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NSMB publishes actual journalism but I don’t recall an article directly taking this on. I do appreciate that they call out stupid chainlines being shoved down our throats, or Suunto watches not being designed for wearing by humans etc.
It is a weird and frustrating industry, but there are good people within it trying their best.
Pinkbike does make critical comments on the industry but you have to read closely, it’s often very veiled and implied criticism.
I'll say: EVIL.Quote:
Originally Posted by XXX-er
This makes me a bit sad as it's likely the end (not that everyone didn't see it coming), bc me Hei Hei CR/DL is THE BEST BIKE EVER. It is a fantastic bike.
Well we don't have a " Sunset " thread and we probably should cuz bike industry companies are going under, I remember reading a thread about the mechanics of CRC going under most of which was at a level i didnt really understand but I don't know where it is
During Covid I remember thinking hmmm where did this bump come from well obviously people can bike solo, but are 30% more sales sustainable and we wouldn't have known this back then but apparently it was not sustainable ?
Kona is/was a solid " A " brand for sure at least up here same with Norco, i really liked the look of Kona HT's with the leaner top tube, I bought junior a Hahana when he was 14 which I liberated from him before he could freeride it off someones garage , Tig welded steel all the parts were changed and i toured it in france/ spain/ AK but I think I would buy something with bigger wheels if I was going to do any of that again
I sincerely hope they do. We love our Canfields and currently have five in the stable. One might go up for sale but they're so cheap to begin with I'll prolly end up building it up again and keeping it around.Quote:
Originally Posted by Velomayniac
I noticed that but I do believe they've done the same thing at the end of the year for the last few years.Quote:
Originally Posted by SKIP IN7RO
Canfield seems like they run a fairly lean ship. They strike me as a company that's comfortable with their size and modest growth, which I would imagine insulates them a bit from the risks that other companies are dealing with. Not having any carbon bikes probably helps too.
I think their hiatus a few years ago was mostly just sorting out the split of Chris and Lance. That's its own little category of problem, but probably doesn't really reflect on the future prospects of the company.
Yeah seems like they do relatively small production runs and keep low inventory and zero it our every year. Happy to keep supporting them as long as they're around.
I think the lack of journalism is due to the fact that beyond the companies that have actually cratered, everything else is rumor and speculation. It would be irresponsible and likely damaging for media to publish rumors/speculation about financial health.
Interweb msg boards and forums are the proper location for rumor/speculation/chatter until the shit actually hits the fan.
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The best and most relevant comments are often in the comment section after articles.Quote:
Originally Posted by frorider
As a ski shop that sells bikes, I can't believe that the ski industry muddled through the last 3 years better than the bike industry. Shit like this BOGO and constant 40% off sales online make me wonder WTF is wrong with these guys?
They are both the same company...Quote:
Originally Posted by toast2266
A really good investigative reporter could probably wade through the rumor and speculation to find a legit story, but those people don't end up working at Pinkbike.
Bike magazine and the National Enquirer were the same company too. Doesn't really matter if the focus of the publication and the staff are different.Quote:
Originally Posted by Eluder
Waxroom,
During the pandemic, people were afraid to ski, and didn't buy shit. That same time period, EVERYONE wanted to bike, Peloton, Zwift, etc...but when that was over, a ton of the bikes went back in the garage.
(Among many other supply chain issues).
Unsustainable boom, abetted by unfillable temporary demand.
(IMO)
There was high demand for uphill skiing equipment during the pandemic, but you're right, alpine skiing didn't experience nearly the boom that cycling did.Quote:
Originally Posted by rideit
I don't know if people were "afraid" to ski resorts, but I sure do remember lots of people loading detachable quads solo.
I think there’s a couple factors at work. Skis have better margins than bikes and are cheaper overall.Quote:
Originally Posted by waxman
The ski biz has a much more robust inventory liquidation network and is also more familiar with boom/bust cycles that happen with good/bad seasons.
Ski biz has a lot more retailer consolidation as well as brand consolidation and a more vertically integrated supply chain. One factory makes the ski. Compared to the bike biz that has a tremendous number of small retailer accounts/forecasts and the number of bits and pieces manufactured at different factories that need to come together for a complete bike.
