Originally Posted by
m_yates
Look, I don't have anything against bikesdirect. In fact, if my bike were crashed or stolen, I'd probably buy another one from them. However, what you are saying is simply not true.
Take this Bicycling Magazine review of the Motobecane Le Champion SL Ti:
http://www.bicycling.com/gear/detail...2733-0,00.html
No where does it mention bikesdirect. It says Motobecane with a MSRP of $4495. Go to the "Motobecane USA" website:
http://www.motobecane.com/rdti/slti.html
Sure enough, "Motobecane USA" lists the MSRP of $4495, but bikesdirect.com offers the same bike at $1999.99:
http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/...mp_slti_xi.htm
What a great deal!! However, there is no "Motobecane USA" manufacturer, and there is no place to buy one except bikesdirect.com or perhaps Cycle Spectrum stores that are also owned by the same people.
A little detective work: The IP address of motobecane.com is 198.171.203.128. The IP address of bikesdirect.com is 198.173.103.8. Both appear to be running on a web server located outside of Denver Colorado:
http://www.websitetrafficspy.com/bikesdirect.com
http://www.websitetrafficspy.com/motobecane.com
It is very likely the same web server, owned by the same people. However, bikesdirect.com doesn't state that clearly. They do, in fact, mislead people. They mislead Bicycling Magazine and customers by making it appear as though there is a "Motobecane USA" manufacturer, and that bikesdirect is offering bikes at a steep discount from a MSRP that doesn't exist. The real MSRP is $1999.99 because bikesdirect is the manufacturer of the Le Champion SL Ti.
Well, I can assure you that what BD does is what European bicycle manufacturers have done for many, many decades. This includes buying brand names from defunct bicycle companies, and keep many different brands separate. There are sensible business reasons for doing so.
One can of course argue that they leech on the brand name, but on the other hand, if BD didn't actually deliver some value for money, the brand name value would quickly diminish. Motobecane wasn't so hot a name either (there was a reason why they folded), and who would actually buy a present day Motobecane because they once used to ride one themselves? Probably only a fraction of BD's costumers even know the old Motobecane company.
So as argued elsewhere, BD actually makes Motobecane a better brand name than it was before.
So what do you think of QPB? They own Surly bikes, Salsa bicycles and Civia. Are QPB a shady company? Are the Surly brand the same after they got bought?
I personally don't have any problems with a company owning several brands, or that old brands continue under new owners, as long as the new owners doesn't use the name to scam and cheat their costumers, and BD certainly doesn't seem to do so.
--
Regards