Practical, durable, comfortable, affordable... these are the primary forces shaping Soma's ideology. Sounds reasonable right? But why do so many other companies try to emulate the racing world when it's the smallest segment of the market? Our local bike shops have felt a lack of 'real' products aimed at the everyday cyclist and have pitched their ideas at us. Results: A better tire lever, water bottles that don't taste like plastic and steel frames that's got people smiling from the commute to the singletrack.

Frame Philosophy
Individuality Made Affordable:
Our customers desire the freedom of customization- for performance reasons and/or for creative reasons, but none of them want to end up eating Top Ramen for a year to get a great bike.

Durability means a Better Deal:
A bike that you can keep riding longer means your money is going farther.

For 2007, we are exclusively using Tange Prestige butted CrMo steel. Tange's heat-treatment process lets us offer our strongest frames ever, but still at a fair price. And the ride is lively and smooth like buttah.

Keepin' it Simple
Fun is not complicated. Why should our frames be? No weird geometries, just what we ourselves would like to ride. As for colors and graphics, we've made a conscious choice to avoid "race-inspired" billboard-style logos. We find this makes it easier for folks to cover them up with stickers and chewing gum. Just don't tell that to our graphics guy.

Useful Is Cool
We want our frames to be the platform to build great bikes that can do anything and go anywhere. We outfit most of them with rack and fender mounts so you can haul stuff and keep clean at the same time. Our cross frames are designed to accomodate mountain or road hubs. We are enamored with versatility.

So what do people think of our frames? Find out.

Michael's decked out D.C.

What is SOMA you say?

Depends on who you ask. If you ask an Indian scholar, he'll probably say Soma is a Hindu(Vedic) god, who is symbolized by the moon and an intoxicating nectar. If you ask a San Francisco local, he'll probably say it's that hip district South of Market St. with the dance clubs, artists' lofts, and multimedia tech start-ups. If you've read Brave New World, you'll think it's a pleasure drug. If you get lots of 'buy drugs online' spam, you'll know it's a muscle numbing pill.

Since the SOMA "fabricators" are S.F. locals, they probably relate more to the second definition. Here bikes are a significant part of the landscape because of the messenger community and the commuters, who probably have cars, but don't want to lose the parking space in front of their over-priced apartment.