This is the V3 frame, purchased a bit impulsively (after several months of hemming and hawing) when Soma had a 20% off sale, AND finally offered free shipping on their frames. The build didn't go as easily as the ordering, though.
The main problem was the brakes. I had previously ordered the cheap Clarks levers in a Chain Reaction Cycles order, and I've been enjoying them on my Dahon:
They're comfortable, nicely finished, and have a hinged clamp for easy installation. And they were inexpensive, about $9/pair. Only the cheap barrel adjuster hints at their budget price.
Since the brake levers were so unexpectedly nice, I thought I'd try out their mechanical discs. For something like $25 for a bikesworth of brakes, I got the whole shebang: calipers, rotors, adapters, and even spare pads.
The problems started with my build. I could not get my rear brake to not rub. I finally traced it back to the Clarks adapter:
With the clearly misaligned mounting holes, the brake caliper was rubbing on the disc no matter what I did. I replaced the adapter with one from my parts bin and got the brakes to function. Sort of. My initial ride was using some plain Shimano cable housing I'd picked up cheap on ebay, and both brakes felt spongy and weak. With a 180mm rotor, the front could more or less slow down the bike, but I could pull the rear lever to the bar and barely feel any difference.
Bad up here:
But much worse back here:
I replaced the front housing with some compressionless Jagwire housing. That gave the brake adequate power, but the feedback and modulation was still terrible, and the brakes were noisy, even after I tried to bed in the pads with several hard stops.
It wasn't worth trying to make these crap brakes do anything. For $30/wheel, I ordered some basic Shimano hydraulic discs from Amazon, and after about 15 minutes of installation, had smooth, progressive power.
These have to be the best value in braking around.
Brakes aside, the rest of the build was typical stuff for me and went smoothly. I'm running my usual "2x1x9" drivetrain:
The wheels are a rather nice WTB i25 Frequency Team/SramX9 set that I picked up cheap at a bike swap meet. It seems no one wants QR 29er wheels anymore:
The saddle is a Soma knock-off of the Selle Italia Flite (20% off!), but without the crisp edges of that iconic design:
I'm running my Surly Open Bar up front. I've taken quite a liking to using cheap foam as grips, and adding a bit more foam in front of the brakes gives me a feeling like a drop bar's "on the hoods" position:
(I added the front foam after this picture, when I installed the hydro brakes)
As far the Soma itself, it's... nice. Competent. It feels a lot like my Quickbeam. Or my BMC Monstercross. Or my Cross Check. Pretty neutral handling, solid but not super lively frame flex. It looks nice, and the red paint is a great color. Honestly, though, I'm having a little trouble getting on with it.
I wonder if drop bars might liven it up? But then I'm back to the brakes: I don't have any other mechanical brakes in my shop, and I'm loathe to give up the hydro brakes anyway, since they're one of my favorite things about this build.
Maybe I'm just ready for something different. This spring, I have the most miles on my Dahon so far, and it's not even close. I took it with me to Michigan last week, and I got in a pleasant 23 mile ride out to Lake St. Clair on a beautiful evening:
The Dahon lets more do, bike-wise, than bikes like the Soma. That's pretty important.
I wonder if a Bike Friday could do it even better, though?
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