Somewhere in the far North the op is riding a Huffy and shaking his head.

I think Rivendell got so cool that it became uncool. Which kind of makes it cool again. Personally, I just think the bikes are pretty. The prices are out of line, but not THAT out of line considering the options in the US market. If you got the money, for cripes sake spend it like a cowboy and not a Puritan. Buy a horse with some style, whether for big bucks or low.

I know people, not a few, who make $500 payments on interest and a crap car. Or for a wall sized HDTV. Ok, I don't personally know anyone with an HDTV of any size, but I could, SOMEBODY'S buying those things. In the grand scheme of things, a $1400 frame seems considerably less evil than, I dunno, a $20 Britney Spears CD.

Hey PeterPan, I checked out those nice-looking Urbanite bikes on their website. Cheaper than Riv even before the loony conversion, but some of the same ideas, seems like.