You're thinking of Merry Sales <http://merrysales.com/>, which is a (smaller??) competitor of QBP. Similar to J & B which is another distributer (they do Origin 8 bikes/parts). Doesn't automatically make 'em bad folks to work with. Surly for example puts out some pretty innovative bikes, same for Salsa. Much rather have one than a Special-Ek.
On Sun, Mar 21, 2010 at 4:46 PM, Doug Van Cleve <dvancl...@gmail.com> wrote: > That may be, but isn't Soma owned by one of the big distributors, like > Surly is by QBP? That is what I was referring to, and "large" is relative > ;^) > > Doug > > > > On Sun, Mar 21, 2010 at 4:23 PM, Jim Thill - Hiawatha Cyclery < > thill....@gmail.com> wrote: > >> There aren't many big corporations in the bike biz. I seriously doubt >> Soma has more than a dozen full-time employees. I believe the frames >> are made in the same Taiwanese factory that makes the BF/YG. >> >> On Mar 21, 6:00 pm, Doug Van Cleve <dvancl...@gmail.com> wrote: >> > A few thoughts: YG or Ebisu = supporting the little guy, Soma = large >> > faceless corporation pretending to be counterculture. Single TT a la >> > Herse/Singer is absolutely stiffer, that's why most craft built mixtes >> have >> > been that way. YG and Ebisu are lugged, Soma is welded (right?). As >> > already mentioned, anything other than drop bars makes it easy to deal >> with >> > a longer top tube. Ebisu has cantis, debatably stronger than sidepulls >> and >> > easy enough to set up assuming modern ones. Why is the YG $200 more >> than >> > the Betty Foy? Other than being named after a female character, is >> there >> > anything more feminine about the BF than that YG? For $200 less, I >> think I >> > like it better. I personally would narrow it down to the RBW product or >> > Ebisu. Money not an object, the Ebisu is the classiest. Since they are >> at >> > least semi-custom, I wonder if you could get horizontal dropouts on one >> of >> > those? >> > >> > Regards, Doug >> > >> > >> > >> > On Sun, Mar 21, 2010 at 3:45 PM, Ray Shine <r.sh...@sbcglobal.net> >> wrote: >> > > Thank you, everyone --- >> > >> > > My handlebar choice will be (at the moment) either inverted Albatross >> or a >> > > set of Jitensha flat bars that I once had mounted on my Atlantis. >> Those >> > > bars still have the Paul thumbies and the Paul levers on them, so that >> is >> > > the option I'm leaning to. >> > >> > > The other responses regarding tire width -- I'd like to do something >> > > between 35 and bigger. Thanks for the link to the Soma 650B >> conversion. >> > > That looks interesting. I do like the canti brakes of the Ebisu. I >> like >> > > canti brakes. >> > >> > > The other neat thing about the Soma is the horizontal drop out. I was >> > > giving serious consideration to trying out that new 9-speed IGH. And, >> I >> > > really like the double top tube design. I wonder if it is as strong as >> the >> > > Riv and Ebisu designs. >> > >> > > As for the Riv's. Yes, I am a Riv fan (I own three Riv's already) but >> the >> > > Gomez just doesn't catch my eye, frankly. I could get by the goofy >> name and >> > > "International Man. . ." thing if other aspects came together. I like >> the >> > > intended use of the Gomez, and the way it could be set like a >> Hillborne, but >> > > I think it's the least stylish of the three bikes I mentioned. >> > >> > > Thank you also for the Velo Orange link. That looks good as well, so >> maybe >> > > now it's a choice of four models. >> > >> > > Ray >> > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bu...@googlegroups.com. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com<rbw-owners-bunch%2bunsubscr...@googlegroups.com> > . > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en. > -- Cheers, David Redlands, CA "Bicycling is a big part of the future. It has to be. There is something wrong with a society that drives a car to workout in a gym." ~Bill Nye, scientist guy -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bu...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