Then there’s the timing of the whole thing. The resorts shut down fairly late in the season, next years orders were already placed and though there was some over-supply and uncertainty going into 20/21 season, things seemed to reach correction rather quickly. (Also thanks to those established ski swap/liquidation channels).
The bike biz got hammered summer/fall 20 and well into 2021 as the shortages persisted. The real problem arose when a huge chunk of the bike biz got pie-eyed and greedy and over-forecast everything. Brands were jousting for their spots production lines with very optimistic orders. Then the supply bottleneck blew apart in 2022 just as demand dropped because life normalized for most folks and people could do all sorts of shit again, the value of the bike for getting through the ‘social distancing’ portion of our lives for those few years wasn’t there anymore…and here we are.
Anybody want a good deal on a GG Pedalhead? Lol.
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What joe said which btw is quite insightful.
The bike industry is also still relatively immature. The people in the bike industry in SCM, forecasting, OE either don't have tools, resources, experience or pricing power (or all of the above). Most of the market participants are thinly capitalized with their big cost-centres (OE parts, frames, manufacturers) dominated by oligopolies with little incentive to cut deals.
Ski industry and people in them IMO are several levels more equipped to deal with cycles.
As for investigative journalism. Come on guys. I've worked professionally on the analysis side of finance on publicly listed companies. Analysts get paid hundreds of thousands if not millions to generate actionable high-quality research.
I'd wager bike industry (and for that matter ski industry) journos don't come close to that. Add to that they;d be researching private markets, opaque oligopolistic relationships, bro-brah connections/circle-jerks and be poorly resourced. You can't pin the lack of quality writing on pinkbike/vital/GMBN etc etc. It's not even fair to do so.
I don't think anyone's expecting super in depth investigative journalism with exhaustive analysis. But some basic reporting on the situation would be worthwhile. When guerilla gravity, or kona, or GT, or whoever is showing significant signs of stress, it's generally not a particularly well kept secret.Quote:
Originally Posted by LeeLau
Fair enough. IMO all you'll get is gossip, rumour and innuendo. Basically it could be a Best of... collection of the comment section which I'd still hardly call journalismQuote:
Originally Posted by toast2266
It could be as simple as "reports indicate that kona laid off the majority of their work force. We reached out to kona and they said..." Maybe reach out to a couple of kona dealers too and see if they have any insight.Quote:
Originally Posted by LeeLau
We're not looking for Woodward and Bernstein here. Just a couple phone calls to follow up on the rumor mill. Since, as a consumer, it'd be nice to get at least an oblique heads up if the expensive piece of plastic I'm buying is going to be semi worthless in 6 months.
Who’s to say the bike journalist aren’t calling? Why would the PR guy at Kona air the dirty laundry? It would just make it worse…
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Then the journalist can say "kona laid off most of their workforce. Kona declined to comment for this story."Quote:
Originally Posted by nickwm21
That in and of itself is newsworthy.
I’m at 3/5 bikes from dead or dying brands with a Raleigh, GG and nukeproof but to be fair all were bought used for cheap. I expect more brand carnage, the big brands will be fine and niche brands that are well capitalized with loyal customer should be fine too but that leaves like 90% of the industry getting squeezed the middle.
This is compounded by high end bikes becoming much more similar in the past 5 years or so, I could swap my Gnarvana for a similar bike from almost any company and it would totally fine for my riding. 15 years ago there were big differences in how bikes rode and it was worth chasing specific items, now all the mid range and up shit works well enough for almost any rider.
Wow the Trifecta!
I’m (still) building up a brand new Operator “with a warranty”
Oof
Giant (Europe) profits down 49%.
Holy crap
https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/b...g-crisis-bites
that article is stating it’s due to economic crisis. But, but the news is telling me the economy is booming!
What about company decisions? Didn’t Giant raise their prices on their base to mid level stuff a few years ago, because they “didnt want to be perceived as a cheap brand”??
Higher prices and some of the poor finish quality/engineering in some recent Giants I’ve ridden has totally turned me away from the brand
Is everything(cars, bikes, dildos) trying to become super premium but ends up only with premium pricing and nothing special. Then the products have to sell at deep discounts killing the brand. Rip Jake the snake.