Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Introducing The Soma Saga


Our first shipment of Sagas have finally arrived. We know we took our sweet time, but in hindsight, we think it was worth taking time to dial things in.

This is probably the only touring frame readily available in the USA of high quality heat treated CrMo (Tange Prestige). When we originally said heavy duty, some people weren't sure what we meant. The goal was something in between a hard core expedition-style "take the kitchen sink to the Himalaya foothills" frame (like the Thorne Sherpa) and the standard "hard core USA tourist" to borrow terms from one of our blog readers. Another way to say it, is we wanted to make the most rugged and reliable frame out there aimed at carrying the loads the average "hard core USA tourist" normally carries.
• We specced a headtube that will probably be strong enough for free-ride use and it's taller than even our other frames to make it easier for you to get that upright position.
• The tube gauges and butts are specially specced for loaded touring.
• We took extra care in adding slightly more brazing material on the rear rack mounts.
• There's even a plate behind the BB for a double kickstand, if you wish to go that route.
• It's all wrapped up in a navy powdercoat with vanilla panels and gold accents.
Link
This picture below shows a pre-production model. Many thanks to Pedal Revolution for the sweet build. More pictures on our Flickr page.



15 comments:

Skip said...

Just order one yesterday. Cannot wait to get it. Taking it on Adventure Cycle C&O towpath trip in 2 weeks.

Anonymous said...

By the way, this is the prettiest decal yet. I wouldn't mind seeing more cream + the Soma logo on the other frames.

hal said...

Sweet. What width tire will it take with fenders?

Jay said...

That is sexy, I want one!

Skip said...

Build one and rode the whole c&o towpath and GAP trail. DC to Pittsburg. It rocked. 700x40 marathons fit fine

Stan said...

Great to hear! Can we see some pics?


We have a couple guys rocking Sagas around the world, check it: http://wekeepgoing.com/blog/about/

Tim said...

Dang, guys, nice job. Looks like you got it bang-on.

If my Miyata 1000 ever gets stolen, wrecked, or otherwise compromised, this'll be the first bike I look at to replace it.

Keep up the good work!

Anonymous said...

Do you know what the stand over is on the 56cm?

Paint Punk said...

Can this frame fit 26" tires? If so, I want it! Looks awesome!

Stan said...

54cm and under is designed for 26" wheels (the one pictured is rocking them).

Stan said...

FYI, we finally got the stand over numbers up on the geometry page: http://somafab.com/geometry03.html

Anonymous said...

What is with those handle bars??? How do you tour long distance with those?

Stan said...

Those are Nitto Albatross bars, flipped for some drop. The guys that built this bike up certainly know what they are doing and wouldn't spec anything they wouldn't ride themselves.

Deep Throat said...

Lovely panel logo with the blue paint. Maybe it's my eyes and the smallish pic, but I can't see any threaded bosses for lowrider racks. If that's the case, then that's a major knock on this bike as a true expedition tourer.

Stan said...

The fork has threaded, mid-leg lowrider mounts. Hard to see in that photo.