Originally Posted by
sumgy
And I would not call ANY of those CF frames you listed as being "top of the line".
None of those is anywhere close to a Moots for quality.
$50 moulded frames being sold for $4k+.
I pick those, as those are the sort you're likely to run into at a bike shop to buy. The big companies.
You reference Calfee and Parlee...which are sweet bikes (and top shelf)...but I've never seen one in a shop, and think of them along the same lines as Seven or Moots. Small outfits that you have to hunt down a local dealer for. Calfee only has 7 dealer-cities in the USA according to their website, and I'd have to drive 6 hours (at Interstate speeds) to find one. Parlee is a bit more common, but I'd have to drive 8+ hours at Interstate speeds to see one on a floor. Smaller boutique outfits, tend to have smaller boutique pricing.
Although granted, Calfee/Parlee are similar in top-tier frameset pricing as the Big Boy brandings. So much for my assertion about boutique pricing being inflated LOL.