Originally Posted by
Commodus
I feel like you read someone else's post and are responding to that. I did not mention custom bicycles. I am not interested in a custom bike - because I am very normally formed, and frankly am just not that picky - and thus have no interest or knowledge of that market. My comment regarding value was in comparison to other production bikes, premium examples of which can and do often run to very similar money. If you can buy your custom dream bike for less, please do so. Smile and ride around all day, I wish you well.
If the "made in US" TV was also many times better than a foreign TV, then yes. Well of course I don't own a TV, and would never spend good money on something like this that goes obsolete, but as it goes...
On the used market, I've seen Dekerf Team SLs and three-year-old Kona Stuffs go for the same money. Does that mean I should call up Chris and offer him $500? I bought my latest touring steed for the humble price of $750, does that mean the new ones (which are essentially identical) are worth 50% of their asking price? This is not the way retail works, you already know this.
GP preaches a rational style of bike. Sometimes that's the same as old, sometimes not. Some people are willing to pay good money for these, just as someone was willing to pay good money for your Ti Merlin. I guess if someone can show me a bike that's made somewhere civilized, uses nice steel and lugs, nice paint, has sensible braze-ons and clearance for sensible tires, a nice low BB and pleasant, predictable geometry - NEW - for less, I'll concede that they are overpriced. And maybe they are, I don't know. I guess my only real point is that they seem like a good deal next to a Taiwanese carbon frame that may last five seasons, at best.
I'd consider them over priced by Grant's logic...if he's advertising the material as "it lasts forever", there's no ned to buy a new one. The difference between a carbon frame and steel is that according to Grant's logic, you should never buy carbon used.
I mentioned custom bikes as a comparison point as a way of explaining why I consider him to be over priced...if I can have a made to order bike that looks exactly like I want it to look, made exactly how I want it made and sized exactly for me at the same price as his bikes, I'd consider his bikes to be over priced.
If you're comfortable paying that kind of money for his frames, God speed and I hope you get much pleasure out of it. I do not understand it, but that's why they make apple juice and orange juice.