This is quite interesting actually. Rody says that he aims to complete only about ten 'projects' per annum - that's why the waiting time is so long. He says his basic price for a steel frame starts from $1,500. but you can bet your life that his gross annual income is rather greater than ten x $1,500 = $15,000.
Basically, it sounds as though he operates like an artist, which he is well qualified to do. From what I've seen, his design work is exceptionally imaginative and elegant and his paint schemes must be about as inspired as you'll find. I can only assume that the average cost of his projects builds up to a lot more than the basic price. If you can afford it, I would imagine it is money really well spent - and you'll have plenty of time to save up your pennies before you have to hand them over.
But as an alternative, if you aren't so wealthy or you haven't got so much time or patience, TET Cycles, aka Tom Teesdale, would build you a custom Reynolds 853 mtb frame for $875. Considering what people are willing to pay for the Kona Hots that he used to build, $875 seems quite a bargain to me. And there's no mention on his website of any waiting list - if he was super-busy, no doubt he could set his prices a little higher. He seems to me to be a modest and highly-skilled worker and an updated custom Hot with geometry for modern forks, all for $875 seems like quite a good deal.
