Forza Frameset Review - by Chris Stutz

One of PricePoint's good customers bought a Forza frameset and is very happy with it. He submitted a review to PricePoint who in turned shared with us.

I am not one to write reviews. I put some faith in reviews when I 

read them but do research and come to my own conclusions in the end.

I have been riding and racing for over 20 years. I have built over 10 

bikes in that time. I recently went to a few local bike shops to see 

their wares and was put off by the attitude of, "don't question us ... 

just give us your $$$$"! I was not sure whether I was paying for 

components or the frame in the pricing. Sorry that I cannot justify 

105 on a $3000 bike! I am old school!

I turned to Pricepoint and purchased the Sette Forza [ISM].  I thought 

about it for days and was hesitant because, I like others, think high $

$$ equals better frame. On the other hand I have friends in the bike 

industry that explain putting a sticker on the bike increases its 

price even though the same factories are producing similar frames at 

less cost.

I am blown away by this frame!!!!  I have ridden Trek(s), LeMond, 

Biachi, Aegis, and Specialized. The quality of this frame blows my 

expectations out of the water. The finish is exceptional. The 

internal cable routing is amazingly easy to work with. Chasing the BB 

was not necessary.

I built the Forza  (54cm) up with SRAM Red and Easton bars and Shimano 

wheels, a FSA Vision Tech Sizemore Stem. FSA Integrated Head set, and 

Flite saddle. All I can say is, "WOW"! The bike is scary light.  It 

is quick and snappy.  The stiffness is amazing ... a sprinter’s 

dream!!! If you are sitting on the fence ... Buy this frame.  You 

will not be disappointed!  FYI ... All said I have $3100 in a bike 

that would retail for a heck of a lot more!!!!

Cheers,

Chris Stutz

http://www.chrisstutzcustomphoto.com/

Thanks, Chris.
We provide quality bikes & frames at a very affordable cost. Seeing more and more happy riders out on the roads and trails makes us very proud.

Jimmy Button's Forza Review

As you may already know, former motocross champion Jimmy Button and his former trainer Cory Worf rode on our Forza from San Diego, CA to Daytona Beach, FL to raise funds for spinal cord research.

The ride was a success for the Miles for Miracles team. Jimmy proudly pushed the Forza across the country and was very pleased with it. Here is what he has to say:


Bike review: Sette Forza Elite

I have been riding the Forza now for about 8 months. In that time I have trained for and completed a cross country ride from San Diego CA to Daytona Beach Florida. In total I have ridden just over 5000 miles on the bike, and I am still without complaint. From the beginning I have always thought the graphics were great and very eye catching. Beyond that however is a solid, yet light bike that is equipped with all Shimano Dura-Ace components and Mavic wheels, so how could you possibly complain about that. You just can’t. The frame of the Forza is solid and compliant. The bike feels great while you are climbing or descending and gives you a great ride while travelling across some of the roughest roads in the world, thank Texas and Hwy 90 for that. Another aspect of the bike that should be mentioned is the durability of the entire package. In riding so many miles in a relatively short amount of time I was unfortunate to have crashed the bike a few times too many and I never had an issue. Granted I did have to re-wrap my bars but other than that the bike never faltered. Couldn’t be happier with the bike and it will now be hung up on my wall as one of my most prized possessions. Not to worry, I have another one in the garage that will be my everyday bike. Yes, I do like this bike.

Jimmy Button

 Jimmy crossing Arizona

Us at Sette, along with thousands of people world-wide, have been touched by Jimmy's story and admire his determination and will. Sette is more than proud to have sponsored Miles for Miracles for this worthy cause.

You can visit the Miles for Miracles site Here.

