Originally posted by jonspolaris
When I was looking to buy my bike, the bike shop had a Specialized MTB right next to it. The specialized bike was the equlivant of mine except that it cost $40 more. The only visual difference was the Tires were different and the color was different. The Owner of the shop even told me the trek was the better value. He said the only real difference between the two was Color and price. This was an example of when more money wouldent have bought a better bike.
The owner could have been wrong. You can take two medium end xc bikes and compare them. One may cost more because of very specific reasons. Some frames are burlier. The metal is finished differently. I am not saying this is always the case but in order to truly compare you would have to compare welds and weld strenghts, frame material and its rating. They may look the same but they could be very different in what I consider key areas (I tend to brake mid range frames with ease).