Originally Posted by
grolby
I don’t want to derail this thread any further. But to clarify, what I meant was that Ritchey steel frames ride very well and Surly steel frames (and budget steel in general, not just Surly) don’t. Production quality, in the sense of quality standards and control, isn’t what I meant. Production quality in the sense how the “niceness” of the finished product is definitely different, and obviously so if you look at or ride the bikes. But a Ritchey frameset sells for about twice as much as a Surly does, it would be pretty bad if it wasn’t a nicer bike. I guess I’m not sure what being built in Taiwan has to do with it. Is the implication that only one grade of bicycle frame is built in the whole country?
Originally Posted by
mstateglfr
Why did you post the country where both frames are manufactured? That has nothing to do with the discussion.
Country of manufacturing matters because $1500 retail for a mass produced steel frameset made in Taiwan is overpriced. Ritchey isn't putting out bespoke MiUSA frames that would typically command that high of a price. There is a non-zero chance the same factory producing Ritchey frames produces Surly frames. Spend your money how you want, but telling people that the "magic of steel" can't be found within the likes of Surly offerings is pretentious (and delusional). But the cycling industry is built around excessive consumerism... so carry on I guess.