Why buy from the little guy?

Have you ever noticed that when you walk into a bike store there really isn't any choice?  I mean as long as you want a Specialized, Giant or Trek you're golden.  If you want something off beat or built for the purpose bikes originally were built for then you have to start searching the likes of Rivendell, Peter White, Rene Herse or, if your wallet is more the size of mine, Surly.  Not that Surly is all that much of a one-off anymore :)  Seems like in my town they are plenty common.  I once read a comment about Surly vs Rivendell that was somewhere along the lines of "If you want lugs, buy a Rivendell.  If you don't, buy a Surly".  There are more similarities than differences between the two.

I ride bikes for a lot of reasons.  I also like to be somewhat if not very comfortable.  I have as many spacers as is safe on my road bike with a fairly short and tall stem.  My daily ride has albatross bars on it.  I have no qualms about buying a Brooks saddle for a titanium road bike (if I only had an extra $80).  All that said, utility is probably the single most prevalent reason I ride.  I stay active, I get where I want to go, I am happier when I am on and off the bike, the list goes on.  How does that all fit into the title of this post?  Well, if we don't buy from the little guy (or vote for them for that matter) then the reasoning that goes into the bikes we ride will be no more than dollars and cents.  There are a lot of changes in our society/country right now.  There are a lot of people out of work.  It is the time and place to assert our desire for smaller businesses.  I for one would love to see small bike builders like CETMA become commonplace.  I feel that if they were then the custom bike wouldn't be a thing reserved for the financially elite.  Bikes are after all the least expensive and more functional form of transportation I see available to us.  Why then should so much of the bike industry be so expensive?

 This article is a really good commentary on how the US business world has changed since the 50's.  In my mind it illustrates why mom and pop operations are both less common and more valuable.  It's worth taking the time to read Ben Schiller's excellent article about MBA's: Rise of the MBA's.