Originally Posted by Huntsman
It's a bit short-sighted, IMHO. It reminds me of the music industry when Napster appeared and artists and producers/publishers warned that massive declines in CD sales were sure to follow any sort of digital distribution. Fortunately, some folks kept their wits about them and look at it now--CD sales are higher now than ever and continue to grow, despite iPod, Napster, Real, etc..
It's all in marketing. The local bike shop is staffed by people who can distinguish quality from garbage (Huffy). Without this distinction in the marketplace, the only selling point is PRICE. That is not what quality bike manufacturers want.