe those aliens determined it) across a blend of the two options: Condor Cycles.

Condor is based in London and have been making bikes since 1948. They make a decent range, from carbon fibre racers to more genteel, classically styled tourers. But, crucially, their website features a bike builder function, allowing you to select all the different parts and colours you want, put it all together on a frame of your choosing, and then take this newly created cyber-bike into their store.

And that is what happened. I built the bike online: a Condor Fratello steel frame, with all the relevant groupset, wheels, disc brakes, colours etc - mine would be in Paris Green (it’s actually pretty close to Racing Green, but I suspect there’s a legal trademark on that specific shade). And then booked a bike fitting for a warm August Saturday morning, and set off clutching a print out of the bike I’d ‘designed’.

The bike fit took around an hour. The store is full of bikes and accessories, as you’d expect, and the more I've learnt about it all, the more I could appreciate these things. Downstairs, in the basement, is a semi-museum, showing off the brand’s rich heritage, plus a wider selection of sparkly new bikes. It’s an interesting space and well worth looking through the history, if you find yourself down there.

I was perched on a stool and as is apparently standard in all places now, offered a coffee. Declined. It's like drinking grit. Then we discussed what I was after; a bike for fun, but also commuting, holidays, good on flats and hills, comfortable and not too heavy. Solid, stylish and reliable. All within my price range too. And it turned out that my selection of the Fratello had been the right choice, although some of the additional elements would need modification (aka for better performance).

With the initial discussion about the type of riding over, I was led over to the measuring apparatus to have my size measured. This contraption is essentially a bike frame made with adjustable measuring tube; once you sit on it, anything can be adjusted to suit your fit, from the length of the top tube, the saddle height, bar width and on and on.

I was sized up to a 55” frame, a size below the Kona, as I suspected would happen. I then had to pedal on the spot whilst my limb angles were taken and the saddle and handle bars were lengthened, widened, and so on until I had the perfect bike for me. Lesson here: wear sensible clothing. Jeans are not that.

With the numbers taken, and beads of sweat on my brow, we sat back on the swivel stools to discuss the finer points of the mechanics; the wheels, tyres, inner tubes, bar tape, pedals, saddle, groupset, colour, all were up for discussion and I was recommended the best I could afford. In case you are thinking I was just being sold stuff for the sake of it, the Condor staff even suggested components which directly competed against their own brand but that they considered better. This is the sign of a company that knows good service produces greater reward in the long run. And they're right, coffee aside.

At this stage, customers are asked to leave a non-refundable deposit, which guarantees you pay for the bike when it’s delivered. I was given a seven week wait-time for it to be made in their Italian factory, from Italian Columbus steel tubing (I’ve learned a lot about the construction of bicycles during this process): designed in Britain, made in Italy. No wonder it looks good. For a bit extra, and extending your wait time, you can request custom paint work on the frame too. I toyed with this idea but I liked the green and I think the bike looks pretty much as good as it can already, without flashy paint work.

For someone who, it’s fair to say, wasn’t a super serious cyclist, I was actually really excited about getting this new machine, and the wait felt pretty tedious. But after about six weeks I was emailed to say my bike was ready for collection. I booked an appointment to pick it up and on a cool September morning went back into London, carrying my saddle and pedals, a couple of lights and a few other random bits and pieces I needed too affix before I could ride it home.

I was actually feeling a bit unwell so the plan to ride home from London didn’t happen. Instead, I picked up the bike, had the saddle fitted and we did a final check to ensure I was still positioned right, and then I was unleashed on the world.

I have never ridden a bike with dropped handlebars, or with double-tap gearing, or one as nice as this. The minute I got on it, it felt great, despite my cold. The fit was perfect and it was so light and sleek compared to the Kona. It was actually a little unnerving at first, to ride down the Euston Road on something so nippy, agile and quick, and I took it easy to avoid crashing straight away.

On the train, I was complimented twice on how nice the bike looks, and this has become a trend now; total strangers will comment on how good it looks. And it does. It turns head with its classic look, rather than some of the more modern carbon bikes, plus I prefer the classic styling.

The ride itself is brilliant. The bike is exceptionally quick, and the gearing means you can pedal at a steady cadence and maintain a decent momentum, even when faced with some pretty steep hills – I took it out into the Chilterns to test everything out. It handles so well, with the right balance of flex and stiffness, and is really responsive to the rider’s whims and decisions.

Now I am getting used to the double tap system, shifting is becoming instinctive, and riding on drops greatly increases aerodynamics and efficiency. But, crucially, it is just so much fun. Riding this bike is enjoyable, exciting, and something I want to do more of. You know something is good when you are disappointed at having to finish using it for the day. And that’s what riding this bike is like.

If you are looking for a bike to enjoy, then I couldn’t recommend this one enough. It wasn’t that cheap, but compared to some of the other models I’ve seen, it wasn’t as expensive as you can go either, and for the price I also got a professional bike fit, ensuring I got the exact bike for me, plus a wealth of knowledge and advice too. I also suspect it’s a lot more fun than some of those super expensive ones which take themselves far too seriously. And in six weeks’ time, I get a free service too to check everything is settling in.