Thursday, July 15, 2010

Soma Rush Special Edition



images from somafeed

Special editions tend to blip louder on my radar. Most of the time the makers have added a handful of bells and whistles. Unnecessary, yes, but pretty, oh yes. This is the special edition of Soma Fabrication's track frame, the Rush. I have never been a fan of Soma's uninspired lettering, but this vintage font looks solidly terrific. See the same on this unreleased Rivendell frame collaboration. I am not feeling the new "Rush" logo too much. Yet the nicely designed headbadge is a unique and very attractive touch. Who knew you could get away with a red and green color combo without being Christmassy? Now that the mad heyday of riding minimalist, super modern fixed gear track bikes is tapering off and being replaced by love for classic steel road and randonneuring bikes, Soma has made a smart move in adding traditional touches to their frames, including lugs. Sharp looks aside, what is stopping me from adding this to my wish list is the fact that it has "aggressive track geometry," which means speed > comfort, and it doesn't have bosses for a water bottle mount. I'm all for minimalistic good looks, unless they get in the way of practical considerations. Still, it is an item of beauty.

Made in: Taiwan ("better than China")
Handmade? No

$425

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