“I would encourage anyone interested in a custom, high quality or just good-fitting bike to consider Cronometro. Colin O’Brien (author, tour-leader, former US hour record-holder) knows bikes, and brings talent and experience to fit and design. Scott and Josh are exceptionally knowledgeable, and all are great to work with. I recently ordered a custom Seven with Cronometro (a long-held dream of mine). Cronometro has long experience with Seven. Colin came up with a fit that is different than my prior fit, and is better for my needs (club riding and some endurance). Colin then used the fit data to design, with Seven, a frame that is balanced, well-proportioned, and good-looking. Between Colin and Seven, they got the design and technology just right for the ride quality I wanted.
I learned some new things about fit and position. The bike rides great – I’m looking forward to this year’s campaigns!
Very satisfactory experience.
– Pete
Eden Prairie, Minnesota.
“Thanks again for your help with my new Zipp disc wheel. I had a great ride at the State Time Trial Championships yesterday and I know the new wheel helped (esp. paired with my P3). I was hoping to set a PR and break 54min. on the 40KM course (previous best was 54:06). I ended up breaking the 53 min. barrier, laying down a 52:56, which gave me first in the 45-49 class by over a minute. Even ——— -whom I am usually a few seconds near in time- was almost a minute slower than me this year. It is really rewarding to set goals, work hard, have equipment you know is awesome and can totally trust (and not think about while racing!) – and then achieve those goals. So thanks to all of you at Cronometro who share this victory with me. ”
-Craig via email
“Colin O’Brien owner of Cronometro (located on the isthmus in Madison, WI) was wonderful to work with as he used a combination of grids, levels, tape measures and goniometers to check out my current bike set up. He took an impressive intake asking for any current pain when riding, numbness or tingling and asked about previous injuries. I was able to give him a good long list of injuries and pointed out that my left arm is a good inch shorter that my right as the result of a broken arm while still growing. After putting my bike on a compuTrainer and having me get my RPMs up into the 90’s we looked at the power of my right leg vs. my left. We were also able to identify that I had a very dominate power surge as I came over the top of the pedal and lost power as the pedal was lifting, this became one of the bench marks as we looked for improvement to pedal stroke with different geometry.”
Doug via blog post
“Seven Axiom SL – The Maiden Voyage!
Well, the beautiful Sunday weather yesterday tipped the scales and I simply could not resist the opportunity to give my new bike its inauguration. Man, that is one sweet machine! Everything I would hope for and more. Not only does it fit well as was to be expected, but it is amazingly responsive. One really gets the true sense that there is absolutely no wasted energy in this bike. Anything put into the drive-train is directly and efficiently translated into rotational motion of the wheels. Nothing gets wasted in flex or springiness of the frame or any components. Shifting is smooth and seamless, although it will admittedly take me some time to get used to the lever shifters. To wit, on more than one occasion, I found myself going in the wrong direction with my shift. One thing I did start to do as I got more comfortable, was double lever shift (for example – depressing the buttons on both shifters simultaneously to drop to the small chain ring and smaller cogs at the same time, thus getting into a lower gear at the step-over more quickly – this worked beautifully in the sense that this multi- and simultaneous shift was virtually un-noticeable in the peddling legs – good ol’ Campy! Also, the minimal toe overlap you designed in is very nice compared the bigger problem encountered with the shop Alaris that I tested. The roll of the tires is really nice too. I can feel the softer ride due to the width, but it does not feel mushy at all and the bike coasts VERY well. Riding up on the bars or down on the drops were both very comfortable. I could spend a lot of time on this machine without feeling it, I am sure.
On my ride, I was actually nicely treated with an initial northerly wind on my way out, thus making my initial out on Seminole a tailwind joyride (I think I was averaging about 26+ mph going out!). Of course I had to pay for this bigtime on the return, but oh well.
Bottom line — I am not worthy…….but I’ll take it anyway!
Thanks so much for all your help on bringing this to pass.”
-Customer via email
“I just wanted to let you know that the Cervelo RS may be the best
purchase I have ever made. I put about 60 miles on it over the weekend
and I couldn’t be happier. It’s smooth, comfortable, responsive, and,
frankly, it hauls ass. I’m pretty sure I had a huge smile on my face
for the duration of my rides this weekend. And the fit is divine. The
pain that was present on the outside part of my right foot is
completely gone. Neck and upper back pains are also gone. The saddle
took a little getting used to, but when I went out on Sunday, it felt
great. Everything about this bike and the fitting process was exactly
what I was looking for. I’ve been talking pretty much nonstop about
the bike and Cronometro to anybody who will listen. I’ll be sure to
stop by in a few weeks after I put a couple hundred miles on the bike.
If something comes up sooner, I’ll be sure to let you know.
Again, thank you for everything. I’m looking forward to the nice
weather and many hours on the bike.”
-Jeremy via email
“I am pretty much speechless at this point –the welds, paint, CNC details –absolutely stunning.”
“I started biking about three years ago. My dad got me started and now I have to admit it is one of my very favorite things to do. Winters kill much harder and faster than they used to.
I shopped around for a bike for quite a while. I was not treated very well at any place until I visited my local branch of Erik’s Bike Shop . The person there listened to what I wanted and placed me in the perfect bicycle. I am primarily interested in road biking, and hit the occasional crushed limestone trail. The selection for me was the Specialized Sequoia Elite, 2004 model. I cannot say enough how happy I am with this bicycle.
The person at Eriks measured me properly for the bike. Unfortunately he didn’t set me up properly. After even short 10 mile rides my knees were swelling up like grapefruits. I was getting desperate and thought I was just “weak” and that biking may not be for me. After talking to many people, I was referred to the guys at Cronometro here in Madison.
After setting up an appointment I showed up with my bike. The guy who helped me, Craig, set my bike up on a trainer and I started pedaling. Craig watched me for a while from many different angles, then started making adjustments. The good news was that the salesperson at Erik’s had me on the correct bicycle for my size and height. The bad news was that nothing was adjusted properly. The cleats on my shoes that clip onto the pedals were wrong. The handlebars and seat height were incorrect. The pedals themselves were not hooked up properly.
So we spent about 3 hours and after that it has been wonderful. No more knee swelling. In fact, no pain at all, even after century rides – well a little ass pain, but not too much. I am set up in a powerful streamlined biking position after that session with Craig and he single-handedly saved my biking career.
The best $200-$300 you can spend if you decide to get into serious biking is to see a professional and get yourself properly set up on your bicycle. When (if) my Specialized bike ever fails I will be buying my next one at Cronometro as a reward for what they did for me several years ago.”
http://lifeinthegreatmidwest.blogspot.com/search/label/Biking
“I picked-up the bike, took it for a spin, and I must say that it felt better than ever. Smooth, quiet, and efficient. It was just like riding a brand new bike again.”
yelp entry
“Comfort and control need not come at the price of $3500 Italian bicycle. The guys at Cronometro will take the bike you own now and fit it to your exact specifications. It’ll cost you $240 but it’s well worth it if you’re planning on riding more than an hour at a stretch this summer.”
yelp entry