Day 57: Palatka to Daytona "Finish Line"

Today will be the last day of our trip. We are leaving from Palatka and riding a short day of 47 miles into Daytona. There are a lot of emotions floating around this morning. We are all so very happy to reach the end of the ride but there is another part of us all that will miss the bus we have lived on the past 57 days. We will miss pleasure to ride our bikes everyday all day. We will miss our crew that has made this all happen up until now. I don't think that we could have made it this far without each and everyone of us. So there is a lot on our minds this morning. The ride was slow because we couldn't get there early. We were supposed to be at the track at 3 for the news. This was good. It afforded us a lot of time to talk about the day and tell each other how we were feeling. The main things that we had been talking about up until this point weren't even a factor today. There was no wind, it wasn't very hot, the roads were smooth, and we didn't need to ask the girls about the GPS. Haha inside joke. The day passed in a blink of an eye. When we saw the Welcome to Daytona sign we knew we were there. All we had to do at that point was take a lap around the track and get some pic's in Victory Lane. This would be the icing on the cake for our long and very hard trip. Jimmy's face lit up as we went through the tunnel and onto the track. Besides some reporters we were the only people there. It was amazing. without him knowing it we all let Jimmy take off on his own to cross the finish by himself because this was his day to shine. He has worked harder than anyone on this trip. He has also amazed everyone here with his drive to push through pain. For those of you that weren't there aren't words to describe what has happen these past 57 days. With the three crashes and the surgery. A normal person would have packed it up and gone home a long time ago but Jimmy stayed and pushed himself everyday. There were a lot of days that I was in a lot of pain and I had no idea how he was still peddling a bike but he was. I have said it many times on this trip but Jimmy you are inspiring and you are my hero and my best friend. We have also used this T.S. Eliot quote before but I can't think of a better way to sum up the entire trip "Only those willing to risk going to far can possibly find out how far one can go". After the first day Jimmy told me that he truly thought that he was pushing himself to the point of possible death. He had never pushed himself that far past his comfort zone. He continued to push himself everyday on this trip and we all gave him everything we had to support him. There were so many amazing things that happen along the trip that will never make this blog but the bond that all of us traveling together have made will last a lifetime. We would like to thank all of you for helping and supporting us on our quest. Please continue to pass along the information about the site. We will continue to raise money for SCI Research and we will have a24 hour event in the last summer. Please check back and go to www.qualcomm24.com for more info. Thank you again for all that you have all done.

JB & Cory & Crew
Eastbound and Down/DONE!

2011 Sette Forza Review by Bicycling.com

Here's a review our friends from Bicycling.com wrote up on our Forza ISM...

"Ride a Grand Tour-caliber road bike without the massive price tag."

Everyone would love to ride a Tour de France-caliber bike, but budget-wise that’s not an option for most cyclists. So, we seek bikes with equal performance that we can purchase for a little less. Sette’s Forza is this kind of bike—affordable for many, yet still packing plenty of on-the-road punch.

On paper, the Forza has a lot going for it: a full Dura Ace component group, 3T cockpit and Mavic’s Cosmic Carbone aero wheels. A bike from a larger brand with a similar spec could cost nearly twice as much. The carbon frame also features performance-enhancing technology like a tapered head tube with 1.5-inch lower bearing to stiffen the front end, bowed seatstays for extra compliance, and an integrated seat tube.

The timing of this test couldn’t have come at a better time. I rode the Forza leading up to our annual Editors' Choice trip, where I spent a week on five of the best race bikes on the planet. When I returned home and got back on the Sette, my ride impressions were still fresh in my mind.

The Forza is quick to accelerate out of turns or power up for a sprint like a proper racer. I was surprised that the Sette was rather similar to other expensive carbon bikes. No, it’s not as efficient and unified-feeling as the class leaders, but it’s awfully close. Its ability to smooth a road is almost there, but off by just a tick with more resonance coming through the bars and saddle.

Handling is also right up there with the best. The bike carves a mean corner without demanding too much attention from the pilot. And it tracks well while you’re churning out revolutions on the flats and over the rollers. The Mavic wheels feel decent when pointed uphill, but do their best work at speed. With a 53mm profile, the wheels will demand more attention to handling in strong, gusty crosswinds, but they sure give the bike a fast racy look, feel and sound.

As good as the ride is, riders will have to make some compromises. Most significantly, the Forza comes in only four sizes. The similarly priced Trek Madone 6.2 ($4,200) is available in 10 different sizes and many competitors come in at least six. The Forza leaves tall and shorter cyclists out in the cold and jumps three centemeters between sizes, instead of the more common two centimeters.

