I think the car analogy is a good one.
There is little/no market for 'refurbished' old cars. They are nearly all sold as they are if they have a MOT. Old cars are rarely worth fixing. Any one who has spent money doing up a vintage car (I have) knows it will be worth less than the some of the parts. You make money by stripping not building. The exceptions are truly classic marques where rarity increases the value, even these have to be original or restored - never refurbished with cheap parts. Look at any classic car clasified section and see how many cars have a sale price and then the promise of receipts for parts/work of around twice that value.
Same is true for bikes. I just spent a lot on a build using mainly new mid-range parts and some rarish vintage cranks, if I tried to sell it for what I paid (no labour) this forum would have a field day pointing out what they could get for that money. I expect it is worth (second hand) about half what I have paid new. That's life, I didn't do it for money.
I am not criticising the bikes, just the business model.
Maybe the Foffa Prima will be a good one - will it be priced between the Unipak/Create and the Maurice? I wouldn't like to try to compete with these without some seriously cheap foriegn labour and bulk buying power though.
I think the car analogy is a good one.
There is little/no market for 'refurbished' old cars. They are nearly all sold as they are if they have a MOT. Old cars are rarely worth fixing. Any one who has spent money doing up a vintage car (I have) knows it will be worth less than the some of the parts. You make money by stripping not building. The exceptions are truly classic marques where rarity increases the value, even these have to be original or restored - never refurbished with cheap parts. Look at any classic car clasified section and see how many cars have a sale price and then the promise of receipts for parts/work of around twice that value.
Same is true for bikes. I just spent a lot on a build using mainly new mid-range parts and some rarish vintage cranks, if I tried to sell it for what I paid (no labour) this forum would have a field day pointing out what they could get for that money. I expect it is worth (second hand) about half what I have paid new. That's life, I didn't do it for money.
I am not criticising the bikes, just the business model.
Maybe the Foffa Prima will be a good one - will it be priced between the Unipak/Create and the Maurice? I wouldn't like to try to compete with these without some seriously cheap foriegn labour and bulk buying power though.