Originally Posted by
Commodus
/shrug.
When you buy a Rivendell you're buying a quality bike, made in a civilized society by men making decent money. Also, they're pretty and they work well. They are good value for what you're getting, if these things are important to you. If they aren't, or you don't have the money, buy something welded in Taiwan. As to the quality of the bike, it doesn't matter so much really. The Taiwanese weld very well. Also, you have to like lugs. If you don't, you're buying the wrong bike. This is the kind of thing that should be so painfully obvious as to insult the reader to have to point out, but after reading some of these posts I guess someone has to. The benefits of lugs? There used to be a lot of benefits. But technology moved on, and now they're just pretty. That's it.
Comparing a nice new bike to a used bike that may or may not be nice is a bit dense, really. Anyone who has ever dealt with the used bike market knows that the prices are mostly nonsensical. You can spend $150 on a two year old WalMart bike or the same on a 531 framed Italian masterpiece. There are lots of reasons why this is, but none of them make a nice new bike worth any less.
And if you think Rivendell is trying to sell bikes based on the name, it's your reading comprehension that's lacking, not the bikes.
This post has an interesting point or two, but overall totally misses the mark...
There are lots of made in America custom frames that can be had for the same price as a Rivendell. Buying that way gives you a bike that you've specifically designed for you. Why would you buy a Rivendell? Please xplain to me how these are "pretty and good value" when I can have a bike designed for the same price with a paint scheme exactly as I choose it? Are his propietary lugs worth that much?
Would you voluntarily pay 20x standard pricing for a made in the US TV? I would not.
Regardless of how the used market fluctuates, the entire ethos that GP preaches is based on reproducing an older style of bike...why buy a new one? You can outfit and adjust a steel frame for new components (one of the advantages of steel is the ability to respace it) if you are at all patient and willing to look. If Rivendell's marketing preaches that steel lasts, the obvious follow through question is why buy new?
Based on Rivendell's own logic, there is no reason to buy a Rivendell when you can get an 80s touring bike for $500 or less and pay comparatively little to make it as new. The used market absolutely is related to the new market...and vice versa. It's you who is a bit dense if you think those markets don't relate to one another. There also aren't a lot of $150 Italian master pieces being sold.