Is that conjecture on your part? AFAIK, the reason why Rivendell discontinued the Bleriot was because some shops were so discounting it, that it was impossible for other shops to make a decent living selling it. QBP really had no control over to whom the Bleriots were sold, so in the end, everyone suffered even if selling Bleriots didn't make anyone rich as the margins weren't that high to begin with. Of course consideration for upholding a certain image may also had been taken into account, but it wasn't as simple as what you implied.

I look at this thread and see self-fulfilled prophesy. A lot of people are complaining about the exporting of jobs and the decline of the blue collar worker in the US of A. However, Rivendell is one example where the owner isn't in business to get rich. If you follow what they do, they consistently try to do the right thing, by their suppliers, their employees, their customers and even the charities they contribute to. If any American business is worth supporting, this is one of them. I don't have any of their bikes, but I buy into their philosophy of doing business. To me, supporting such a business has a lot of value.

And to those complaining about the high price tags, ever priced a new Waterford (who builds some of Rivendell's production bikes)? It comes out to be about the same. $1800 base plus a few hundred for items that come standard on a Hilsen (for example). About the only worthwhile extra (to me) the Waterford has is custom geometry, which for that outlier amongst us, is worth its weight in gold. But for the rest of us, it's really just a neat item to check off on our list. None of the Rivendells are slouches anyway and the design details are already sorted out beautifully (if you do their kind of riding).