On the quality and workmanship issue, one probably has noticed that our bikes share the same components with brand name bikes. This is the key to understand today's high-end bikes. There is no such thing as "Specialized derailleur" or "Cannondale front shock", all high-end bikes today use the same components made by a few companies such as Shimano, RST, SRAM, etc. The only component that is likely to be genuinely made by any bike company is the frame. Today, most of brand name bike companies have their frames cheaply mass-produced in China. In contrast, our frames are made in our state-of-art factory in Japan by the most dedicated and skilled workers in the industrialized world. Part-for-part, our bikes are at least equal or better than most brand name bikes.

On the value issue, a simple math exercise will help us to make our case. First, let us lay out the facts:

Fact 1

Cannondale used to be a public traded company until it filed for bankruptcy a few years ago. From its latest financial statements filed with SEC, it showed that its branding and marketing costs accounted for 25% of its gross sales revenue. This percentage is probably low compared to other brand name bike companies (because Cannondale was under financial distress and they had to trim marketing expenses), however we will use it in our example as a conservative estimate.

Fact 2

When a brand name company sells its bikes to dealers, the industrial norm is that 30% of the retail price is offered to the dealers as their retail profit margin.

Math:

Let's assume a brand name bike is selling for $1000 in a store. Of the $1000 listed price, 25% or $250 are for the brand name bike company's branding and marketing overhead costs. 30% or $300 are for the store profit. That leaves $450 value for the bike! In other words, for most of us who work for a living, let's say we use 10 days' worth of pay to buy this brand name bike. Of the 10 backbreaking days, 3 days are given to the store as its profit, 2 and half days are given to the brand name bike company for its marketing costs. That leaves less than half of the 10 days for the bike. Any way you look at it, it is a lousy deal. In comparison, at Bikewind.com since we do not have any overhead and we sell direct, the same bike would have been sold for $450.

Of course, if you can't resist your herd instinct, then our bikes are not for you. Choice is yours.