Why Franco?
I get this question a lot while on a bike ride. Normally it’s something like, “Wow, that’s a beautiful bike” or “I love that paint job” or, my favorite, “I’ve never seen a bike like that before. That’s more like rolling artwork than just a bicycle.”
The reason why I choose to ride a Franco bicycle has to start with why I ride in the first place.
Like most of us, I rode a bicycle as a kid. Like most, my first bike was a Schwinn Sting Ray. I then moved on to a BMX bike thinking I was the next “Pro” that was going to grace the cover of BMX Plus. Amazingly, that did not pan out and my next bike wouldn’t show up until I was 32 years old.
In 2001, I wanted to change things up and get out of the gym for some simple exercise, so my next door neighbor recommended that I give mountain biking a shot. I was hooked after 20 minutes. I bought my first adult mountain bike–a Giant NRS. It was everything I was hoping for. It brought me the same sense of true freedom I had as a kid. It’s the freedom to point, shoot, and go anywhere. The fact that I was getting a great cardio workout was secondary. That was a great bike, but then I walked into a bike shop in 2003 and caught a glimpse of what a bike looks like when it’s designed and built by a true artist. This piece of art was a deep red Ventana El Saltamontes. It reminded me of the deep red ‘68 Firebird a friend of mine built up in high school. It was fast just standing still. I bought it.
I loved everything about my new bike. I hit every local trail and even ventured out of town for some great back country rides. I was so hooked on the sport that I entered two mountain bike races. Friends of mine started asking if I would ever consider a road bike. The theory is that road riding will help with your overall fitness and translate over to the mountain bike quite well. I was adamant that I would never be in spandex and riding a skinny tire on a road with cars! It would never happen. Until, 2004.
I was introduced to the Tour de France in July of ‘04. Granted, I had heard about the race, but I had no idea what the fuss was all about. If you recall, this was the year that the individual time trial was held on Alpe d’Huez. Watching that day changed everything. I have been a personal trainer for 31 years and what these humans were putting their body through made absolutely no sense to me. Something in their body had to give out, but it never did. Apparently that’s what I needed to see because I now needed to try a road bike. I went back to the bike shop where I bought my Ventana and test rode a Calfee. Wow. Done. I ordered it that day.
What I didn’t take into account was what would happen next. The amount of time and detail that went into deciding how the bike would be built up was all-consuming. I had to consider the certain components and wheel options, but more importantly to me, how it would look. I have a true love of art versus functionality. Bikes to me, if done right, are moving art sculptures.
My Calfee was custom built for me and painted to my exact description. Another red bike, there might be a theme here. This time candy apple red with gold flakes mixed in the paint. The bike was also painted with what Calfee calls a fade, allowed the carbon fiber layup to show thru the paint at the ends of the tubing, with a fork to match. I couldn’t go on a ride without someone asking about the paint work.
In 2010 I decided to add a new bike to the stable. I was looking for a bike that climbed a bit better than my Calfee. I test rode a Franco Balcom with a Shimano 105 groupset. What a great looking bike. The frame was very clean: it was not blasted with the company’s logo all over it like the big brands do. This would be an easy sale. Right in my budget for a second bike. Not as striking as my Calfee, but this bike was being purchased to be used more as a tool. For the first time I was buying a bike on the basis of how it was built and how well it would climb. Just as I was about to have them run my credit card, I saw a Balcom Road frame sitting on the floor covered in bubble wrap. The rear triangle was exposed and I saw that it was painted in matte black with two yellow stripes on the chain stay. I asked Julian Franco, co-founder of Franco Bikes, about this frame. He told me that he had it custom painted to match the black and yellow SRAM RED LTE groupset that was on order. (For those that don’t know, that groupset was created to honor the past Tour de France winners who rode in the 2010 TdF. The groupset was in production for only one year.)
I had immediately called my wife and told her about this bike. Fortunately for me, she was very supportive in saying that I would be kicking myself if I didn't pull the trigger and spend the extra money on this piece of artwork. Suddenly I had two pieces of rolling art in my garage. This created a dilemma–which one will I ride on a regular basis?
For the last 8 years the Calfee has been on the road 3 times. Yes, I fell in love with the way the Franco Balcom Road looked, but I also realized I had just purchased a Ferrari of a bicycle. It was so much faster than the Calfee. It was stiffer, lighter, more compliant on the rough roads, snappy on the sprints, better at climbing, and descended like it was on rails. I could go on and on about the difference of these two bikes. Yet, I would have the hardest time selling the Calfee because it was still an amazing piece of artwork.
Let’s jump to the beginning of 2018. I went on a test ride with the new Franco Latigo RS1. At the time, it was the latest bike in their fleet. As far as I could tell in the first 5 miles, I went from riding what I thought was a Ferrari (Balcom Road) to a Bugatti (Latigo RS1). I had a long discussion with Hector Rodriguez, co-founder of Franco and its head designer, about the reason for the newest creation. Everything had changed from the overall feel of the ride due to the MJ-series carbon layup, to including a custom geometry option, and even the overall look of the bike. It was fast standing still. I was sold. I was ready to buy a new bike after swearing I would never replace my Balcom “Black and Yellow.”
Hector then informed me that they had taken the RS1 to another level. The RS1-D! (D stands for Disc brakes). We sat down and mapped out how and why this bike was designed, plus how I would personalize it to my own creation. I chose the Sapphire Blue paint with the muted Franco logos, an all ENVE cockpit to match ENVE tubeless carbon wheels, Shimano Ultegra Di2 groupset, and hydraulic disc brakes.
I went from a Ferrari to a Bugatti. This bike is so much stiffer than the Balcom Road, yet is smoother and more compliant on the rough roads. It climbs faster, descends quicker, and overall handles as if it’s a slot car on a track. The hardest part of owning this bike is not wanting to get it dirty. This is true rolling artwork.
Why do I ride a Franco? My Franco lets me showcase my artistic side, while working on my athletic side. Franco Bikes is the complete package, rolling artwork and high performance machines.
For more information regarding Franco bicycles check out their website at www.francobicycles.com
For more information on cycling around the Santa Monica Mountains check out www.earntheview.com
