Frame Frame, Go Away…
I’m semi in the market for a frame. I don’t need one, but I have half a bike in my garage and I want to make something, it seems that a frame would be helpful. I could just buy the Eastern Dragon 1 that’s been on the wall at Mama’s for like four years, but I decided I’d explore my options. So, I went to Dan’s and just for a laugh I decided to see how much FBM frames would run me. I actually kinda like the Exodus, it seems like an old man frame and FBM guys read this stuff, so it seemed like a good thing. But then I noticed something weird.
If you sort the frames in price descending order, well, it’s chock full of overseas made frames at the high end. While I realize that country of origin isn’t the be all end all of pricing, that was always the draw of import frames, no? Cheaper, but similar quality of domestic frames? I, honestly, wasn’t expecting that. So, now I have to wonder, why would I buy a Taiwanese frame for what I could probably get a custom American made frame for. Not that I have anything against Taiwanese frames, I even ride one, but the mild custom stuff I’d want (hey, can you give me an extra quarter inch up front?) wouldn’t be that ‘spensive, I wouldn’t think.
I dunno, I guess in a world where a $40K Hyundai makese sense this isn’t that odd. No, no, it’s still odd. BMX makes my brain hurt sometimes.
Custom FBM or Solid, all the way. You may not be rich, but you make a better living than when you were mowing lawns for bike money (I went so far as to go hungry and save my LUNCH MONEY from school). Reward yourself.
I don’t know how much $$$ I want to spend on this one. Its main purpose will be to hang all of the spare parts on and address my urge to paint something.
Still, I just find it weird that the cost of frames have shaken out like they have. I mean, at $42k and change a fully loaded Ford Taurus SHO costs more than an entry level BMW 3 Series, which makes sense. But this is like that same Taurus costing more than a $100K BMW 7 Series. I really like the Taurus SHO (the fact that you almost certainly can get a bike in teh trunk doesn’t hurt) but I’m not going to consider one for more than the cost of a 7 Series.