Custom Parlee Z1

Sometimes it’s in the everyday conversation with our customers over the turns of wrenches from which the best Ideas are born. You know the saying “It’s the Cadillac of bikes?” Well for us, Cadillac doesn’t always fit; they have style and quality, but they tend to be big and slow and eat up a lot of gas. We prefer Lamborghini – light, fast, flashy; a car that is often more of a racer than it’s driver, built for careening around switchbacks in the Italian Alps.

With this in mind, we decided to make a Parlee that had everything a true bike aficionado could fall in love with, and more – a bike that would never leave you wanting. We happen to have a customer who was looking for just such a bike and he gave us Carte blanche to let our imaginations run. So, in the summer of 2008 we teamed up with Bob Parlee and Dave Sem to show not that the Parlee is the Lamborghini of bikes, but that Lamborghini is the Parlee of Cars. With Parlee beginning to distinguish themselves from the rest of the high-end road bike market, why not?

The incredible talent (from frame to wheels to paint) that went into this custom Parlee is not easily outshone, which is why it’s worth noting that the first thing people are struck by is the incredible full custom paint job, just look at the headset spacer. The shifters may say “Red” but even they have been given a once over by Dave Sem, who used Lamborghini paint in Verde Aires to accent everything from the stem to the crankset to the Edge rims and DT Swiss hubs of the hand built wheelset. Every single component was carefully selected and customized for a fully integrated build and a finished look unlike anything else.

Not many people might have the vision to imagine a lime green paint job looking good on a bike, and that’s part of the reason the final product is so impressive. The green isn’t a conventional choice but Sem showed that you can get a classic, clean look from a novel color choice.

Parlee, Sem, and all the guys here at the shop have continued to raise the bar year after year, but if you think that this bike couldn’t be topped, wait until you see what we’re bringing for 2009…

Custom Parlee Bicycles Parts List

Custom Parlee Bicycles Photo Gallery