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FEATURES: ELLIS 953
Road Bike Action
October 23, 2009
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Dave Wages is not new to building bicycles. After an apprenticeship under Dave Kirk and Kelly Bedford at Serrota Bicycles, Dave moved in 2002 to Wisconsin to focus on building stainless lug bikes with Waterford. After seven years with Waterford, in 2008, Dave went out on his own and started Ellis Cycles. He says, “With a leap of faith, a 500-pound alignment table, some oxy-acetylene tanks and the help of a handful of good friends, I started building frames.”
Ellis Cycles was soon born, and the accolades poured in. At the 2008 Cirque du Cyclisime, one of Dave’s first frames, a track bike, won “Best Track Bike.” Shortly after, James Lalonde topped off an impressive cross season on his Ellis with a Singlespeed Cyclocross National Championship. Then, attending his first North American Handmade Bike Show a few months later, the Ellis won another award. “To have this frame chosen as ‘Best Lugged’ from the collected talent at the 2009 NAHBS was quite an honor. While I appreciate all these awards, what I really enjoy is the direct connection with my customers that just wasn’t possible at Serotta or Waterford. When I get a call or an e-mail about how much they’re enjoying their Ellis, that’s the best reward.”
THE FRAME
The Ellis uses a mix of Reynolds 953 for the stays and 735 chromoly for the main frame. The rear dropouts are his own design based loosely on G.P. Wilsons that were made in the U.K. The intricate and beautiful lugs are investment castings that he acquires from Pacenti or Long Shen. Our review bike had a mix of polished stainless head lugs with a plain steel seat lug and bottom bracket, which Dave then painted. The fork is a steel crown design, which is then chromed. Dave comments, “I expanded the windows and made the tabs wider to accommodate the 953 stays. They are cut from 17/4 stainless steel, which is about the toughest material you’ll find for dropouts. I have to be extra careful when aligning them during the build, because I can actually break the slot in my seat stay or chainstay before the dropout bends. It makes building more challenging, but there’s a great durability payoff.” The paint work on the Ellis 953 is done by Milwaukee native Jason Sanchez.
THE PARTS
While the Ellis exudes a classic look, “A sort of ’80s chromed Italian bike,” as Dave calls it, he used the best modern lugs and tubing and then threw on a complete SRAM Red group, a Reynolds Carbon Ouzo Pro seatpost, Ritchey Classic bars and Fi’zi:k Arione saddle. SRAM S40 wheels and a Chris King “NoThreadset” complete the build.
THE NUMBERS
Our Ellis 953 was actually built to fit Dave’s brother, Steve, and all Ellis frames are custom builds focusing on body dimensions, riding style and preferences. Dave recommends a visit to his shop or is happy to work with your local shop to get a professional fit. The top tube on our bike came in close to 58 centimeters with an 18-centimeter head tube. The Ellis weighed in at 18 pounds.
THE RIDE
Our first thought when we saw the bike was it would be difficult for it to ride as well as it looked. After a smattering of carbon bikes, we had some pre-conceived concern about the Ellis’ ability to measure up. Part of that is naivete and the collective ages of our test fleet, but after a nice 30-mile loop on the Ellis, we found ourselves coming back for more. The Ellis is smooth. It sits under you, soaks up the road and holds steady on corners and descents. When the opportunity to sprint arose, the Ellis 953 hung in there for a few memorable lead-outs and provided a solid platform for quick accelerations. Steel bikes have such a distinct and memorable feel to them. If you aren’t familiar with the feel of steel, do yourself a favor and get on a well-made Reynolds 953 bike, and all your notions of what goes into making a quality bike will be thrown out the window. At speed, the Ellis performed as well or better than any bike we have had in the RBA stable this year. The Ritchey Classic bars made riding in the drops a treat, and we found ourselves down low just for the pure joy of it all. The bike isn’t a climber, per se, but it managed to make its way up some nice, long climbs without much additional effort.
THE VERDICT
If you are looking for a 14-pound carbon race bike, don’t call Ellis Cycles. If, however, you want a classic design, made with care, using the most modern of tubing built by a qualified master of steel lugged design, Ellis is a company you should consider. When we asked Dave what a typical day was like at Ellis Cycles, he said, “Ultimately, the frames that I’m turning out are all one-of-a-kind, so I’ve never expected to have too many ‘typical’ days!” Exactly.
PRICE: $10,000 ($6200, frame & fork)
INFO: www.elliscycles.com
WEIGHT: 18 pounds
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