Good luck finding a Nag or a 3Rensho for $900 delivered to the UK with tax!
Don't get me wrong, I love japanese frames (I've got an Umezawa), but the prices they command these days is crazy. I'd definitely rather spend £600 on a custom Mercian, but that's just me.
And my bad on my 'dinged not necessarily crashed comment' - I was wrong!
actually you aren't wrong.
a handlebar ding on an njs racing bike means they have to retire that bike.
and that can happen outside of a crash.
basically any damage, or potential damage, means they pull the bike, to prevent loss of NJS accreditation like Vivalo had happen.
incidentally vivalos are your best bet for uncrashed frames atm as lots were retired after the fork incident.
actually you aren't wrong.
a handlebar ding on an njs racing bike means they have to retire that bike.
and that can happen outside of a crash.
basically any damage, or potential damage, means they pull the bike, to prevent loss of NJS accreditation like Vivalo had happen.
incidentally vivalos are your best bet for uncrashed frames atm as lots were retired after the fork incident.