Back in the fall of 2000, I took the plunge and bought a brand new Litespeed Saber. This was about the exact time that Litespeed was becoming a "Sales are more important than customers" company. I'm 6'0" tall and the bike shop sized me at 55cm. After the first ride, I knew it was too big. After multiple attempts to contact Litespeed for some type of resolution, I got nothing in return. The district sales manager for the Chicago region laughed at me and told me flat out that he didn't care if I purchased another one in the future... I had a really bad experience with Litespeed and their new way of doing business in the 21st Century. They've lost their original philosophy of customers first.
So the reason I'm talking about Litespeed in my Corima Fox review should become very clear after the following. I sold my Litespeed Saber after 4 years of ownership and bought a 650 Fox. The bike freaked me out the first three times I rode it. It just felt funny being on this main beamed bike. I get to my favorite descent and the bike quickly spins up to 35MPH just coasting downhill and the bike doesn't feel like it's going to throw me. It's very plush at high speed and easy to control. You can feel it cutting into a 25MPH headwind. The deep aero position is there for anyone wishing to get into it. The user replaceable dropouts are a plus. Most importantly, it took me 4 years to learn that it's hard to run following T2, when your body has just been beat to death by a bike that transfers every single bump to your spinal cord. The carbon disperses these negative forces very well, yet still doesn't flex when you're stomping on the cranks.
Well, I'm adjusting my seatpost and notice that I'm missing one of the set screws that holds the specially designed Ellipse seatpost in place. None of my local hardware stores has anything with the same thread count, so I proceed to try and contact Corima on this one. I found an e-mail address on www.corima.com's website and decided to give it a try. I figured my experience would be the same as with Litespeed once again. I simply requested a single set screw for my Corima Fox and asked where to send my credit card information so I could pay for it. Within 24 hours, I received an e-mail back stating that my set screws (they sent me 2 just to be safe) were already in the mail and on their way to my home! They thanked me for owning a Fox and told me to call if I needed anything else. What a huge difference! I'll bet my next paycheck that Litespeed wouldn't even respond to the same request today in March of 2005. They wouldn't have anything to gain from putting a screw in an envelope and sending it to one of their customers. I bought from the company in Tennessee based on their interactions with their customers and by the year 2000, when I bought my first bike from them, that philosophy was long gone. It's too bad really.
Don't hesitate to purchase anything from Corima. They'll take better care of their US customers from 4000 miles away than Litespeed will from 40.
The Corima Fox is very aero, stiff, and comfortable. But no Corima is very light. Not that it matters much when your rolling down the road on this frame at "Mach" speed. The Corima Puma Road is a better choice for Triathletes, because the 700C wheels and normal top tube work better to get you into a more normal aero position, without being too low. Corima knows their stuff though, as most of their designs come from UK Aero guru Mike Burrows, who did all the work in the windtunnel with Chris Boardman, when Boardman set the hour record on the track.
Very solid, very light, very aero, kinda comfy. I have owned other high end carbon and aluminum bikes, this one kicks them all. Carbon comfort is a plus, but the extreme low down aero position can get a bit uncomfortable over long distances. Climbs extremely well out of saddle. This is a race bike not a daily beater. Reversible seat post is a plus for custom fit.
I decided to go for a Corima Fox as I wanted to use a Lotus-style bike for domestic time trials. With the UCI banning these frames, all the manufacturers have stopped making them, so the Corima is one of very few available today. It's a shame the pros are not allowed to use these type of bikes anymore, as the big bike races are really a shop window to the best equipment - they all look the same now.
When built up, it really is striking to look at. It just so happens that almost all the components I use (Zipp carbon cranks, Vision Tech bars, Zipp disk, etc.) are all black, so match the frame perfectly!
Using the bike, the seat post ensemble is really unique - on a static home trainer, it moves all over the place, and feels like it is going to snap! However, on the raod it acts as suspension, ironing out any rough surface. The bottom bracket is incredibly stiff, so the frame combines comfort with high power transfer. I would say it is equal or even better to my Trek OCLV in this respect, which really is saying something. It is also amazingly light - I reckon it is only slightly heavier than the Trek, and that weighs under 8kgs!
I have raced a few times on it, and compared to my previous TT frame, a Cougar, it is much quicker, even though this is a proper TT frame. I reckon I am gaining 20-30 seconds every ten miles, which could easily be the difference between first and fourth.
As far as price is concerned - £1,350 (UKP) is a lot for a frame, but then again, for the performance, I think it represents good value.
So - in summary, the Corima is a rare example of something that is superb at everything. It is light, stiff, comfortable, rigid and very areodynamic; I would not know where it could be improved. I will never go back to riding a diamond framed-bike for a time trial. If you want the best, look no further. Perfection!
Having owned one of the stiffest frame fork set-ups around. (Aluminum Cervelo P3) I have had a hard time thinking that a carbon fiber bike could compete with the rigidity of that machine. The straight forward power and feeling you get when you put the hammer down on the Cervelo seemed unmatched. "Seemed" !! being the operative word.
I have been riding the Corima 650 Fox for 6 months or so and am thoroughly convinced that it is not only faster but more comfortable as well.
At first the transition from the Aluminum frame will shock the price tag right off the Corima and put you into a state of what did I just do ? My thoughts were" I have sold the fastest bike I have ever owned and am stuck on this Carbon frame flexing,no bottom tube having,weird looking, expensive power draining sloppy machine that I thought would be faster. " I had been riding the Corima for a few months on a trainer. Watching everyday as I spun. The sprocket would go back and forth flexing to no end and my anxiety continued to grow. I had to do it! I entered in a
Winter Duathlon, which I never do. (winter races not duathlons) I raced the 25 miles up hills, down hills, straight aways, corners and never in my life did I expect to get the results I got. At the end of the race I had averaged 24.5 miles per Hr. 2nd on the day on a bike I had never ridden outside. This bike is fast. It rides itself. Just hold on and go straight. Cornering is a little squirrely but straight Time Trial format it is lightening. Got the $$$. Trade something in and buy one. Touch expensive though !
