I don't think 800 bucks is reasonable for a fully built up steel bike outfitted for camping. You could get the Clem Smith for 1600 right now, and it is a swell deal and I would say it could be sold for more. I almost picked one up but I appreciate the aesthetic appeal of lugs enough to have ponied up the cash for an Appaloosa instead.
the one thing I will say though, after having several rivs (but never a custom) at different price points....they all ride like quality rides. You can rest assured that the Roadini vs. Roadeo argument is an argument between two totally functional bikes with swell riding qualities. On Monday, February 5, 2018 at 10:02:07 AM UTC-6, anonomous wrote: > > My dream Rivendell would be any of their lineup that stripped off all the > expensive aesthetic luxuries, while preserving all the function. Same > tubes, same geometry, same magical ride. NO lugs, fancy paint, or complex > decals. Just Tig welded and powdercoated a single color. > > Imagine all the camping function of an Atlantis, for like $800, of which > Riv got to keep 20% instead of 5% or whatever their margins are now. In > terms of geo and function Rivendell are literally decades ahead of their > time. The bikes are incredibly desirable to young riders. But, > frustratingly, their prices are jacked up sky high via a frankly bizarre > fixation on superficial luxury, and we just can't afford them! Like, OK, > custom made investment-cast lugs are nice looking, but they add zero > function to the bike while costing a fortune. Meanwhile the company is > constantly on the brink of bankruptcy, presumably due to low volume and low > margins. > > Maybe you think that all the superficial luxuries are part of Rivendell's > core brand. Maybe! But for me the real interest is the incredibly refined > and optimized geometry and construction. Lugs aren't worth anything to me, > personally. > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
