Originally Posted by
nikkorod
+1 Taiwan made steel frames i.e. Soma, Surly, Salsa & others are generally made in smaller production runs than that of the mass produced Chinese stuff. Taiwan today is similar to the Japan of the 70' & 80's. From what I have exp. they have a good build quality and an excellent ride quality. They lack lugs and have slightly sloped downtubes, but perform very nicely. They are usually made from high quality steels. 4130 gets a bad rap, but when drawn into tubes it can be crap or very high end. I own a Soma Doublecross DC and a Vassago Bandersnatch 29er. Since I started riding these two bikes about a year ago, my C & V collection has just sat still. Modern Taiwan frames gets a bad rap in this forum, but they are cheaper than custom and still high quality steel. The geometry is slightly more comfortable than the older bikes IMO. These smaller frame companies will have some collector interest 20 years from now. Their steel, so we know thay will be around.
The only Taiwanese bike I've put substantial miles on is my Surly Karate Monkey, and it's the worst riding steel bike I've ever felt. It's heavy and transmits every single movement that's made. It's like riding something Torquemada created. I rode it back from KOP last night and I'm still mentally cursing it as we're talking.
Your Soma felt AWESOME for the limited time I rode it.