As some of you may have seen, I'm in the market for my first road bike, and since the weather is not yet conducive to taking test rides I've been narrowing my shopping list by looking at features, specs, reviews etc.

One thing that I've noticed is that the major bicycle brands - Specialized, Trek, Giant, Cannondale - appear to have tight control over their distribution networks. Everywhere I go, everyone seems to be offering the same bikes for the same MSRP, only discounting the last of the prior-year models. This is a good thing IMO as it allows retailers to compete on factors other than pricing.

I was very surprised to see one of the models I have on my list - the Cannondale Alloy Synapse 6 - offered by REI at $180 less than the MSRP - and it's specifically the 2013 model!

Have I mis-read how pricing works in this industry, or is there something else going on here?