What Does Rider-Ready Mean?
Seven's Rider-Ready bikes are our unique approach to building predetermined curated designs. Sort of like stock bikes, but not at all.
Comparing Bikes & Design Processes
Choose Rider-Ready Or A Stock Bike
Step Up From Stock.
Seven's Rider-Ready bikes are handbuilt one at a time in our Massachusetts factory. We call it Simple-Custom because Rider-Ready strips away the complexities of full custom and provides a straightforward pick list of our most popular custom features and options.
Stock bikes don't compare on any meaningful long-term measure.
This chart illustrates six ways in which Rider-Ready bikes are overwhelmingly better than stock carbon bikes. You can get all of this at a competitive price and have it built in the USA by Seven.
We highlight Trek and Specialized as examples, but the differences hold true with all stock carbon bikes. Specialized and Trek are well-respected brands with excellent reputations. It is not their shortcomings that make stock bike building inferior to Seven's Rider-Ready approach.
| The Questions | Benefits of Seven's Rider-Ready Bikes | Considerations of Stock Performance Carbon Bikes |
|---|---|---|
| "What's the price?" | Framesets (frame and fork) start at $4,120. That is unheard of for a U.S. made titanium frameset. Complete bikes start at about $6,700. Starting at $369/mo or 0% APR with PayPal. You are worth it. | Nearly all performance carbon framesets are in the $5,000+ range. Depending on what you value in a bike's performance, the total cost of ownership is significantly higher. |
| "What's the lead time?" | Currently Rider-Ready framesets are shipping within about 3. Complete bikes are shipping within about 5. More lead time details. | Sometimes in stock; sometimes 4 weeks; sometimes not available. Looking online, many sizes always seem out of stock. Hit or miss. Seasonal availability. Take what you can get. |
| "Is the frame going to be stiff enough? I hear that titanium if flexy. My old titanium bike was flexy." | Seven's innovative Rider-Ready designs mean you can choose from three distinct frame stiffness levels: Seven's Benchmark, RocketShip Stiff, and SuppleState Resilient. No carbon frame's drivetrain is stiffer than our RocketShip tubeset. No carbon frame is smoother than our SuppleState tubeset. Choices, choices. | |
| "Does the bike have the features and options I want?" | We offer all the popular options and upgrades. Customize your Rider-Ready Seven to your needs. | Stock bike usually don't have options. Cable routing is what it is. It either comes with fender mounts or it doesn't. It's either a UDH or it isn't. |
| "What kind of riding was the bike designed for?" | Within our Rider-Ready bike line, we offer 16 models, so most riders find precisely the right Seven. All models here. Our Rider-Ready bikes have so many models, subcategories, and performance profiles available that you can match your riding needs to one or more Rider-Ready builds. | Typically trying to be all things in one bike. Therefore the bike does not excel at anything. Most production brands have one or two frame models that are bolstered with a few parts kits and paint colors. Those parts don't really define the bike's usage. In short, if the brand has one gravel frame model, there's just one primary riding function. Sometimes they're kitchen sink bikes trying and be all things to all people. Sounds good; doesn't work. |
| "Titanium or carbon?" | Available in full titanium and carbon-titanium mix designs. Numerous tubeset configurations: constant wall, double butted, multi-butted, and carbon tubes with titanium lugs. Check out our tubeset explainer for more information.
"Which material should I choose?"
|
Text from multiple prestigious carbon bike suppliers' 2024 owner's manual describes carbon's problems well:
"These types of bicycles are intended to [...] give a performance advantage over a relatively short product life [...] you are choosing light weight [with] shorter frame life over more frame weight and a longer frame life [...] These frames are likely to be damaged or broken in a crash. They are not designed to [...] be a rugged workhorse." This quote refers to the common "Condition 1" (performance road bike) ASTM standards. |
| "Will the bike fit properly?" | 24 or 36 sizes of stack & reach. No stock bike comes close to the fit benefits of our Rider-Ready bikes. | 4 to 7 sizes of stack & reach. To get reasonable fit you have to change parts — stem, bars, saddle, etc. This compromises handling control and your center of gravity. A $5,000 frameset that doesn't fit perfectly? |
| "Who built my bike?" | Built by Seven Cycles craftspeople in Massachusetts. The typical Seven build team of three craftspeople has 50-plus years of framebuilding experience. Most of us are lifelong riders. | Framebuilding is almost always outsourced to Asia. The term "outsourced" is used because no U.S. bike company has a majority ownership in any Chinese bike frame manufacturer. Built on an assembly line in large quantities as a commodity. Read more about where frames are built. |
Choose Rider-Ready or Custom Built
Full Custom: Every aspect of your Seven is customized and tailored specifically for you from a blank canvas. You can order your custom Seven on this page and supplement the design by filling out our custom bike Design Guide.
Rider-Ready are Seven's predetermined bike designs that we build one at a time when you order your bike.
