So I was just minding my own business clicking around the internet the other day when I came across this new Madera stem:

(Is the animated GIF working?)

And it got me to thinking—why did Madera decide to manufacture a combination stem/seatpost clamp? Are they getting into the tandem business? OK, no, seriously though. It actually did get me thinking, and what it made me think about was this: Why are so many companies starting secondary companies? Profile has Madera. WTP has éclat (and Salt). FBM has Nice. There are probably others I can’t think of right now, too. (S&M and Fit is a whole different animal.)

I thought I knew why—either it was to manufacture non-generic generic parts for completes (Nice, Salt) or to offer more economical version of things they already manufactured (Madera, Nice) or to separate the frame/complete business from the parts business (éclat). But I’ll admit the Madera stem threw me. From what I can tell, it’s a rather intricately designed—and rather light—USA-made, CNCed product. It’s hard to believe that it’ll be any cheaper (if at all) than the frontload stem that, um, Profile already sells. How much more sprfls can you get?

(I was also pretty surprised when I found out the Nice stem was $63, which means it’s more expensive than—among others—the Animal Jumpoff and the Redneck XLT. For just $2 more you could get a Race XLT. It’s just confusing.)

So, what’s the point of having different companies under one roof if they’re not producing anything significantly different? Is it just to have bigger teams? To come up with different names? No sir, I don’t get it.