The more I hear of this topic, the more I would question if in fact the bar had been raised at all, but would offer up that in those you mention were not in any position to compete, but actually moved off and started their own game. In the US boom years, would yet another builder of exotic italian-like frames have had much success playing the same game - did anyone do it and survive and not get burnt ?
As I'm from the wrong side of the pond, can any of the current and ex-builders from that era in the U.S.A. enlighten me as to the comparitive cost of those machines they were constructing against those they were trying to compete with in raising the bar. ? I would suspect that there were no direct equivalents as such, and in fact they were offering something of superior "quality" but not at a similar cost - a case of comparing the incomparable..... apples with pears - as there never was a time when they were turning out " the standards of craftsmanship, precision, and accuracy" for the same bucks as the latest Euro import - now that would have been a coup, and a classic case of "raising the bar".
I know of no present day builders in the UK, producing machines comparable to the likes of those by Richard Sachs, that said they're me be builders capable of doing so. There is no obvious market here for those machines at that price. I wish there was, but I would doubt Richard would get out of bed, or Brian would stop playing Drums and sticking breadsticks up his nose (I have the negatives) for what most riders here would pay for an exotic lugged steel frame, so the game remains the same, and only a few hanging in there and benefitting from the kudos of "classic" names.
Bob Reid
Stonehaven
Scotland