Originally Posted by
veganbikes
... I was not talking China or Jack Ma in terms of that analogy but Alibaba and his 40 thieves as a platform in like buying at that market. ...
Gotcha. Regardless, Alibaba is an
interesting choice of name for an e-commerce platform.
Originally Posted by
adlai
One example is the "3d printed saddle".
I've watched the manufacturer video from selle Italia on the work they put into it
AliExpress sells a number of knockoff "3d printed" saddles for as much as $70. The knockoffs don't have the r&d put into them and reportedly don't have the same variable compression and support in the right spots.
But on this sort of saddle to begin with the margin for comfort is really low because lots of high end bike gear is about shaving as much as is possible to reduce weight to the tenth gram or whatever.
Point is that lots of high end stuff is pseudoscience to begin with and knockoffs just don't have the same marketing speak.
It is curious that you articulate the sole difference you perceive between Selle Italia 3D printed saddles vs. knockoffs -- i.e., the lack of variable compression and support zones -- but not your perceived difference between branded CF handlebar vs. knockoffs. Care to try to do so? Or:
1. Do you know or assume that there are no structural differences between branded CF handlebar vs. knockoffs?
2. If #1 is not true, do you know or assume that any structural differences would make no difference in the mode or frequency of failures?