Originally Posted by 531Aussie
It's all TOO FARKIN MUCH, especially for steel or aluminium!!
I even reckon I paid too much for the Cervelo frame-set ($1700), and that's made in Taiwan. My Columbus Zonal alu was $800, my 531 Raleigh was $529 (in 1992), and my Kennedy Taiwanese Dedacciai 7003 (Norco?
), was $400, which goes faster that ALL the carbon I've ever seen on Beach Rd, or is that just my big arse making it go fast
As Thylo said, retail IS for suckers. If you don't 'know' anyone is the biz, just go for the bargains, or haggle the crap out of someone with cash.
Thylacine Tephra - $2250. Not made in Taiwan. Unbroken.
Cervelo Super Prodigy - $1700. Made in Taiwan. Cracked.
Need I say more Nev?
It's true, retail is for suckers. It just exists so you can have that consumerist rush, but when I go into places like Fitzroy Cycles or SHM or SBR, I feel nothing. I get as much joy from bike retail as I do shopping for crockery.
However, I get a lot of joy knowing an Dura-Ace group will cost me 1400 bucks when I speak to some guy at Monza Imports that tells me the new SRAM Force group will cost me 3000. Shaaah, I'm gunna pay that. NOT!
Stuff mass produced in tens of thousands? Not worth paying a lot for. Stuff that's hand crafted and sexy-as? Worth paying for, especially if you're a sucker like me.
If I had 4k to spend on a frame? Titanium. If I was feeling the cutting edge just wasn't cutting enough? Reynolds 953. If I was a pure racing idiot that just wanted light and stiff? Scandium. On a budget and just want something custom, but trusty? Columbus Life.