We started our Bike Friday day by riding pretty much every bike that was in the showroom. We were trying to nail down at least these variables: What size felt best, what bar configuration (dropped, straight, straight with bar ends, bar ends at what angle, straight bar but curved back slightly), what shifters (twist, trigger, continuously variable read hub), what brakes (V brake, disc, and with which exact calipers if V brake, and levers), what tire size, etc. etc.

We zoomed around and around the parking lot, and then headed off down the bike path on two of the most likely candidates. There was alternate heavy rain and bright sunshine, but it was all grist for the mill. How did these brakes or those brakes perform in the wet?

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Finally we could give Walter a list of what we thought worked for each of us and he sat down at the computer to spec out our desired machines. We had both chosen the "New World Tourist" as the base model. Dodie's is to be much shorter than mine, though we are not that different in height. Dodie's bar will curve back slightly, while mine will be straight and without bar ends. I rejected dropped bars in the end, having decided that straight bars would be better for long distances though more power seemed to come on the dropped bars in the parking lot. We made lots more individual decisions, on gear ratios, grips, pedals, tires, and rims. And we added racks, stand, mirror, fenders. It was swell and I think we were pretty rational and decisive though the process to this point had taken four hours. Walter produced some draft spec sheets with costs and we headed off for lunch and to consider where we were at.

Looking at the sheets kicked off a process that ended a further three hours later with the three of us, I think, pretty frazzled and frustrated. Never fear, our orders are in, but I spent the evening mulling over what went "wrong". Here is what I think happened:

I had been unclear on whether the process of choosing bike specs would involve upgrading from a base model or perhaps downgrading from a higher model. I came to understand that the components would be chosen and then an appropriate price would be chosen for the full custom bike that would result. In practice, the component prices were quoted as upgrades from a base model. The price is the retail price of the new part minus the retail price of the base item that has been dropped. That was no problem, just a slight curve on how I thought I understood it would happen. Plus, the specs for the base model are not on the web site and were not offered to us. So when we received the price for a given upgrade it was a bit of a mystery as to how it had been calculated.

However calculated, the upgrades that we asked for seemed very pricey. For example the price to have Avid Single Digit 7 V Brake calipers was $48.50 (extra). Given that these brakes are $30 when supplied by Amazon and $34 from Niagara Cycle Works, paying $48.50 after credit for the basic brakes was puzzling. Walter explained that Bike Friday is not trying to compete with internet suppliers and does not price match. OK, I can handle that, at least for a bit.

Next I looked at accessories, like front and rear racks. $245 for these, and $60 for fenders. Hmmm, OK, I guess. I did want to be sure the items would fit, and could not guarantee that out in the general market place.

Now the items that I had thought of generally as swap outs. For example, the trigger shifters required my thumb to swivel around past the downshift trigger to reach the upshift trigger. The cheap Shimano shifters on my Rocky Mountain were much more efficient. So I asked for a configuration that would not block my thumb. No problem, just some different trigger shifter, but still just a trigger shifter. Right? Wrong. Extra charge for this: $77

Bar grips. The round ones seemed more prone to hand falling asleep, so how about ones that are a little flattened, for your palm to rest on? Yes, $32 extra. And the flatter ones need a different diameter bar. Even swap? Nope. $14 extra.

None of these "extra" charges were Walter's fault. It is not a Bike Friday plot that the shifter I wanted happened to cost more than the shifter I didn't want. But the impact of quite high prices and seemingly simple changes triggering lots of costs was starting to pile up.

Finally, I realized that the gear ratios in the spec sheet were not what we had agreed earlier by email. Part of the change needed to put it right was a swap of the triple crank, from 30/42/52 to 26/36/46. Even swap? Nope. $121 extra. This was calculated as something like $175 for the "new" Sugino crank, minus $54 (I think) credit for whatever the base crank was. But again, the Amazon price for the Sugino crank is $108. And when I swapped out cranks to prepare for our tour this summer, perfectly good models were supplied and installed by our local bike shop for about $40. So could I shop for something like those $40 cranks and supply them, or failing that, obtain the $108 cranks and supply them for Bike Friday to put in, instead of the base crank?

Walter explained that Bike Friday is in the business of selling complete bikes (except, I guess for pedals and seats) and could not install customer supplied parts. He did, however, head off and return with an offer to install cranks I might obtain elsewhere, for a $20 fee. I am thinking about that, but for now anyway have paid the $175.

I also noticed that even with the swapped out cranks, the spec'd cassette is not delivering the desired ratios. I need to talk about a slightly different cassette, but I sure hope I do not have to mortgage the cat to achieve it!

So something must have gone wrong at Bike Friday, or I would not be sitting here at 2:15 a.m. trying to make sense of it. The base model New World Tourist was priced at $1,249. From there, an extra $750 was extracted from my wallet, one (pricey)bit at a time, for a total cost of about $2000.

But is there anything wrong with that? Has Bike Friday done anything wrong? I think not, really. Bike Friday has spec'd out a basic model that presumably can work just fine for many people. I could have plunked down my $1,249 and walked out in 20 minutes. Also, for those with greater requirements, there is the "select" model, for $1,998. Many of the parts I chose one by one are actually on the select model. I could have plunked down my $2000 and also walked out in 20 minutes.

So do I think I paid too much for what I got? Not really. Yes, the components look overpriced. But I bought a whole bike. I bought a day and a half of Walter's advice and patience, and I bought something handcrafted and "locally" made which I know the company will stand behind. So I will turn in, and be happy.

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p.s. About "Mark it Doney": For many years there was a farm auction near our home. You could bid on chickens, eggs, cows, or farm machinery. Dodie bid on a lot of stuff, but the auctioneer always knew her by what he thought was her last name "Doney". He would sing out "She takes it all - Mark it Doney!". I think we will mark this Bike Friday properly though, Dodie!