The fabulous creations of Robin Mather will once again be available next year. I have been in contact with Rob previously, so it was a nice suprise to receive an email only moments ago from Rob, pre-night ride whilst finishing a lovely cuppa.

He will now be offering bespoke Ti frames for £2.5k – delivery of initial orders around April next year. Current steel orders ongoing, with a vision of the Ti side of things becoming a significant proportion of his work.

If anyone wants the PDF shoot me an email.

Off into the night……

this is bad news….i love his frames…..my wallet does not.

emails sent fellas….now must get on the bike….will reply to other in the morning…cheers all.

I've mailed you thumbie.

Cheers

Pete

…damp out there 😀

More mails replied to.

Ta.

How much are his steel frames, roughly? I've been hankering for some classy steel for a while and Rob was top of my wish list.

Hankering for steel too, just like Joe what these loverlies cost?
Any info gratefully recieved. Mail in profile. Ta

2.5 k jeeze thats more than an indy fab !!!!!

The steel frames started around £1200 IIRC.

Indy Fab may cost less, but British built craftsmanship by someone who in my humble opinion creates some of the finest work I have seen.

Pays your money…

…actually just checked Mosquito & the IF Ti Deluxe is only £50 less, with the road varieties more…

while he makes some lovely looking bikes with great attention to detail the idea of paying so much for a ti frame when he hasn't a history of working with the material would put me off.
that's not far off a cost of a stainless pegoretti only without the knowledge, pedigree, history or paintjob.

i dunno about that.yknow it will be done right and just think once he has done a shed load and you have one of the first ones. 8)

I hope he keeps up the steel too, it doesn't sound like it though. I love the 'ornamental' aspect of that work.

Same as said, I wouldn't risk 2.5 on a Ti, or any frame costing that tbh!

I'm on his 'expressed an interest list' for a steely, not sure I'll hear anything now…

while he makes some lovely looking bikes with great attention to detail the idea of paying so much for a ti frame when he hasn't a history of working with the material would put me off

OK, agree that there isn't the history as say Lynskey, but with such a high regard by many for his steel work I can't imagine he would do it if he wasn't confident. Pegoretti makes great stuff but it's not just Dario doing the fabrication, unlike Rob.

that's not far off a cost of a stainless pegoretti only without the knowledge, pedigree, history or paintjob

He knows quite a bit though, & there are quite a bunch of talented young fabricators who could have my cash if it was available 😀

his steel frames used to start at £750 odd quid. £1200 is a big jump up.

Pegoretti makes great stuff but it's not just Dario doing the fabrication, unlike Rob.

there are 2 people in the workshop (well 3 but the third is mainly a painter) but i don't see how that's going to affect the frame as AFAIK this just speeds up the cutting/mitering and he's the only one to wield the torch

Richard Sachs: "…what more can I say except that he (Pegoretti)has forgotten more than any of us here will ever know!"

vanilla bikes isn't a one man operation either.
i still think 2.5k is a lot for a Ti mather and that better be for butted tubes as plain gauge would really be paying over the odds.

his steel frames used to start at £750 odd quid. £1200 is a big jump up

…like I said though IIRC…& with my brain you are probably right 🙂

I agree MrSmith that Pegoretti is an exceptional builder with pedigree (I love the Luigino personally), but these younger fellas aint bad from what I can see.

At the end of the day £2.5k for a frame is a lot, & there are plenty of builders that cost in that ballpark. FYI they are plain gauge tubes.

Any more news?!

Just seen the pics of Ti frames on his website…. look lovely.

Sounds like his prices have gone up some though. Not surprised, I thought mine was a bargain considering the work involved.

You guys are crazy.

I know Robin’s work seems overpriced to you, but that’s what the quality of work he produces can command.

There are no reassurances for being a small framebuilder in the UK, most of them have either gone out of business or are semi-retired. Of course the US frames are cheaper, companies like Moots, Vanilla and IF are medium sized businesses in a market that can sustain one or two prominent builders per state.

The attitude of ‘he’s too expensive, i’ll buy abroad’ is all too easy. Next you’ll be saying ‘there’s no quality craftsmanship in England anymore’. Just like buying a Rolex, everything on Robin’s bikes is done the best way, not the cheapest way, some of the quality is off the radar, I mean, just look at it! Those frames are super-labour intensive. If you can’t afford one (like me), maybe they’re not meant for you, but don’t disrespect the guy for being overpriced, he’s a british craftsman doing the thing we are all supposed to be so proud of, and he’s found a market for benchmark quality, top end products. Good for him.

.. and yes I have tried to build a frame, and it’s not a quick job, tubes are expensive and even a very basic build will take an experienced builder 2 or 3 days. I’d be surprised if he is raking it in even at those prices.

I don’t disrespect him but I’m not going to shell out for unecessary finishing & details.

Best of luck to him but I won’t be buying unless I wins teh Lotto.

Unecessary finishing and details are a matter of opinion though, over time the price would be forgotten, and the nice touches in the frame would still be there to appreciate.

In three years or so i’m hoping to have a really nice english road frame made, after gradually saving up.

😯

Holy thread ressurection ❗

***Always wanted to do that**

Darren Crisp

this^ or Baum or eriksen
i can understand if you want a mtb or some weird hybrid/tourer/rohloff/rack’s/convertible dropout number (i know somebody with a lovely frame like this from Mather) but a road bike? your money is better of elsewhere imho.

I have a steel Roberts roadbike and it is the single best thing I’ve spent my money on. It handles amazingly well, descends like a demon and is very sure footed. maybe a pound or two heavier than a carbon frame but who gives a sh1t? I’m certainly more than a pound overweight!

Robin recently quoted me £1500 for a steel mtb frame, a few years ago it was £650. You get what you pay for but £1500 is sadly out of my league 🙁

If I had the money I wouldn’t hesitate.