Originally Posted by
Sixty Fiver
Amesja - Cost is very important... consider that the Soma Buena Vista mixte can be purchased complete for around $1100.00 with a 3 speed drive has a frame set that costs around $500.00 that is made from some nice Prestige double butted tubes.
My better half purchased one of these and loved it as it is a very nicely built frame but returned it because the wheelbase exceeded the maximum on her local transit system... the bicycle was purchased specifically to provide a lighter bicycle for a longer multi modal commute and because it could not be put on a bus rack was a fail.
Just to clarify-- you can usually find the Soma BV frame for closer to $400. I got my wife's 58cm BV frameset for $414 shipped. The long wheelbase was actually one of the selling points for her, because she wanted a stable ride and no TCO. It's a win on both counts (especially with 42mm 650B Hetres
).
The frame is about what I would expect for a $400-500 TIG welded frame. The dropouts are typical Tange forged, nothing special. The paint quality is quite good. The welds are clean enough for this price point but not the cleanest I've seen:
