SSU insolvency and the bike industry generally

[Eluder]

All over the internet now but...
Pole
Kona
Then there is all the Scott drama. If you dont have cash it looks like you are sinking right now. More and More.
Shop owners are you selling any bikes at a profit currently?

[Canada1]

Used bikes are less than half of what they were two years ago. Interesting times.

[toast2266]

Kinda bummed about Pole. They were way ahead of the industry when they started - one of 2 or 3 companies that figured out where mountain bike geometry was going, 6 years before everyone else. But their whole shift to super goofy looking machined weirdness doesn't seem like it did them any favors.

[Eluder]

Kinda bummed about Pole. They were way ahead of the industry when they started - one of 2 or 3 companies that figured out where mountain bike geometry was going, 6 years before everyone else. But their whole shift to super goofy looking machined weirdness doesn't seem like it did them any favors.

Lots of arrogant engineering going on over there. Remember when he wouldn't publish geo because we were too stupid? I mean, I guess he is kinda right...

[toast2266]

Lots of arrogant engineering going on over there. Remember when he wouldn't publish geo because we were too stupid? I mean, I guess he is kinda right...

Yeah, not showing people the geo chart is the most engineer-ish response to criticism of the geometry chart. Pretty funny, albeit a dumb move on their part that they ended up walking back pretty quickly.

Definitely one of those companies driven by engineers that likes to experiment with weird takes on bikes. Obviously that doesn't always lead to marketable results though.

[XXX-er]

Cue the engineer jokes

[EWG]

NCL (national crit/cycling league) shut down yesterday too. 10 teams, all with riders on good, living wage salaries - all gone instantly.

[smmokan]

Discounting the imminent Kona announcement, I'm putting my money on Spot or Alchemy to go under next.

[toast2266]

Discounting the imminent Kona announcement, I'm putting my money on Spot or Alchemy to go under next.

I was trying to remember when Spot bikes was founded - seems like they've been around for a while. Looking at the website doesn't give me the answer, but it does say that the people who own Spot were the founders of Avid brakes (sounds like they bought Spot after selling Avid to Sram). Thought that was interesting.

[Phall]

they've been around since at least 2006?, probably longer, belt drive was an early thing for Spot, and i think if I'm not mistaken I rode a 650b Spot demo bike at a NEMBA fest in summer 06?

[EWG]

Pretty sure it was started in Canadia. DeKerf build the earliest protos. Late 90s maybe?

[toast2266]

Pretty sure it was started in Canadia. DeKerf build the earliest protos. Late 90s maybe?

Yeah, a little digging shows they started in Canada in the late 90's. I definitely remember seeing some of their stuff in the early 00's. Looks like the Avid people bought it in '09.

[Dumbest Known Time]

https://nsmb.com/articles/rumors-of-...y-exaggerated/

Yeah Kona looks like it's on the scrap heap. Bummer. Never owned one but they still hold a spot in my heart for being the first mountain bike I wandered past in a shop as a high schooler and going "woah."

[snowaddict91]

My entry into mountain biking was fueled by the Snowshoe bike park in the early 2000s. Kona was affiliated with the park and they were everywhere. My cousin and I both eventually had Stabs, my brother had a Kahuna, I think my dad even rode one at one point. I owe a lot of my passion for Mountain Biking to Kona and that bike.

[rideit]

Oofdah, I just remembered that there is a local shop here that only really sold two lines, Kona and Guerrilla Gravity.