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Soma = crap

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Old 06-12-05 | 10:25 PM
  #26  
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From: Middleburg Pa.

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Soma Cogs work fine here. I have used a lot of them and still do. I never hade a problem threading them onto a hub.

As far as the brakes go are you useing pads that have an angle adjustment on them or just a pad with a nut and the end and no adjustment at all ?

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Old 06-13-05 | 01:12 AM
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man.. on the off topic.. the house of track dude is out of control.. like, you want to believe him, but.. if hes so cool.. why does drama follow him like a stray dog? spelling skills would help his case.. is that snotty of me to say? oh well..
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Old 06-13-05 | 05:32 AM
  #28  
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Originally Posted by sloppy robot
man.. on the off topic.. the house of track dude is out of control..
No, not really I just like run on sentences lack of puncuation and spelling errors cause eai seems to think we were just gonna roll over and die but the story will be different monday and it wont be pretty.
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Old 06-13-05 | 10:27 AM
  #29  
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eai just plain sucks. they screw over their dealers, they publish and distribute a catalog once a year, and only give it out to a select few dealers, they change their prices at a moment's notice, and they're rude little bastards.

they have a lot of cool NOS stuff, and their cogs are pretty nice, but from a dealer/shop standpoint, they're just not worth dealing with, unless you're "down" with them.
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Old 06-13-05 | 11:11 AM
  #30  
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Bikes: Rock Lobster track, Colnago Dream, Ti Paramount, Litespeed Vortex compact, Santa Cruz Blur, Bianchi cyclocross...always wanting more...

I use - and like - Soma cogs. No probs at all. Nice & thick; they wear very well. In side by side comparison with Surly & Miche cogs the Soma is noticeably thicker in profile and at least as well-machined as the others.
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Old 06-13-05 | 12:02 PM
  #31  
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there's a guy in DC who cracked a Soma frame and triend to warantee it... they're jerking him around and letting some japanese company decide whether it's warantee-able. it's BS. look, your frames really shouldn't crack from daily use.
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Old 06-13-05 | 12:45 PM
  #32  
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From: Bend, Oregon

Bikes: Realm Cycles Custom

I've used both Soma and EAI cogs.
The EAI cogs look like higher quality, but I haven't seen any differences in performance.

I just tried to order an 18t EAI cog from Harris (to go with my new 52t Sugino chain ring) and they don't have one.
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Old 06-13-05 | 12:51 PM
  #33  
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From: Boulder, CO

Bikes: Salsa La Cruz w/ Alfine 8, Specialized Fuse Pro 27.5+, Surly 1x1

Soma has a wide range of cogs for us big chain-ringers. I'm running 52/19, and had to go soma on the rear partly because of availability.
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Old 06-13-05 | 01:43 PM
  #34  
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From: Bend, Oregon

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Phideaux wrote:

"I'm running 52/19..."

Fifty-two X 19 comes very close to my present set-up of 47X17, which comes out to about 72 gear inches.

Fifty-two X 18 will give me about 76 gear inches; perhaps too much.

If I decide to go back to 72 gear inches, I might try it with 52X19: I have this intuition that bigger gears have more mechanical efficiency than small gears of the same ratio.

I've come to think of 72" as the best compromise for both uphill and downhill.

I should probably order a Soma 19t cog and have it ready.
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Old 06-13-05 | 01:48 PM
  #35  
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Originally Posted by phidauex
Soma has a wide range of cogs for us big chain-ringers. I'm running 52/19, and had to go soma on the rear partly because of availability.
The LBS here in DC has plenty of EAI 19 and 20's in stock... ?
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Old 06-13-05 | 02:30 PM
  #36  
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From: Boulder, CO

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Originally Posted by Ken Cox
Phideaux wrote:

"I'm running 52/19..."

Fifty-two X 19 comes very close to my present set-up of 47X17, which comes out to about 72 gear inches.

Fifty-two X 18 will give me about 76 gear inches; perhaps too much.

If I decide to go back to 72 gear inches, I might try it with 52X19: I have this intuition that bigger gears have more mechanical efficiency than small gears of the same ratio.

I've come to think of 72" as the best compromise for both uphill and downhill.

I should probably order a Soma 19t cog and have it ready.
52/19 is a good ratio. Its 73ish inches on my 27" wheels, and 72ish on 700c wheels. It gives a lot of skid patches (if you are into that thing), and big chainrings look cool, and wear out slower. I go about 17-18mph at 80rpm, which is a totally respectable speed for cruising at a moderate spin.

