Originally Posted by
I-Like-To-Bike
What significant value does a Waterford frame add to any of the bikes offered by this company?
Other than psychic brand name snob appeal how much bicycling value does a Waterford frame provide the rider of a Shinola badged bicycle?
Wouldn't a no-name frame at a fraction of the Waterford price provide the equivalent riding value?
1) There are people who like the Waterford name and bestow unto it mystical attributions along the same lines as Rivendell bikes. In that sense, it offers marketing value, but also customer assurance that the frames are being built by a legit, historical maker of bike frames, not some new startup company with little to no experience.
2) Not much. Certainly not compared to other competently built frames.
3) Riding value? Certainly any pac-rim, contract manufactured frame would provide similar riding value at a fraction of the price. Made-in-the-USA-ness? Not so much. I don't know of other US companies who would batch manufacture Shinola frames at prices competitive to Waterford. Do you? Maybe
Zen Fabrication?