IB15: Dean Titanium Crafts Slick Cafe Racer, Revised Misfit Enduro & New Stock Road, Cross and Mountain frames

I’ve been incredibly pleased with the quality of my Dean bikes & parts. Overall, a great group of folks to deal with, excellent workmanship and they continue to get better and more innovative.

Starts at 3 grand for a single speed?.. What’s the market for that?..

I hope they’ve improved their QC and customer service. I ordered a custom length handlebar from them a few years ago. They told me it would be here in a week. After 2 it hadn’t shown up and I contacted them to see what was up. They assured me just a few more days. 2 more weeks, no bar. I called them again, and the guy said he would go and make it right away. A week later it shows up with one side longer than the other, the logos etched on uneven, and it was actually crimped at the bend, rather than a smooth transition, and this was a 5 degree bend I’m talking about. Needless to say it went back. It was like they had the high school intern or the blind guy doing it it was so bad. Embarrassing work really. Been leery ever since.

Imported frames to match a lower price point… for me that gives shilling sounds of the death rattle. Pursuing the lower price point is usually a race to the bottom (how to get there as slow as possible, nevertheless bottom will be reached sooner or later).
I wonder what keeps Dean believing that this is the right way (or perhaps only way to go)? Superb distribution? Superb marketing to convince new potential buyers into first titanium and second titanium from Dean? What more?
Seriously, either compete for the few remaining titanium customers out there (including myself) and realigning (transform) the business for smaller operations and sales volumes; and in the long run hope to gain market share in a shrinking ti-frame market; OR sell the business to someone who values the brand name and “unexplored” potential.
I could consider buying a Dean, but not a foreign-made-by-contract-Dean. Dean’s reputation is for high quality titanium frames and framework, not for high quality purchasing and QC in overseas / foreign markets. Lastly, and out of curiosity, which sea is being referred to in the term “overseas”?

I’ve got a Dean road frame (El Diente?) that I bought second hand about 6 or so years ago. Since then, a Cervelo RS, R3, and Specialized Roubaix have come and gone, but only the Dean is constant. The parts have changed from Dura Ace to Chorus 10, to Record 11, but the core remains. I even had James from Black Sheep weld some disc tabs last winter in anticipation of the next upgrade, but that hasn’t happened yet. Perhaps the throw away society of today doesn’t want to consider something that will outlast them? It’s too bad that the Ti market isn’t what it once was, because in my personal experience, there is no substitute. To each his own, of course, but if you haven’t spent a long day on a Ti bike, you’re missing out.