| Seven's Rider-Ready Bikes | Seven's Full Custom Bikes | |
|---|---|---|
| Price complete bike start at |
$6,700 (Starting at $369/mo or 0% APR with PayPal.) | |
| Lead Time | Rider-Ready bikes currently shipping within 3 to 5 weeks | Complete bikes are currently shipping within about 7 to 11 weeks |
| Some exceptions apply. Lead times vary by season. See current lead times. | ||
| Titanium or carbon? | Available in full titanium and carbon-titanium mix designs. Numerous tubeset configurations: constant wall, double butted, multi-butted, and carbon tubes with titanium lugs. Check out our tubeset explainer for more information. | |
| "Is the frame going to be stiff enough? I hear that titanium if flexy. My old titanium bike was flexy." | Seven's innovative A-Type Simple-Custom designs mean you can choose from three distinct frame stiffness levels: Seven's Benchmark, RocketShip Stiff, and SuppleState Resilient. No carbon frame's drivetrain is stiffer than our RocketShip tubeset. No carbon frame is smoother than our SuppleState tubeset. Choices, choices. | |
| Available features and options | Rider-Ready bikes offer all of Seven's popular options and upgrades. | More features and options. Our Design Guides provide most of the details. |
| "Will the bike fit properly?" | 24 or 36 sizes of stack & reach. Five times more fit options than popular carbon bikes that come in 4 to 7 sizes. | Fully customized and individualized fit. |
| "Where is the frame built?" | Every Seven is built in-house by our craftspeople in Massachusetts. The typical Seven build team of three craftspeople has 50-plus years of framebuilding experience. Most of us are lifelong riders. | |
Chart Data Footnotes
Sources for the Rider-Ready Vs Stock Carbon above. Data as of 2025.
Gravel Models
Trek has two gravel models: Checkmate and Checkpoint. Specialized has two gravel models: Diverge and Crux. Seven has seven Rider-Ready gravel models.
Tubeset or Carbon Layup Options
Trek has one layup for each of its two models: Checkmate is OCLV 800 Carbon; Checkpoint is OCLV 500 Carbon. Specialized has one carbon layup for the Diverge: SWAT 4.0 and two carbon layups for the Crux: 12r and 10r. That's three layups for two models equals one point five layups per model. Seven offers five or six tubeset types (S, SL, XX, CT, PRO, and sometimes A-Frames) per model.
Drivetrain Stiffness
Seven's drivetrain stiffness is, on average, about 50% higher than Specialized or Trek's performance carbon drivetrains.
Seven uses Tour Magazine test data as our third-party source for drivetrain stiffness. The average drivetrain stiffness for performance carbon framesets in 2025 was 61 N/mm. Specifically, the Specialized Tarmac tested at 61 N/mm, and the Trek Emonda was 49 N/mm.
Seven offers three Rider-Ready tubeset designs to tune drivetrain stiffness to rider preference. Our RocketShip tubeset is about 70% stiffer than the average Tour-tested carbon drivetrain. Seven's Benchmark tubeset averages about 50% stiffer than the average carbon drivetrain. Seven's SuppleState, our lightest and plushest Rider-Ready tubeset, is about 15% softer and more lively. These percentages average all of Seven's titanium tubeset offerings (S-Type, SL-Type, and XX-Type tubeset designs).
Note: We use Trek and Specialized's closest Tour-tested models as stand-ins for their gravel designs; that is, the Emonda and Tarmac, respectively. We acknowledge that these frames are slightly lighter than their gravel equivalents and, as a result, the drivetrains are not as stiff. However, any possible stiffness variance cannot match the 50% gap between carbon and Seven's average proprietary titanium drivetrain designs.
Ride Smoothness
Seven's vertical compliance, or flow, is about 800% smoother than Specialized or Trek's performance carbon framesets.
Seven sourced the Specialized and Trek harshness information from testing data published by Tour Magazine. The average vertical harshness of a 2025 carbon bike is 170 N/mm. The Specialized Tarmac is 156 N/mm, or 9% less harsh than average. The Trek Emonda, with a 131 N/mm stiffness rating, is 30% less harsh than the average carbon frameset.
The average Seven titanium SL-Type tubeset with Moto seat stays is about eight times smoother than the average results from Tour Magazine's 2025 testing.
To further improve Seven's smoothness, we offer three tubeset stiffness levels. Our SuppleState tubeset is the plushest. Seven's Benchmark tubeset averages about 750% smoother than the average carbon bike. Seven's RocketShip, while our stiffest Rider-Ready offering, is still about 600% smoother than the average carbon frame. The percentages average all of Seven's titanium tubeset offerings (S-Type, SL-Type, and XX-Type tubeset designs).
Note: To estimate carbon frame harshness, we use Trek and Specialized's closest Tour-tested models. That is Emonda and Tarmac, respectively. If anything, given that these frames are lighter than their gravel counterparts, the gravel designs will exhibit even harsher rides than the data we present.
Frame Sizes
Trek and Specialized both offer 6 sizes in their gravel models. Seven offers 36 sizes in the Rider-Ready bikes: Three stack heights for each of 12 top tube lengths.
Parts Kits
Seven offers an average of 20.1 parts kits per gravel model. Trek has an average of only 2.5 kits per gravel model. Specialized has an average of 5.5 kits per gravel model.
Shimano: Seven has 6.4 Shimano kits on average per gravel bike. Trek has zero Shimano offerings. Specialized has, on average, 2 Shimano-equipped gravel models.
SRAM: Seven offers 13.7 SRAM kits on average per gravel bike. Trek has 2.5 SRAM offerings. Specialized has 3.5 SRAM kits on average per gravel model.
Base Price
Seven's US-made full-titanium A-frame with SRAM Rival AXS is $6,900. Trek's carbon Checkpoint with Rival AXS is $4,300. Trek's carbon Checkmate with SRAM Force AXS is $8,300. (Trek does not offer the Checkmate with a Rival kit as of the close of 2025.) Specialized's Crux Rival AXS is $5,700. Specialized's Diverge Rival AXS is $6,100.
The base prices above include a $70 service fee from both Specialized and Trek, which is not included in the price shown on their websites. When you add a bike to a cart, the service fee is displayed. That fee appears to change often.
We show prices for current parts kits only. Sometimes, Specialized and Trek display old inventory with previous-generation parts kits. We do not include outdated inventory in the bike comparison data.