Eurastus

I'd like to add a few comments here.

I'm an old guy...well old enough to remember when the first Dave Moulton Fuso bikes came out. Oh, how I wanted one of his custom bikes, but had no money. Now, when I have the money to spend, I can't find a "classic" lugged steel frameset that I want to buy.

And so many of the other nice semi-production or especially full custom bikes I remember from the mid-80's are gone as well. There's still Richard Sachs to be had, if you can stand the wait; I believe Roland Della Santa still builds a few on rare occasion (he was my "local" builder when I grew up in the Reno area 20+ years ago). I'm sure there are some others, but they don't have the mystique for me personally that I wanted.

I toyed with the idea of asking Richard Sachs to build me one. The price didn't scare me off as much as the two and a half year lead-time he's now running. I simply wasn't patient enough. I needed something to ride now; my previous bike was 14 years old and had seen many better days.

I went with a Ritchey Road Logic production frame this past season. It's steel, but not lugged. Made by Toyo in Japan--a mix of TIG welded and fillet-brazed joints that look as good as I could hope for. Very low production; the guy at Ritchey tells me they sell only a few dozen a year (that was important to me). It was priced very well, even with a custom paint job, and I had it in my hands within a few weeks after I placed the order (most of the delay was because of the paint).

I love it. It rides great. Built up with Campy Record 10 and lots of Ritchey parts, it weighs 17.5 lbs. Stiff on the climbs but doesn't beat me up on a century ride. It looks very, very sharp. I really can't find a single fault in the bike. Not one. This is still the best bike I've ever owned. I wouldn't trade it for anything. Really.

However, it's not really what I want in the end. I've still got something stuck in my head about a fully custom Richard Sachs frame. The good thing is, that now I have something to ride while I begin the long wait.

Is there anything wrong with my present ride? Nope. Is there any reason I should want a Sachs? Nope, not really. Nevertheless, I do. My buddy here at work spends all his money on his '69 Ford Bronco. One fellow plays golf like a maniac. My brother collects "Star Wars" figures, of all things. Go figure.

I want to put my money into an old-school, classic, traditional, lugged steel road frame.

I could never ride a Trek, Cannondale, Seven, or Giant. Maybe I’d consider a Rivendell touring bike, but never anything mass-produced or trendy. Lots of my riding buddies have bikes like that. I've got nothing against them or their bikes. We have good times together. They're just not for me. I'd rather have something just like Dave described in the post that kicked off this thread.

Do I have a good reason for any of this? No, I don't. Nevertheless, that's just the kind of bike I like.