So I know I've never posted before, I guess I can usually find what I want without actually contributing to the forum. Anyway, I've been lurking for over a year probably, and I've been looking to upgrade my conversion to a track (errr "street" track) frame as soon as I have some cash.

I wanted to stick with steel to avoid the type of ride I get with my aluminum cannondale race bike. I like it nice and smooth.

Anyway, I'll get to the point. I decided that I would like to get the Soma Rush, since it's made from fairly high quality tubing (Tange Prestige) and is pretty light for a bargain steel frame. However, I recently stumbled upon this 183rd st. track frame on the net. They claim it is also made from Tange Prestige tubing, and it has sweet dropouts with chain tensioners (I'm a sucker for chain tensioners, I guess). The only thing I can see wrong with the 183rd st. bike is that it has a slightly sloping top tube, not enough to be fugly (imo). I couldn't find any actual numbers for the geometry of the 183rd st. bike, but I'm pretty sure that the angles are just as aggressive as those of the Rush.

*edit* - I found numbers for the geometry, and it appears to be identical to the rush. Sweet!

So, the point is, why would you pay 200 dollars more for a nearly identical frame? How is Soma selling any Rushes when this 183rd st. bike exists? This question is mostly rhetorical, I'm just hoping it'll stir up some conversation.