these bikes are so god damn sexy. does anyone ride one? any pictures?

wow, 5 year waiting list..
But crap, those are hot.

The closest to a Vanilla bike I got was when I spilled vanilla ice cream on my Rush Hour.

most overrated builder of this century?

^+1

Regardless, you have to give the guy credit. At a young age he is heavily admired for his craft. He managed to create his own niche by making frames that are too exclusive and almost too beautiful to be ridden.

And to answer the OPs question, there was a guy here that rode one a while ago. I can't remember whom.

https://www.fixedgeargallery.com/2006...chCanfield.htm
https://www.fixedgeargallery.com/2006/mar/BlackSheep.htm
https://www.fixedgeargallery.com/2006...enChelette.htm
https://www.fixedgeargallery.com/2004/b/chen.htm
https://www.fixedgeargallery.com/2004/roberts.htm

hmmm....

Overrated? Most aped for sure.

I think that the whole "handbuilt" scene is NOT sustainable because the bikes are quickly moving away from nicely crafted tools to overpriced jewelry. That being said I think that the SpeedVagen series is a better approach. Smart design (except maybe for the seat "mast"), beautiful practical fabrication that is built in small production runs.

I agree. I don't think a great frame is benefitted by "seat post" that most people will view as an oddity or novelty at best.

Not sustainable? The custom handbuilt bicycle is not a new invention. Crafted tools to jewelry? C'mon, now.

Seems like there are more custom builders every day. UBI school's framebuilding classes are still full. If someone chooses to to get a well crafted, handbuilt bike, with whatever shiny bits they want, what's the issue? Everyone gets paid and there are more bikes in the world as well as people enjoying them. Bikes can be functional objects as well as art, its never been said they have to be mutually exclusive.

If the niche industry can support itself and there is a consumer interest, that does not sound like an unsustainable thing to me.

**** - finally someone calls it like it is. Anyone could learn how to braze then make some fancy **** dropouts...

But do they? At least vanilla has the craft to back up his branding and marketing.

I don't really see how you could criticize vanilla, those are some of the most incredible frames I have ever seen. And, in a culture like the SS/FG exclusivity is an actually big thing. Everyone wants a cool bike different than anyone elses, and with these bike I see just that. I can say that a vanilla is more worth the money than anything out there. These are the kind of bikes that you would hand down to your children, try to say that with your Killo, ha.

His show bikes are full of tacky gimmicks... Without that there isn't much setting him apart from others. He seems to make a nice bike but not so nice that it's worth waiting the better part of a decade for and paying god knows how much for. Even the speedvagen is absurdly overpriced. A $3500 steel race frame made by some random builder? Why not just go with some independent builder for a fraction of that.

A bike isn't something you should buy with the plan of handing it down to your children. That will just get the in the way of riding it. **** they might not even fit on it properly.

edit: the consumerist mentality of buying something just because it is exclusive disgusts me.

can i get a consensus that they're certified bike porn?

not this ***** again

Vanilla bikes are overpriced, IMO, and I would never want one because I don't know what the hell I'd do with it that could possibly justify the cost. All the same, I'm glad that there are people like Sacha White who have spent years learning a craft and becoming true artisans. Although I don't, clearly there are people who do want these bikes and have the money for them, and that's their problem, not mine. If they didn't, where the hell would I go for my bike porn?

Same reason you would buy one of these are the same reason someone would like a vanilla. Not consumer b*ll****, thats BD and crap, this is a hand crafted work of art, not everone gets it I guess.

i would feel obligated to keep a vanilla if i got one. i like to switch bikes every couple of years and not get too attached to any single one.

I find that people don't quite understand expensive items, like the above Ferrari. They always say it's 'overpriced', or that they would never spend $200k on a car. The point is, if you're spending $200k on a car, or $3k on a bike, it's not your last $200k or $3k. To pay the asking price is like paying for groceries for the person who can afford it. In which case, it's not overpriced. With a 5yr waiting list, I would have to conclude that Vanilla bikes cannot possibly be overpriced.

The same reason you would buy that Ferrari above is the same reason you would drop that kind of $$$ on a bike....Its called small dick disease.

The difference is, a Ferrari is actually worth the sum of its parts, more or less.
Try learning to build your own Ferrari. Not gonna happen. Try finding someone to make you something of its equal for 50% less money. Not gonna happen.
To compare a Vanilla frame to a Ferrari automobile is not only absurd, its ****ing idiotic.
(And for the record, I hate Ferraris)

Not an apt comparison. Some people buy a Ferrari just to be seen in one, true. However, everyone in the world knows how much he must have spent on it, and what a Ferrari is. I would venture to say that even among bicycle enthusiasts, few know Vanilla bikes, or what they cost, and among the general public? - most wouldn't even notice one.

those track ends do look cool.

very few if any people buy ferraris because they consider them works of art. They buy them because they are fast and because they are status symbols.

When exactly does a car become a work of art for you? Who is the artist? You mention them being handmade. Are the workers that put them together artists? Where is their creativity? Is the design team? Why are they artists but not the design team behind an escort?

Vanillas are overpriced because there are plenty of people doing very similiar work for substantially less. Having to put down a deposit without a final price is also complete bull**** whether or not idiots are willing to do it(though he's not even accepting deposits anymore).

I know a VERY fast Cat A cross racer who rocks a Vanilla. If his cross ability is any indication of his dick size... he's freaking huge.