on 7/1/04 8:40 AM, rodk3d@comcast.net at rodk3d@comcast.net wrote:
> I have also talked with David Kirk via the phone and thru e-mail. I second
> Tom's opinion of David. He is young, hungry, talented, and very enthusiatic
> about what he is building. If one lives in America, you also cannot beat the
> fact that he is accesible and speaks English. There is no middleman, foreign
> language, or time zone barrier involved. His prices are very reasonable and
> you can actually get one of his frames in this lifetime.
Mr. Kirk's frames certainly look beautiful. However, I'm not sure that being an American framebuilder makes him that unique. There are lots of talented American framebuilders who are accessible, speak English, don't have time zone barriers, etc. Your comments make it sound like his only competition exists overseas, and that does a disservice to the many talented builders here in the US.
As far as pricing, dealing direct and not having a middleman is both good and bad. His price is close to what a single color Waterford sells for. While Waterford is larger and you don't have the same relationship with the builder, they do have dealers where you can go see a frame and even test ride a bike before buying. In this regard, Kirk makes a lot more money on each frame than Waterford does. Whether having a local dealer is important to you is another matter.
I face this issue all the time as I could certainly sell Herons cheaper if I sold direct. However, for me, the extra value added by having a dealer network is worth the extra cost.
Todd Kuzma
Heron Bicycles
Tullio's Big Dog Cyclery
LaSalle, IL 815-223-1776
http://www.heronbicycles.com
http://www.tullios.com