More bikes from the TCR Show: Ceepo, Specialized, and Focus

It is a re-badged Walser… you've got proof of that you'd like to share with us all, that is actual proof rather than just gossip and hearsay?

Comparing Aftermarket and OE prices… well I think you could go around quite a few bikes, er pretty much all of them and make massive notional savings on building it from scratch… especially if it's got SRAM Red on it which as far as I can see has the aftermarket price it does to try and establish in people's minds that it is a premium product cos it's certainly not an inducement to buy.

stand by the second bit though

Either way it's got an impressive specification for the money

Wiggle say the izalco is 'an exclusive version of the frame made for Focus' - that's not the same thing as an actual Walser, surely, though to all intents and purposes it looks identical to the model 7. My hard drive says porsche on it, but porsche didn't make it.

however, if it's an identical frame made in a big focus factory somewhere in the far east, does that necessarily mean it's inferior? i've heard (possibly apocryphal) stories of big name bike companies getting mass-produced frames that are lighter/better than their hand-laid ones...

Apart from the royalty cheque that is? If he is making the frames he can't be making much money on them at the price Wiggle are selling them for and what does it do for the image of Walser bikes - surely it makes the less exclusive?

Probably more of a one-off licensing payment I'd say Mr Sock.

As to whether Walser makes much money out of the deal - carbon frames don't actually cost that much to produce once you've paid for the moulds. Focus are a pretty big brand in Germany so their buying power is going to get them some good deals on original equipment and then Wiggle cut the distributor out of the equation and pass a big slice of that saving on to the customer - I've often priced up a Focus in my head, just like Mr Leguape up top, and though 'blimey I'm getting a free frame'.

Still haven't bought one though

Anyway on the Izalco who's complaining even if it just designed by Walser you should still be getting an awesome bike for your money.

That's the whole point though isn't it? That when you're buying an off-the-peg setup you are making that comparison, or having it made for you by the manufacturer, between the convenience/cost of a ready-to-ride and the cost of putting it together yourself.

Manufacturers rely on this comparison to shift units otherwise we'd all be trying to buy parts at OE prices and assembling our own bikes, thus removing a large swathe of the aftermarket which they rely on because of the ludicrous margins they're turning between wholesale and retail. The aftermarket price is an inducement to buy, just as part of complete spec rather than as aftermarket upgrade. SRAM get a guaranteed unit shifted rather than a maybe.

After all, they aren't going to be setting out to make a loss on OE, are they? I do wonder something though - which brake manufacturer was it who recently failed to understand the basics of profit?

SRAM's strategy makes everyone a winner… (well everyone who doesn't buy Red aftermarket and I've always assumed that the aftermarket sales on all their groupsets must be negligible at the moment at least). Over time as their groupsets build up a following you'd expect their prices to drop back a bit. Otherwise the cost of spares and replacements might turn into a bit of a disincentive to buy bikes with SRAM groupsets as original equipment.

For the time being though the current aftermarket price  makes any bike kitted out with a SRAM groupset look like its value has  been enhanced. Manufacturers also appear to be able to spread the top end SRAM love further down their ranges than they can with Shimano or Campag which suggests the OE price is very generous. 

You seem like a man in the know leguape, surely big component manufacturers look to make their money on original equipment sales?  As you say once you've landed the orders you've got guaranteed sales in big numbers it's just about getting your margins right – anything they make on aftermarket is a nice bit of bunce on top.

I'd expect them to run a setup where the compenent manufacturer sells a unit at wholesale of around 30% RRP to the bike companies who then mark it up to 60% to cover their margin and then the retailer sells at at least 90% of RRP taking their 30% margin or more. Which is why no one should really be losing money on 10% off discounts to consumers because it's already factored in and the consumer thinks they're getting a bargain.