VTBike wrote:Guys, your completely missing the psychology of what it is to create a brand and a tribe. ...
It's all about emotions guys..
I agree that this is one aspect.
But there really is another aspect: I don't think most people realize how phenomenally expensive it is to bring a real innovation into the market. The engineering, tooling, and testing are all very expensive. Higher levels of quality control also really are more expensive.
So if you buy a "Brand X" bike or accessory, it might be almost equivalent to a name brand...but is it really ? Did they really stress test it in development ? Did they really inspect every one of them in production ? Did they demand certification and testing of all their material suppliers ? Who verified it ? etc..
That being said, I ride a "brand x" frame and buy a lot of second-tier equipment because there is always a supply-demand-value-cost tradeoff. But it is definitely not ALL just emotion and marketing hype. Those are just part of the whole situation. Some brands lean on emotion more heavily than others, while some create genuine innovation. I have some pieces of equipment that are definitely worth the "exhorbitant" price I paid to get them, and I am glad I did (S-Works shoes are my example here; although I waited until I could get those on sale too! ).