Originally Posted by GTcommuter
I was blown away by the number and beauty of commuter/townie/city/porteur bikes at NAHBS this year (not to mention all the others). It seems like racks, bags, upright bars, and fenders are really in, at least with the small custom frame builders, right now.
Now if these bikes could get translated to mass production frames at cheaper prices...
I agree about the beauty and aesthetics of handcrafted fine art flourishes; even more so with your wish that similarly equipped bikes without the expensive touches bikes be offered by mainstream outlets at mainstream prices.
Personally I prefer Timex watches over Rolexs; ostentation doesn't tell me the time any better.