Steelman Closing Shop?

[Jack Brunk]

Originally Posted by crankles

I only know Jack from his posts. Which means I don't know him at all.

I guess the problem I have with statements like above, especially from forumites who have a certain level of perceived expertise, is that the subjectivity is almost unassailable, yet potentially damaging. It would sadden me if such statements moved Brent to the bottom of a potential buyers list. I've owned 4 Steelmans. One still hangs in the garage. I also have two Alliances, two Speedvagens, an IF and some carbon thingamajig. I can also TIG with the worst of them. While I may not own the biggest stable on this forum, or have post counts in the zillions, I've put some mile on a fairly large range of bikes in the past ...ahem...lets say 4o+ years.

All my bikes ride great, the best riding ones have had tubesets/geometry tweaked by the builder to match my desired riding characteristics. What Brent brings to the table besides 30 years at the bench and a real knowledge of tubing/geometry, is a level of craftsmanship that often lies under the paint.

That may not be worth a dime for someone looking for the "best value", but it means something to some of us.

..and while ringing endorsements from formers customers can't hurt, the best endorsements for Brent's frames/prices have come from his fellow frame builders. They are the ones who told him his frames were worth twice what he was charging and should give it another go.

I haven't been the only person to state my feelings about his prices. I only stated my opinon on the matter. Any one of you are allowed to disagree with me and that's cool. I have no skin in this game. but, i will again say that based on my dealings with Hampsten, Firefly, Kirk and many others, his prices are too high for me. I'd rather have 2 Hampsten tig'd frames than 1 Steelman tig'd frame for around the same dollar amount. Sorry but it's a better deal for me around based on quality and value.. Also I haven't taken shots at anyone here. I wouldn't put too much of anything behind my opinon. It's just mine. And there was nothing about my post that was meant to be harmful to Mr. Steelman. It seems he does make very nice bikes.

[rwsaunders]

Originally Posted by Jack Brunk

I haven't been the only person to state my feelings about his prices. I only stated my opinon on the matter. Any one of you are allowed to disagree with me and that's cool. I have no skin in this game. but, i will again say that based on my dealings with Hampsten, Firefly, Kirk and many others, his prices are too high for me. I'd rather have 2 Hampsten tig'd frames than 1 Steelman tig'd frame for around the same dollar amount. Sorry but it's a better deal for me around based on quality and value.. Also I haven't taken shots at anyone here. I wouldn't put too much of anything behind my opinon. It's just mine. And there was nothing about my post that was meant to be harmful to Mr. Steelman. It seems he does make very nice bikes.

I'd have to venture that most of us do cost/value comparisons when buying any type of high end gear, and I find myself aligning with Jack's comments.

[54ny77]

these kinds of threads make me appreciate two things that i've come to do with respect to bike frames:

1) buy high end custom or semi-custom frames used.
2) buy bigbikeco. off-the-shelf high(er) end frames used.