Author Topic: Which Chinese Brands Offer Custom-Painted and/or Branding-Less Framesets?  (Read 2672 times)

patliean1

Only a handful of YouTubers, including myself, have reviewed Tavelo bikes. Anecdotally my frame (Arow) in particular was problem free. Same with the customers and athletes I've spoken to privately.

No one knows Tavelo's exact costs per frame. But if frames only cost $200-$400 to manufacture and a brand sends out 5 frames to content creators, how much then are their marketing expenses in this particular scenario? Maybe $2000 including shipping? That's the cost of a single frameset. Spending just 2 minutes on Tavelo's Instagram page highlights the fact that the overwhelming majority of their marketing is supporting professional race teams, not influencers. Just like your favorite western brand. Because it's proven to work.

I'm not sure when this moral high ground against companies using YouTubers and race teams to promote products started in this forum. Chinertown lives in a total vacuum separate from the average consumer who wants nothing to do with anything we discuss in here. The frustration against content creators I can understand. What is supposed to be an unbiased video turns into a marketing commercial. But you'd have a more difficult time convincing a consumer to invest in a Tavelo Arow that's been marked up 200% versus a Tarmac SL8 that's been marked up probably 500%

Regardless of someone like myself advocating $600 TanTan frames, $2000 Tavelos, and $4000 western brands, someone will take issue. Every consumable we purchase has marketing costs baked into it.

Sakizashi

I think many commenters on bike-related topics, not just here, focus too much on the cost of raw materials when calculating a "fair" retail price. A year ago, the head of Factor sat down with a tech editor from Escape Collective to discuss costs. The raw materials estimate was approximately $365 USD, but the total cost to deliver a bike to regional distribution hubs was closer to $2,000 USD. Once you strip away the expenses that most Chinese brands and ODMs don't incur, such as aero development, marketing budgets, and the cost of freight shipping. You get down to about $1,500 USD. Let's say rounding up was involved; for the sake of being critical, let's deduct another 10-20%. $ 1,200-$1,350 USD is probably closer to the loaded cost that a brand would pay for a WT-level bike made at one of the higher-end factories (including the factory's profit).

A ~3x markup is standard for manufactured goods with complicated supply chains and retail involvement, so it's not surprising that brands like Factor and Specialized are not swimming in profits. I don't know if others would consider the Tavelo Arow or Quick Pro to be up to that standard, but looking at costs does make the prices these brands are asking seems fair to me once you add in a few hundred bucks for marketing, distribution, paying the people that work at the brands to provide customer service, b2c sales,  customer engagement for product development etc.

Whether or not the incremental cost of the higher-end bikes makes a difference to you is a different question. Regardless, I am very grateful that after 20 years, some of these companies still choose to work directly with consumers.

patliean1

I think many commenters on bike-related topics, not just here, focus too much on the cost of raw materials when calculating a "fair" retail price. A year ago, the head of Factor sat down with a tech editor from Escape Collective to discuss costs. The raw materials estimate was approximately $365 USD, but the total cost to deliver a bike to regional distribution hubs was closer to $2,000 USD. Once you strip away the expenses that most Chinese brands and ODMs don't incur, such as aero development, marketing budgets, and the cost of freight shipping. You get down to about $1,500 USD. Let's say rounding up was involved; for the sake of being critical, let's deduct another 10-20%. $ 1,200-$1,350 USD is probably closer to the loaded cost that a brand would pay for a WT-level bike made at one of the higher-end factories (including the factory's profit).

A ~3x markup is standard for manufactured goods with complicated supply chains and retail involvement, so it's not surprising that brands like Factor and Specialized are not swimming in profits. I don't know if others would consider the Tavelo Arow or Quick Pro to be up to that standard, but looking at costs does make the prices these brands are asking seems fair to me once you add in a few hundred bucks for marketing, distribution, paying the people that work at the brands to provide customer service, b2c sales,  customer engagement for product development etc.

Whether or not the incremental cost of the higher-end bikes makes a difference to you is a different question. Regardless, I am very grateful that after 20 years, some of these companies still choose to work directly with consumers.

This is a fantastic breakdown without the personal feelings attached. Something I could work on myself truthfully. Thanks @Sakizashi !

If we put pricing aside, yes the cost of goods are increasing in every industry, we are getting closer to peak cycling. Plenty of solid options on the market within every budget now. Wheels, frame, groupsets, even power meters. Both the TanTan X68 and GR201 threads are prime examples.

carbonda3

https://chinertown.com/index.php/topic,6041.0.html
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