I am the proud owner of a ten year old custom Ti road bike made by Serotta when it was run by legendary frame builder Ben Serotta. Unfortunately it seems Ben was a better frame builder than he was a businessman and he became another victim of this economic downturn. This does not reflect poorly on Ben - many good men have succumbed lately.
He sought financial help and found it but lost control of the company and was ultimately fired from the company he created and which still bears his name. Thus ended an era in high-end hand-built custom bicycle frames.
The company that sells bikes under the Serotta name is not worthy of the name. They recently quietly posted on their website that they will no longer honor the lifetime warranty that Ben provided. When I bought the bike it came with a lifetime warranty. It is no longer under warranty and yet I am still alive. How can this be? I don't think Serotta will be around very long. The cycling community is too small to market your way around such treachery. We know what they are and we want nothing to do with them.
They'll be gone in a year - two years tops. They're already dead but they just don't know it. I hope their employees find other positions and leave. I know I would.
I was talking to a mechanic at my local bike shop recently and he recommended http://www.ifbikes.com/ as a substitute for Serotta. Their prices look similar and I think they will benefit greatly from the demise of the Serotta brand.
Serotta is dead, long live Ben Serotta!
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