Originally Posted by
Spoonrobot
Which makes sense, if the items available at retail can be put together for the same cost as a production complete - one or the other is priced wrong. No one's going to beat QBP at pricing unless they over-invest in time and effort.
Yes, usually the fully built bike is cheaper due to scale creating purchase power.
You mentioned QBP though and I have found that at least a couple bikes are not price competitive with what could be purchased at online retail prices. ZigZag being the latest.
https://allcitycycles.com/bikes/zig_zag_105 $2700.
Because im a nerd and am not motivated today, I spent 15min looking on Merlin and came up with a built that costs $2725 and all components are as good as whats on the ZigZag or better(lighter usually). I used as much from Merlin as possible to show that time/effort wasnt over-invested. I am confident that if I actually looked around using ebay and other online retailers, I could make a build specifically for me that would cost less than $2700. And keep in mind that many will swap the saddle and/or stem off the ZigZag then buy new ones which ups the true cost of the full build. My scenario provides many saddle, stem, and bar tape options at or less than the component I picked, while still being good quality.
