Originally Posted by
tjspiel
QBP, Surly, Civia, and at least one of the other brands is based in Minnesota. Several of the pictures on the Surly and Civia website were taken in places I recognize. I'd almost guarantee that several members of the Civia and Surly staffs know each other.
QBP refers to them as independent business units which means they are part of the same company. Having once worked in a large company that had several "business units", I can tell you that the cultures between them can be very different and sometimes one business unit will see and treat another one as a competitor.
I don't know if in the BD world there's a Dawes and a Motobecane business unit or if it's really just different component configurations and different paint.
I'm positive that Surly is in Minnesota, and I would not be shocked if Civia was too. So we definitely are in agreement. Origin-8, aka Sun bikes (they actually have a third branding too) was either purchased by QBP as an independent "business" unit too, or they were already there and its just a bit of confusion.
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To the OP, no, I haven't purchased a BD bike. I've almost pulled the trigger a few times, but ultimately, I've gone with what I consider the acceptable "brand" of bike for me.
What I can say, without any empirical evidence to back it, is this:
He's selling bikes, and people are clearly buying. Otherwise he would not be offering anything but a good laugh on the site. I've often wondered how, or what the components are because that is where you are spending MOST of your money.
So when you look at it, you're getting (my assumption - NOT FACT) offspec, or offmodel OEM bike parts from vendors that probably are giving him a substantial deal. But it is my theory that for his business model to work, they're not the newest model, in so much as they are new.
An example:
You're buying a frame made "at the same shop," but that probably did NOT meet the quality control specs associated with the major bike vendor. They still want to get their production cost covered. Bikedirect negotiates a deal to buy these frames. They probably aren't 'factory seconds' but then again - this is all just an elaborate conspiracy theory I'm positing.
Parts are probably good, but 1-3 years out of spec for current models. Then again, I'm seeing Shimano dura-ace shifters on some generic model bikes with sora-grade components. So I don't know what business deal is connected with this.
Bottom line, he's filling a niche for clientele that understand that the super-heavy Xmart bikes may not meet their needs, but they gasp and balk at the idea of paying for a boutique-quality bike.
Before people chime in about how I'm underselling the Xmart bikes, I can only say this:
I could put all my gear, clothing and other necessities for school/work each day into a wheelbarrow with a flat tire and push that thing around all day for 'commuting' too - doesn't mean I'm not just being stubborn/passive-aggressive/dasunderhund just for the sake of it.