Originally Posted by markwebb

The Rivendell bikes look good, and I love the Rivendell philosophy to cycling, but their prices are just too high. Mercian makes a hand-built traditionally-lugged frame that is just drop-dead beautiful for a lot less. You can get them custom made, but they also have a large in-stock inventory, too. I paid less than $1K shipped for my Mercian frame with a Campy headset and Campy dropouts, and it is much better built than a Rivendell. I've been on rides and ridden with Rivendell owners, and when we compare bikes the British Rivendell wins hands-down. I love the whole Rivendell thing and I like their bikes, but with Rivendell you're buying the name at a higher price than what it's really worth.