Originally Posted by
Luis G.
Mike still owns BD as far as I know.
Secondly, the issue with the bike industry is that it is an antiquated business model and is following the WRONG market. They should be trying to acquire more sales by making bikes a more practical transportation, they also need to stop pushing the costs of the industry unto the bike shops. They are basically doing what Apple is doing. Making a majority or entirety of the profits themselves while retail stores have to try to peddle accessories to make a buck.
Do you live in the United States? I am assuming not, because there is essentially no chance of making bikes "a more practical transportation". Our cities and communities are simply not built in such a fashion. Many people work in a City but commute to a suburb. Personally, I have a 35 mile one way commute. That is just to my office. I then have to go out in the field throughout the day. A miniscule percentage of Americans can actually ride a bike to work. It would be great to be able to but our infrastructure is simply not built for that.
As for the bike industry, like any other industry there are ups and downs to it. I can't say that I know the specifics to which you refer but I am assuming that you are referring to the middleman. I have long stood up for BD and their model. I have no problem with that model or them. I do not ride one and doubt that I ever will ride one as I am far to picky with my road and mtb choices. I am not entirely sure why Trek, Giant, Specialized and Cannondale dominate the market. Clearly they all make nice bikes but they are no better or worse than many of the other brands out there. Unless you live in a large affluent city, there are probably little choices outside the big 4. In my market the LBS all carry those brands. One carries Felt as well but for the most part that is it. They may claim to be dealers of Wilier, Colnago or Pinarello but they never sell them or stock them.
BD has carved out a niche and there is nothing wrong with that. Maybe Canyon's model will enter the U.S. and make a dent. Who knows.
As far as Entry level goes, it is mostly relevant. I would classify an Entry Level bike as one that is above the big box store bikes that provides a true entry level into the sport.The emphasis is on the word sport. If you just lolly gag around the neighborhood, you do not need much. A Wally World bike would be suitable. If you want to exercise and treat this more as a sport than the entry level is probably something equipped with Claris or Sora. This is probably where the groupsets are made to take the actual mileage that a person may throw at it. If I am on a mtb, I would say that you can get away with a Box store bike on light stuff if you rarely use it. If you want to ride more hard core rides than you probably need to have something that can put up with the stress of the ride. That typically means Alivio or better.