For some riders, factory-built bikes will never challenge the feel and ride of a custom road bike.

There are a number of boutique bike makers across the world who specialise in creating tight high performance machines for sprinters, climbers and all-rounders.

What cyclists who purchase from these companies want is quality and style, as well as a custom fit to their personal proportions.

Well the good news is that French bike builder Cyfac has delivered the goods with its top-of-the-shelf offering, the Absolu.

The Cyfac Absolu is a gorgeous and sleek bike that bucks the recent trend for fatter frame tubes and instead presents a thin carbon bike that is noticeably different from those that roll out of factories.

The hand-made chassis features an inbuilt seat post and a number of finely honed shaping decisions that give the bike added comfort and class.

In fact, the Absolu is an extremely comfortable ride. It is not the stiffest bike ever to hit the roads, but it is certainly very capable when it comes to damping road jolts and bumps.

It is a stiff bike, but by no means as stiff as some of its competition. That doesn’t make it a spongy ride – the Absolu is very responsive but perhaps not in the same league as the Madone or the top Cervelo R3.

A real drawing point of the Absolu is the high quality spec. It comes standard with a Campagnolo Record 10-speed groupset, which has been previously lauded for its top quality quiet, smooth and accurate shifting.

Sitting at the front of the bike is an Easton setup – an EC90 carbon stem (super stiff) and the EC90 SLX bars. The bars are perhaps a little disappointing, because while they are comfortable, they have a little too much flex.

The Easton trend continues with the wheels, a set of EC70 SL carbon clinchers. These are not the lightest wheels on the market (1695 grams) but they are solid as rock and rate pretty well in the aerodynamic stakes.

At the back of the frame the dropouts are protected by aluminium plates, again adding to the quality feel of the bike.

The chainset will probably prove to be a talking point of the Absolu; it’s a Stronglight X-Wing Activ Link that sports quite unusual (but compelling) arms. Normally the Campagnolo Ultra Torque crankset would accompany the Record gruppo but Cyfac claims the replacement is stiffer.

On the whole, this bike is a lovely piece of machinery that gets high points for beauty and comfort. It is a serious machine that could be raced for distance or in sprints, but it perhaps lacks a little bit of stiffness to make it an all-out dominator.