I agree with this. I wouldnt expect an unbranded carbon bike sold by Nashbar or Bikesdirect to just fail. I bet part of the reason they're cheaper is that they're somewhat like a generic product, and can be offered cheaper. Also as others have mentioned, lower overhead and advertising costs. They're probably not exactly the same as the their branded counterparts, but I also wouldnt expect them to be garbage either. I'd be willing to ride one if I was in the market for something like that.