Actually, we work WITH Rivendell, Velo Orange, Soma, Brooks, etc. Our agreement with them is to NOT undercut their pricing and therefore “cheapen” their product. Our online parts competitors come in the form of parts resellers that participate in the “race to the bottom”, and we have no interest in trying to compete solely on price. We feel that our business provides a lot more than just a “deal”.

And yes, the real point of the blog entry (besides venting some frustration) was to emphasize that building custom tailored bikes is what we do best and how we feel we best serve our customers. In fact, this is a very welcomed change for us — one that we have been working towards for quite a while. It is pretty liberating to leave the “parts business” to solely focus on what we really enjoy — building cool bikes.

I guess I don’t see how it helps the customer *not* to make something available, even if at full price. I am missing why you felt your competition was “Crazy Eddie’s Discount Bike”? I thought it was Rivendell, Velo Orange, Wallingford. I don’t know if those guys are doing well, but they seem to have plenty of parts available online and they’re definitely *not* discounters.

Seems to me your non-rant point is (a) we’ve decided not to invest in the infrastructure required to compete in the parts business online, because it’s getting too competitive, so that we can (b) focus on our core strength, which is complete custom builds (where we can make the margin we need to make on parts in the price of the bike).

I love your website, enjoy your blog, and would love to buy a bike from you someday, and totally respect your business decision. But it seems you’re blaming your competitors and your customers for your strategy.

As a matter of fact, I, too, do business with an Ace Hardware — which is two miles further from my house than the Home Deport — for EXACTLY the same reason.

I bought the Brooks saddle for my Giant Yukon from you earlier this year, and you can bet I will continue to purchase products from you.

On that note, after many delays, I’m almost ready to begin work on my 1986 Batavus Course. The front wheel is a new rim with a schrader valve. The rear rim is an older, 6-speed rim with a presta valve. I’d like to replace that rear rim with a newer one with a schrader valve and would like to get your thoughts on it.

Thanks, BC