Nowhere around here stocks a full range of track cogs (that I know of), so since I have to order online 'availability' mostly relates to whether or not the place I'm already ordering something from has it, since I hate paying tons of shipping.

peace,
sam
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Old 06-13-05 | 09:17 PM
  #37  
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Bikes: Surly LHT, Surly Steamroller, Jonnycycles Track, 80's Schwiinn Voyager SA 3 speed conversion/fixed, Schwinn Voyager SA 3 speed conversion standard. 1973 Schwinn Twinn Deluxe

Originally Posted by sloppy robot
man.. on the off topic.. the house of track dude is out of control.. like, you want to believe him, but.. if hes so cool.. why does drama follow him like a stray dog? spelling skills would help his case.. is that snotty of me to say? oh well..
I agree. Plus, judging from the rants,there may be some mental illness thrown in.
Seriously though, House of Track does NOTHING to help the EITHER side of the bike business ( customer or retailer ) by making wholesale prices public. There is a reason shops charge what they do, and prices have alot to do with things like overhead.............y'now rent, insurance,, etc. Some guy working out of his basement in Vegas with a computer and a phone? ? Gimme a break................I doubt he has a serious retail space, and shoulda been dropped long ago. Yeah, and the spelling................
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Old 06-13-05 | 10:09 PM
  #38  
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From: Irvine, CA

Bikes: 80's Fuji Fixie Conversion, Voodoo Bizango, 80's Performance mountain bike converted to single speed

I like House of Track. I ordered a 15t Dura Ace cog, and they shipped a 15t EAI cog to me a couple days after the order. This was a month ago. Suites me just fine
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Old 06-14-05 | 10:34 AM
  #39  
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Originally Posted by jasonsan
I agree. Plus, judging from the rants,there may be some mental illness thrown in.
Seriously though, House of Track does NOTHING to help the EITHER side of the bike business ( customer or retailer ) by making wholesale prices public. There is a reason shops charge what they do, and prices have alot to do with things like overhead.............y'now rent, insurance,, etc. Some guy working out of his basement in Vegas with a computer and a phone? ? Gimme a break................I doubt he has a serious retail space, and shoulda been dropped long ago. Yeah, and the spelling................

I agree 100% all that selling the EAI stuff at wholesale does is make a few customers happy in the short term...but hurts everyone in the long run.

The House of Track guy does seem to have some overly dramatic dealings and events going on that he shares with the public regularly. Perhaps that is his marketing technique...Anyways, I am not too concerned with this guy, because if he continues to deal with his suppliers like he is currently with EAI, I wouldn't be surprised if other distributors start pulling the plug.

Our business doesn't have a retail space, but we do have storage, rent, e-commerce, hosting, insurance, and other expenses that although may not be as much as the similar expenses of a full shop, but we definitely have our expenses that need to be covered as well. Selling prices at wholesale to try to attract a few customers, while losing a supplier is something we would never even consider.
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Old 06-14-05 | 10:40 AM
  #40  
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[QUOTE=Walkercycles]
Originally Posted by checkthat
So, if anyone out there is thinking about getting a Soma Rush frame or a Soma track cog, be warned: You Get What You Pay For.

QUOTE]

Gee, not to sound like a broken record, but I have been trying to tell everybody this all along....

DW
I'm going to start building frames and sell them for $3,000 apiece. If they're priced that high, they MUST be super high quality!
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Old 06-14-05 | 10:51 AM
  #41  
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Originally Posted by Bikeophile
I agree 100% all that selling the EAI stuff at wholesale does is make a few customers happy in the short term...but hurts everyone in the long run.

The House of Track guy does seem to have some overly dramatic dealings and events going on that he shares with the public regularly. Perhaps that is his marketing technique...Anyways, I am not too concerned with this guy, because if he continues to deal with his suppliers like he is currently with EAI, I wouldn't be surprised if other distributors start pulling the plug.

