Not connected with Alex or CycleCat, but wanted to put in my $.02........
I was the engineer for a high-end machine shop for 4 years, so I've got some real world experience. The price for CC stuff may seem high, but really, you are getting what you pay for:
Flawless surface finish. The parts don't automatically come off the machine looking that nice. It's good tooling and fixturing, good programming, and good design.
Excellent anodizing. That's not automatic either. I can't speak for the anodizers in CycleCat territory, but we got lots of good work done. We got a bit of shoddy work done. We suffered from lost parts that were mission critical and schedule drivers. We got precision parts back that had been dropped on the concrete, then anodized.
Good fit and function. It was my responsibility to make that happen at my job, and I have tremendous respect for Alex and Alfred and all of the folks at CC for being able to make that a reality with their stuff.
I've been buying motorcycle aftermarket accessories for almost 30 years, and the vast majority didn't even come close to the level of CC parts.
Part of the price covers the equipment and manpower necessary to make the nice parts. Check what the monthly payments are on $50k to $100k machining centers, spread over 5 years. Oh yeah, make that 3 or 4 machines.....The guys that can make the good parts, treat the equipment right and be good on the job don't grow on trees, either.
Then there's workman's comp insurance, health insurance, liability insurance, rent or mortgage, etc, etc.
And the part "...if you don't sell enough you go out of business which could still happen...." I could tell you quite a bit about the cold, hard reality of that statement for the shop I worked for.
