ooh la la - new semi-custom mixte from Sweetpea!

[jdubble]

I've been sitting on this news for awhile, waiting for Natalie to make the official announcement of the launch. As some of you know, I'm the proud owner of a lovely custom mixte from Sweetpea, and now Natalie has come out with a new offering in her Lust line ("when you have to have it now!" - she designs and does the fitting, someone else does the welding, and you get your bike way faster than her current 3 year turnaround)...

Check out the A-Line!

[Zen]

looks similar to my Tocino

but my Tocino only cost $800

A-Line-

* Tiagra – $2800
* 105 – $3200
* Ultegra – $3600

That's ridiculous

[jdubble]

looks similar to my Tocino

but my Tocino only cost $800

A-Line-

* Tiagra – $2800
* 105 – $3200
* Ultegra – $3600

That's ridiculous

whatever. it's a hand-built bike with a small production run. not built by the hands of natalie or margo perhaps, but still a hand-built bike. i'd compare it more to the rivendell betty foy instead of the electra ticino mixte personally. the betty foy complete is around $2200. if you built it up with ultegra and added a brooks saddle, it'd probably be closer to the sweetpea price. and that's built in tawain, not oregon.

if i'm not mistaken, the electra is one-size-fits-most. with this, you have three stock sizes, plus a custom fit option as well. for those who are want a sweetpea, and there are obviously plenty of people out there who do, or her waitlist wouldn't be so long, this and the Little Black Dress are ways to get one faster.

[KnottedYet]

I want a Sweetpea.

She's just down the hall from Michael Sylvester, and the thought of having a bike built by Natalie from fit specs by Michael just gives me goosebumps!

[jobob]

Gee Zen, I thought you'd gotten out of the habit of getting all santimonious and judgmental about how people choose to spend their own money. Guess not.

[Zen]

Oh yeah, it is a full moon

[Cataboo]

looks similar to my Tocino

but my Tocino only cost $800

A-Line-

* Tiagra – $2800
* 105 – $3200
* Ultegra – $3600

That's ridiculous

Your tocino costing $800 is ridiculous. It's 8 speed - none of the drive train components are quality.

[Selkie]

In my experience, you get what you pay for in most cases..... I figure that the happy miles that I have and will rack up on my Lunas and my Seven will more than offset the initial investments. I plan on riding them well into my dotage. Eventually, those bikes will be part of my posthumous estate sale.

Dubble, thanks for the heads up on the Lust line. It's good for those of us who are considering a new bike (no, not me!!! ;-)). By the way, I love your swe'pea (and I'm not a mixte rider). Wouldn't mind getting one of those Little Black Dresses sometime in the future..... http://www.sweetpeabicycles.com/blog...e-black-dress/

[Biciclista]

little black dress? OH that is too much. Very good very good. omigoodness, it comes in PUMPKIN!

congrats on your new bike!

[Catrin]

I LOVE the little black dress that comes in different colors I already have my heart set on either a Luna, Gunnar or Waterford so my short list is already full. This is probable a good thing

[Biciclista]

If I didn't already have enough bikes of my own for my full family, I would be REALLY interested in that little black dress.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

After having bought just two bikes in my adult life (I'm 56 now), both of them pretty high end lovely steel road bikes and both costing a comparable amount....I have to say the one I got that was custom designed exactly to my body measurements is way more comfortable for me over longer distances. It's my wonderful Luna bike, made by Margo Conover for me. If I had it to do over again i'd have two custom Lunas and that's it.

Well worth it in my opinion to get a bike made to your particular measurements (far more in depth than just standover height) by someone who knows all the subtleties of women's bike fit. Either sweet Pea or Luna would be very smart choices in that department, in my humble opinion.
I may have spent more than average on each of my two bikes, but on the other hand I could have actually spent more overall on buying and tweaking bike after bike that didn't fit properly at all to begin with, a situation I see a lot of on this forum. Riding a bike for 50 miles pain free is such a blessing.
My two bikes are all I could ask for.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Oh my, jdubble, it's lovely! And look at the happy smile!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/5234677...7617611394766/
I bet it fits you like a dream and feels fantastic.

[7rider]

Your tocino costing $800 is ridiculous. It's 8 speed - none of the drive train components are quality.

It's a steel bike.
Huffy makes a steel bike.
I can get a Huffy at Walmart for $60.

[Cataboo]

It's a steel bike.
Huffy makes a steel bike.
I can get a Huffy at Walmart for $60.

*cough*

It might be 8 speed of not very good components, as well.

It will not have Ms. Plum's style or grace though