Originally Posted by
Palomar01
Having said that, there also many companies out there who are just brand names but have no true engineering/design team and rely on the source factories to do this for them. I know that Fuji bikes is at least one of them not too long ago. ASI (owner of Fuji) at one point considered re-badging the Kestrel bicycles into Fuji bicycles when ASI acquired Kestrel in 2007. Kestrel was one of those small American companies that designed AND built their frames here in the USA. Now they are built in Taiwan alongside Fuji. It wouldn't surprise me if Fuji's SST line has many design elements of the original Kestrel frames.
Which helps explain why BD carries so many Kestrel bikes. We already have determined that many of BD's bikes are based on Fuji bikes. Further, some are even identically equipped; quite simply, many are Fuji bikes with a different name on the tube.
Do you happen to know what other names ASI owns? It might help in tracking down the other BD models and finding their name equivalents.
Don't bother looking, I found it myself
Advanced Sports International (ASI) is a privately held corporation located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with more than 80 distributors in 50 countries. Operating in the U.S. through the specialty bicycle retailer network (SBR), ASI markets a full line of premium bicycles and now high end parts and accessories under the Fuji, Kestrel, SE, Breezer, Terry and Oval brands. For more information check out the brand section.