It's like name brand vs. generic drugs in many cases. The generic will work fine and often is exactly the same. In the case of bikes I think you may sometimes get better QA, especially when it comes to carbon, the amount of resin used, air pockets, etc. Ultimately though, like with practically every other product out there if buying a name brand, you're paying for Marketing, R&D, past mistakes and mis-sells, etc. I'm ok with that for some items. I've done well with my Light Bicycle Chinese wheels, I'll take Art of Shaving cream over Barbasol any day of the week. I've done less well with some other off brand bike items I've bought.
From a frame perspective you can also pay more for custom (which is what I did). The complete bike by the time I was done building it up came in a bit more than a Pinarello similarly equipped but the frame alone was budget busting. I also went for every upgrade, paint option, and such that I wanted so that I wouldn't catch mycelf later saying "If only I had..." Custom has the ability to be tailored for everything you want. Fit, material, geometry, paint, ego. Do you need it, heck no, but has it been awesome, heck yes.
Last edited by robbyville; 09-13-20 at 03:44 PM.