Originally Posted by
Santaria
That thread got me thinking about it, but its not fair to take something that I'm thinking about and chase a rabbit in the same thread.
My problem with the BD bike is the fork is not designed to hold a rack, or weight. My fear isn't that it's not able to handle my body weight, but rather - I don't think the fork is designed to handle loaded weight.
Where is the 'savings' associated with the bike. There is absolutely zero way that BD is able to sell a bike at less than 50% of his competitors without some part of the bike being below the standard of the rest. Is it in the rims? The hubs? The frame? The fork? Obviously the components are not the weak link. My true question is what really is?
This is a great question...
I suspect that they are selling and buying at such volume that they're able to make a few dollars less and also get favorable pricing on components. I've also noticed that a lot of them do frequently go off brand for some things...like cheaper hubs, or no name stem. I think they're also often using no name frame materials which probably save some dollars. By selling strictly on line they don't have the costs associated with a bricks and mortar store.