rock lobster.. us/uk ?

fritzlite

Senior Retro Guru
whats the deal with rock lobster?.. is there a us builder and a uk ?.. on uk ebay there usally 853 mtb frames, as from the uk site...(fair priced).. and from time to time, i run into pricey cx frames, and other stuff on us-ebay...
Rock lobster is originally from california, and a guy paul sadorf.. or am i wrong?

and sorry, if this has been on the board before... i did a search, ..and couldnt find anything

cheers

fritzlite
 
think it's merlin cycles make frames under license.

as scant says the us stuff is nice handbuilt stuff.

The uk stuff is far eastern stuff with a sticker on. Sure it's adequate.
 
Sadoff

Original Sadoff frames are fantastic to look at, better to ride, but have a very high price tag to match!
They do not make ANY off the peg frames, all are custom order only with a long wait. Merlin pay royalty for the brand in the UK and although using similar geometry thats as close as it gets. A Sadoff frame into the UK after duty and shipping would be about £1000 in 853, depending on spec orderes with a fair wait tho.
 
Thanks for the link Jeff
Will check the frame number of my Team Scandium to see if it's an all american original or (more likely) a uk branded taiwan copy.
 
My (Merlin) Rock Lobster 853 is the best hardtail frame I have ever ridden. Maybe the Explosif 853 is second, but it is heavier than the Rock Lobster (fatter tubes) and slightly less fun to ride.

With all due respect, to call it tat is a bit silly. Firstly, Reynolds 853 is just about the best steel tubeset you will find. Secondly, the geometry (which was originally specified by Sadoff apparently) is spot on what I want. Thirdly, Taiwanese frames are built in a few huge factories, all to similar (and high) standards. Cotic, On-One, Genesis, Charge, Rock Lobster etc are made in the same factories as the big brands and to the same standards. Except that the big brands don't make steel frames, so if it wasn't for 'tat' brands, there would be virtually no new steel frames on the market now.

Basically the huge resources of the taiwanese industry mean that somebody like Brant Richards or Cy Turner can design a bike just as he likes and have it built to a high standard and delivered to a UK factory. I can't see what is wrong with that - isn't it how brands like ParkPre operated? I think they were made at Fairly, which is where some Kona frames are made. They weren't tat.

Incidentally, the last time I went to a southern area xc race, there were only two steel frames being raced and they were both Rock Lobster 853s.
 
Tat

They're not really "tat" but just not comparable with the originals, were hand built & hand fillet brazed or welded to the buyers specification and required geometry to fit the customer exactly, finish is then also specced. The machine-built Taiwanese frames are ok, but remember only cost about £50 at best to build.
 
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