This is a little thread drift, but in the past, GP has noted that most people do not need a custom bicycle. If one of their sizes fits you, then you don't need a custom fit. My Ram is that way. It wouldn't be any different if it was custom made. Back when Toyo & Waterford were making frames, RBW was clear that he quality was not close, it was the same. When they moved some work to Taiwan, they noted again, there was no drop in quality. That move, along with the inclusion of partial lugged frames were efforts to keep prices more affordable for more people.
As others have noted, paying workers fairly for their work costs money. As consumers, cyclists most often prowl the internet for the best deals, LBS be damned. Or in this case, RBW. That doesn't help RBW or your LBS to thrive and be there when you want it. Steel prices are ticking up a hair, but the big cost in a frame is labor. Wages in places like Taiwan and China are rising (as they should) and that translates to more cost in a frame. The paint and decals on an RBW are nicer than industry average and that is a big part of cost too. I go back to something GP wrote years ago. RBW bikes are affordable by someone with a job and bicycle priorities. I'm glad I have mine. (A Toyo and a Waterford) -- 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.