Riders I met were surprised to learn how little the Forza costs, and everyone took a liking to the bike’s look. Though it’s not an Italian brand and won’t be seen at any WorldTour races this year, the name (Sette translates to “seven” in Italian) helps it blend in. Still, this isn’t a bike for image driven riders. Instead, anyone who prioritizes value and getting the biggest bang for the buck would happily speed over thousands of miles on the Forza.

Buy it if: You love to ride fast and want a lot of bike for the money
Forget it if: You wear name brand, designer jeans
Weight: 15.66 lbs.
Sizes: 51, 54, 57 (tested), 60cm
Frame: 3K carbon
Fork: 3K carbon with tapered steerer
Component highlights: Shimano Dura Ace 7900 shift/brake levers, derailleurs, crank, brakes; Mavic Cosmic Carbone SL wheels; VITTORIA Open Corsa EVO CX tires; 3T ARX Team stem, Ergonova Tea carbon handlebar; Fizik Arione CX saddle
Info: settebikes.com/Forza.html
Cost: $4000

You can find the original review here

Day 56

This morning was a little questionable if Jimmy would be able to start the day but once again He rises to the occasion. It was a slow start while he struggled to get oxygen into his lungs. We rode pretty slow for the first half hour but then slowly started to speed it up from there. Jimmy was in a lot of pain but was hiding it well. We rode through Gainesville and headed southeast. Today the wind is gusting up to 30mph at times. So we have got to stay on our toes. We've only got today and tomorrow to go. So we decided to slow it down and take it easy for most of the day today. Big thanks to Jim, Red Dog, Billy, and Megan for all of the help today. At the end of the day we had ridden 67 miles and Jimmy is pretty beat up but we are ready to get to Daytona. If nothing else "Just to prove it to those guys that thought that Jimmy couldn't do it".

Day 55

Today we were excited to get on the road because Tim "Red Dog" Ferry and Billy Wood were joining us. The road was supposed to be flat and the wind wasn't supposed to be very bad either. On mile 28 though the day would take a substantial change. Jimmy slowed down to take a drink and ended up riding into my back tire and crashing pretty hard. It seemed that the ride may be done with only two and a half days until Daytona. Jimmy was in a lot of pain from hitting the ground. He had scrapes on his hands, hip, and ribs. He has also broken another helmet. His elbow seems to be ok because he was wearing a skateboard elbow pad. We think he has cracked or broken ribs though. Much to all of our surprise Jimmy wantedto get back on the bike and ride. He is determined to finish this thing. Although the rest of the day would be ridden at a much slower pace we got it done. Jimmy is in a lot of pain and needs to have some wounds cleaned. He is in good spirits and hopefull about tomorrow. We will all go to bed tonight after we say a prayer for Jimmy. Jimmy & Cory East Bound & Down

Crash video link: http://youtu.be/ivjm5Lp8Caw

Day 54 - Time Catching Up

Day 54,
Today once again JB isn't feeling 100%. His back is pretty tight which threw his entire body into spasm. I worked on him for about an hour and he also took a warm shower to calm himself down. We finally got on the road about 1pm once again. We started out slow again today. The road out of Tallahassee is pretty hilly. Which is hurting his left hamstring. The good thing is the road is pretty smooth and it is a lot cooler today than yesterday. I saw a few snakes on the side of the road today and Jimmy didn't see any of them. Big E stopped us today to give us Jimmy's elbow pad because we grabbed the wrong one before we left. Jimmy was feeling tight and need to get started pretty quick but I had to do a nature break since the bus was there. It took about 5 minutes and JB was out of sight. Big E suggested that I draft behind the bus to catch back up. I said ok and I'm glad I did. It was a lot of fun because I was riding at 42 mph with little effort. Big E could see me on the camera as I motioned him to go faster. When we finally caught back up to Jimmy I. was peddling at 53.3 mph. That's pretty fast on a flat road. We were almost half way done around this time. We stopped for a quick break and got back on the road. After lunch Jimmy was finally feeling a bit better. So we picked up the pace on our way to Perry. We are excited to stay in a KOA tonight. We will have hook ups and maybe be able to do laundry. We ended up doing 60 miles today. Which is about 10 miles past the RV Park. Billy Wood and Red Dog are already there waiting on us to show up. They will be riding the last few days with us.