Originally Posted by
mconlonx
1) There are people who like the Waterford name and bestow unto it mystical attributions along the same lines as Rivendell bikes. In that sense, it offers marketing value, but also customer assurance that the frames are being built by a legit, historical maker of bike frames, not some new startup company with little to no experience.
2) Not much. Certainly not compared to other competently built frames.
3) Riding value? Certainly any pac-rim, contract manufactured frame would provide similar riding value at a fraction of the price. Made-in-the-USA-ness? Not so much. I don't know of other US companies who would batch manufacture Shinola frames at prices competitive to Waterford. Do you? Maybe
Zen Fabrication?
It sounds as if the marketing people at Shinola believe a Plain Jane bike can be sold at an inflated price with the application of the appropriate stickers of "Made in USA" or "Waterford" glued/etched somewhere on the frame (or on their website).
I do not know of other US companies who would batch manufacture Shinola frames at prices competitive to Waterford.