>>1244247He sells a mostly-complete (still needs saddle and pedals) for $1650. I don't think that he wants to go any cheaper for a variety of reasons, and as a small operator (and self-admitted crappy businessman), he doesn't enjoy the economies of scale that a company like QBP does.
>>1244249Long wheelbase is for stability and comfort, and so that you don't heel strike panniers or have toe overlap. It's probably going to be the next industry meme. Double TTs (and the new curved ones look the biz) are to make bigger frames less ropey. Rivs are way overbuilt, to the point where lighter riders will find them overly stiff.
>>1244250The difference is that Riv shoots for a higher level of craftsmanship and aesthetics. Most people aren't interested in riding homeless-tier stuff. It's why those old bikes are so cheap now.
>>1244307I think that some of the retrogrouches had their hopes pinned on Sun XCD, which was supposed to be the rebirth of Suntour, oriented at retrogrouchy cyclotouriste components. Then Kawai died, they had to recall their first run of cranksets, and US distribution fell apart.
