Originally Posted by nixage
Look under cross frames.
Hmmmm. I have my reasons for going with Seven. No, not because of the name. As a matter of fact I almost had them put black decals on a black frame, but they don't have all black decals so I opted for white borders. Anyway, you could debate this to death. I chose seven because they build quality bikes, have great customer service, do a complete (and I mean completely) custom frame down to the milimeter. And their leadtime is only 8 weeks. If I lived on the west coast and was driving distance from some frame builders I may have chosen differently. But, I'm very happy to have gone with Seven. BTW, I'm getting ready to fork out $3500 for a tigged steel road frame, so $1700 doesn't seem so bad. Don't underestimate steel or tig welding.
I'm hardly underestimating tig welding or (HA) steel. I ride one tigged and several lugged steel frames. In fact, I don't currently own any aluminum, Ti, or carbon frames. I am, however, calling into question $1,700 for just the frame. My boss rides a Waterford R-33, which has S-3 tubing. The thing is under 2.5 lbs for the frame, so it's light, stiff, compliant all at much less than $3,500 for the frame
and fork. All framebuilders putting multi-thousand dollar frames under riders should be doing extensive custom fittings; it's not unique to Seven. Also, a lead time of 8 weeks is a ton of time. Some mid-sized builders with healthy waiting lists can get 'em out in less than a month during peak season. I just feel that a few companies with good marketing departments are overshadowing equally competent builders simply because people are too worried about straying from the big names.
Edit: I don't mean to disparage your purchase; I've just always wondered how Seven defends their price structure. I know the frame is going to be built straight and will ride wonderfully.