#46
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Is that a big kahuna burger? Now that's a tasty burger!
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#47
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One perspective. We are humans. Sometimes humans connect with other humans. some humans have plenty of cash so as not to worry about a 2k bike purchase.
I looked for a while for a builder for my wifes bike. I asked new guys and old guys. One person seemed to really "get" the project. That person is a new builder. I took a chance. It turned out better than expected. Life is full of moments, mistakes and triumphs. If you never take risks, your rewards are less. Embrace the human experience. We are not machines |
#48
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__________________
Atmo bis |
#49
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This is a joke and not a dis to the OP, I swear, but sometimes I wonder if threads like this are planted to get our wheels spinning and remind us that bikes belong somewhere in the value calculus we all do when deciding what to do with our money, time, and life. Bikes are very nice. Very nice indeed. Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk |
#50
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This is a long thread and I haven't read the entire thing, but its an interesting subject. I have recently shelved the dream of an $8k bike in favour of more renovations on my first house. That was painful but I know its the right thing to do and while my wife didn't say I couldn't buy the bike, I know her thoughts on it !!
Anyways, I was researching builders and it dawned on me the range of cost for framesets is not necessarily directly related to the quality of workmanship. There are people like Dave Kirk, Richard Sachs and Nick Crumpton who are the 'grandmasters' of framebuilding (in my opinion) and they charge what they charge not only because of their experience but also to support their financial goals - its a fact of life. I assume that they have a baseline of what they want to earn and it correlates to cost of living amongst many other things. One of the builders on my shortlist was Chris Dekerf in Vancouver - he is also extremely experienced and skilled and he charges a lot for his frames, but the fact is that he lives in Vancouver - an incredibly expensive city. It is his home and I assume that he owns a house there, so he needs to pay his mortgage and this is how he does it. When I was speaking with him about how many hours go into building a frameset, he said that he tries not to track this, as he is now less interested in pumping out volume and more interested in building things that please him and his clients as well as challenge his skillset, which I loved. As for 'emerging' framebuilders, I have no issue with people charging what they charge. I think that it is a self fulfilling prophecy that if a builder sells enough frames that people are impressed with, then their cost and reputation is deserved; inversely, if they sell enough frames that people are disappointed with, this will also impact their reputation and livelihood. In the end, they all need to make a living and I hope that these esteemed folks charge what they need to charge to both keep the lights on, but also to set themselves up for a lifestyle that they want to lead, whatever that might be. I make a modest salary and live in an expensive city - if I want to live in a nicer house or drive a nicer car, I need to change jobs or ask my boss for a raise, but I don't work in an entrepreneurial capacity like they do, so they need to adjust pricing to accommodate their financial goals. I might be totally offbase on this one (and await criticism and correction!!), but as a person who spends his days emailing and sitting in meetings, I admire and envy the skills that framebuilders have to actually MAKE things that people love to use. Now, I need to win $10k in a lottery and resurrect the bike dream that has not vapourized Last edited by d_douglas; 02-15-2019 at 12:56 PM. |
#51
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PS I am a person with few luxuries in my life. I wear basic clothes, eat normal food, drive a regular car, etc. My sole extravagance is bikes.
That said, most of my money goes into my family life, travel, etc, which is perfectly fine for me. |
#52
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Or make a lot of money (fixing teeth, investing peoples money, opening up knees, taking on legal cases, selling a startup) and buy whatever you want...
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#53
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But it is possible to spend money on bad things. People do it all the time. Bikes are good.
Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk |
#54
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As for a dekerf, love mine even after 23 years, good money spent, same with my brodie after 30, and my moots after 7. Hopefully my SV is the same. |
#55
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Last edited by colker; 02-15-2019 at 03:07 PM. |
#56
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Are there watchmakers who have only been in the game for 6 months? |
#57
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I think this thread originates on the bad assumption that people spent top dollar on unknown builders?
Damn near everyone that gets into building starts at the bottom and builds a reputation that allows the $ to follow.
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charles@pezcyclingnews.com |
#58
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I think the time to getting to the top dollar rates has compressed vs the olde days of toiling for decades, as Kirk, Sachs, Dekerf, and many others have done.
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#59
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You’d be surprised what kind of idiotic purchase people make off of social media. I’m going to use this as a very general example but the Contax T2 is a great camera. It always has been. I’ve had a couple—and sold them and recognize the quality. A few years back one of the Jenner’s (I’m not sure which one) started carrying one around and the price sky rocketed. I just sold my friends T2 data back for $1000. I completely attribute this to an “influencer” signaling that this product was “cool” Not exactly an apples to apples comparison but the connection I’m trying to make is that these social media presences do have an effect on people’s perception. |
#60
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Last edited by colker; 02-15-2019 at 05:10 PM. |
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