Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeD
I don't think the quality of BMC's Chinese steel frames are near the quality offered by Rivendell.
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if you are comparing Riv's custom stuff, I'm sure I'd agree (I think Black Mtn is really close to the Waterford offerings if you ask me)... if you are talking about something like the Roadini, I just don't see it... I guess if you have to have lugs, but other than that... as I said above, I had a Bleriot and while it was a beautiful bike, the quality of the frame or ride wasn't any better than than either of my Black Mtn bikes... the lugs were pretty to look at, but that was about it IMHO. Especially when you compare it to something like the Hilson with a $1,500 price tag, I just don't see the almost 3x price increase...
BTW- to say Black Mtn has "Chinese steel" is a bit disingenuous... while Taiwan is certainly Chinese, Mike uses the leading steel tubing supplier there. What you imply above seems to compare Black Mtn bikes to something from WalMart... Where does Grant have his non-custom models like the Roadini built, I can't find it on the site... ** I found in the catalog where the frames are "from our small volume Taiwan builders"... sounds like the same as Black Mtn to me.