New Soma photo (with matching fork!)

[James Warren]

http://www.rivbike.com/products/show/amos-frameset/70-999

A great brake clearance photo too.

[islaysteve]

Very interesting.  The color in the photos looks a lot like the Bleriot color, without the painted head tube, of course.  Functionally, this bike seems much like the Bleriot, which suits me just fine.  I assume that the production fork crown will not have the Riv wings.  So I'm wondering, If the maker can produce the San Marcos in sizes 47 to 63 and keep the price constant at $900 MSRP, why not the Sam H?  Is the San Marcos also made by Maxway?  Is it a matter of volume?  

[eflayer]

have geometry specs been published anywhere yet? or do you buy one based on general pubic specs?

[Peter Pesce]

Seems to me it might be a matter of paint. Grant mentioned in that recent interview that he was hoping to sell his new city bike for around $750, unpainted. People seem to generally agree that it cost around $300 (retail) to paint a bike. The Maxway Sam is $1000, so that makes perfect sense.
If the Soma has a slightly cheaper paint job- like no hand painted fork crown details- then $900 seems pretty logical.

[islaysteve]

I wasn't questioning  the difference between $900 and $1000 so much as commenting on the fact that:  Soma/Maxway/whoever can produce all of frame sizes for one price vs. RBW having to source the larger and smaller Sams to Waterford, at higher prices. 

[Brett Lindenbach]

I didn't see that the Soma is functionally similar to the Blériot or the Sam H.  My read was that the Soma tubing is lightweight and not ideal for touring (Despite the rack mounts on the seat stays, it isn't a touring bike. The tubing is too light for that.).  The Blériot had some capability for light touring.  From the original Blériot product brochure:  "For the Bleriot, we recommend body-plus-baggage weights of up to 235 pounds for road touring, and 225 pounds for off-road touring."  So, perhaps the difference in tubing accounts for this difference in price?  Also, the Soma color, at least from the pix, is a little paler than the color on the Blériot standing next to me in my office.
Cheers,
Brett