Our business doesn't have a retail space, but we do have storage, rent, e-commerce, hosting, insurance, and other expenses that although may not be as much as the similar expenses of a full shop, but we definitely have our expenses that need to be covered as well. Selling prices at wholesale to try to attract a few customers, while losing a supplier is something we would never even consider.
retailers like chris king, sidi, easton, mavic(those who make a very premium product) etc etc tend to have very strict policies about the prices at which you're allowed to advertise their products. -- partially to ensure that no shop is disadvantaged in the market, regardless of size. they want uniformity in pricing so that everyone can carry their products and not worry about being undersold by a shop down the street or by the internet. I wouldn't be suprised at all if they pulled the plug on a shop like house of track that advertises well below MSRP.
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Old 06-14-05 | 11:22 AM
  #42  
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Originally Posted by s2sxiii
retailers like chris king, sidi, easton, mavic(those who make a very premium product) etc etc tend to have very strict policies about the prices at which you're allowed to advertise their products. -- partially to ensure that no shop is disadvantaged in the market, regardless of size. they want uniformity in pricing so that everyone can carry their products and not worry about being undersold by a shop down the street or by the internet. I wouldn't be suprised at all if they pulled the plug on a shop like house of track that advertises well below MSRP.
Agreed!
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Old 06-14-05 | 02:10 PM
  #43  
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From: Philadelphia, PA

Bikes: 1968 Motobecane Grand Record, 1950 Gitane Track Bike, 1986 Fuji

Just throwing in my two sense... I have used Soma cogs on all three of my fixies for over a year with no problem. They threaded fine, seem to wearing fine and have shown no signs of bad machining. FYI, I run no brakes and skid/skip, so they are under a lot of stress. Are they that much cheaper than the alternatives? Prices seem pretty compariable... https://sheldonbrown.com/harris/fixed-sprockets.html
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Old 06-14-05 | 04:01 PM
  #44  
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Originally Posted by OneTinSloth
eai just plain sucks. they screw over their dealers, they publish and distribute a catalog once a year, and only give it out to a select few dealers, they change their prices at a moment's notice, and they're rude little bastards.

they have a lot of cool NOS stuff, and their cogs are pretty nice, but from a dealer/shop standpoint, they're just not worth dealing with, unless you're "down" with them.
You won't pass up an opportunity to bash EAI, will you? You ought to heed your own advice to this threads starter; and, contact the distro and work out whatever issues you're having with them.

Seriously, the vehemence with which you make your accusations puts your credibility here on the line. You might want to rein in that mouth/keyboard of yours. Otherwise, you run the risk of having your opinions discounted, and you marginalized as just another disgruntled guy with an axe to grind.

You're doing yourself and the shop you work for a disservice by airing your issues in public. Whether it's personal or business, in the long run, you'll be better off trying to resolve your problems in a reasonable manner.
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Old 06-14-05 | 10:01 PM
  #45  
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Originally Posted by Jinks
I like House of Track. I ordered a 15t Dura Ace cog, and they shipped a 15t EAI cog to me a couple days after the order. This was a month ago. Suites me just fine
This is the sort of "Walmart mentality" that is slowly eroding the quality of life in this country. Most of us are of modest income, and quick to jump on the bargain bandwagon. Sometimes we buy products of dubious quality, other times we buy from those of semi-dubious character, and oftentimes we manage to do both at once.No thanks, IUTP. hehe
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Old 06-14-05 | 10:26 PM
  #46  
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[QUOTE=Halcyon Days]Seriously, the vehemence with which you make your accusations puts your credibility here on the line. QUOTE]

First/Last time anyone will ever say vehemence on BF again, agreed?
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Old 06-15-05 | 07:51 AM
  #47  
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Originally Posted by shants
hey, have you tried contacting soma about this?
Originally Posted by OneTinSloth
...why don't you just call up soma and work something out with them. i'm sure their warranty covers manufacturing defects.
Originally Posted by jim-bob
You talked to anyone at soma about it?
Originally Posted by votedean
And most importantly: have you contacted Soma? Because if you haven't and you are just reporting your experience with a frame on this board as 'Soma is crap' then you're not doing any good for anyone.
Originally Posted by phidauex
I wouldn't just whine about it on the forum, I'd call 'em up.
sam
I probably don't have to say it again, but your accusation is pretty flimsy if you haven't even made the effort to pick up the phone. I own a Soma Rush that I've been riding almost daily for the past year, and have nothing but good to say about it. The alignment is dead-on and the welds look great. It's been a durable, responsive, and comfortable ride. I know four other people with '04 Rushes and they all like them. If only for the sake of not making yourself look ridiculous, CONTACT SOMA. Hey, if they don't step up to the plate, then you can criticize them further and be completely justified.
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Old 06-15-05 | 08:02 AM
  #48  
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i like bikes.
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Old 06-15-05 | 12:55 PM
  #49  
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Bikes: soma rush, ridley crossbow

I have to agree with Ira. I just checked out my Rush and everything on it looks great. A b uddy of mine just got a double cross and has nothing but great things to say about that frame either.
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Old 06-15-05 | 01:02 PM
  #50  
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i have to agree with shants. bikes are awesome.
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