Well this is extremely subjective. I’m not rich, nor am I poor. But I went from just having my road conversion getting track drops to getting a custom frame in about 2 months. It was a chunk of change to be sure. The experince of having someone who knows about bikes ask a million questions, feel through what you want and are looking for, and putting that to a practical working frame is pretty cool, and eye opening. I think that the cost, including all the ground work, sizing, etc, is pretty reasonable, at least through who I dealt with. Again, I’m not rich, nor am I poor. The cost represented the single most amount of money I’ve ever spent on my self.
The frame arrived and I was/am impressed. I had seen pictures of the frame unpainted; it was unique, and had the qualities that I had wanted appearance wise. In my hands it was EXTREMELY light weight, beautifully painted, and looked of quality. Plans were made for all the components.
Here is where I may differ from many people here. Cycling, and more over, fixed gear riding, is a combination hobby, mode of transportation, exercise and stress releif. But all in all, pratical counts. This frame could almost never be locked up anywhere. If I were a track racer, perhaps it could serve as a track bike.
But as of now, I’m building a bike I will surely never ride to work for the next 2 years (where I HAVE to lock it up out side), would never ride in an alleycat due to the aggressive nature of the races, and the bikes thin wall tubing. This relents it to weekend rides and special occasion rides. It’s a lot of change for a superflous bike. And I still have the drop out problems on my Bianchi.. but with money tied up in building this one, I’m forced to spending money on the Bianchi only for maintance or needed upgrades (currently nursing a wheel on it’s last legs).
Do I have regrets now on buying the frame? Would I do it again? I do have some regrets.. I try to be a pratical person. The frame is beautiful, I expect it to ride great and will surely out preform me. But it doesn’t fit the riding I do. The best analogy would be buying full suspension MTB with 48 gears. And only riding street… A good bike with out a good cause. Would I do it again? The deal on the frame was that it raised money for Torrin’s AID’s ride. So, no regrets in that respect. Also, I’ve learned once again to think through decisions instead of going with gut and some extra cash.
So, yes, I’ve babeled. So, if you’re having a track frame built by Johnny for the track.. you’re probably doing the right thing. If you’re having frame built because you dig riding fixed and want a dedicated frame for that.. think twice about the beauty and single beauty of custom frames.. Having it locked to the railing, banging it up in traffic, might not be the dream you want to live…
Ironically, I continue to skrimp and save and build the bike I bought. When it’s done, it will surely be pretty awesome. But it may never receive the love of bieng used and worked hard like my current worker does. That’s the sad part.