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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.
So it is possible for an industry journalist to call a bike company and get quotes about why business is going badly?Quote:
Originally Posted by rideit
I agree that the imminent downfall of Kona is newsworthy. Also, if I personally was trying to do a story on the topic the first place I’d call would be Kona PR, expecting no response, that’s when the leg work starts.
I feel like where modern day journalism has gone off the rails is going the extra steps to get the story. It’s never been easier to look up people that work for a company, if you have their name you can usually get a phone number.. Talk to enough people and maybe you’ll get one to talk. That’s the part that I’d bet isn’t happening, and it should be.
It's because the legions of capable, intelligent journalists and aspiring writers are too busy working at Starbucks, as there is basically not enough money in journalism to make it worthwhile, IMO.
The others are doing their own 'content' hustle for clicks, swag, and Internet fame.
Im not ready to count kona out just yet. The bogo sale looks to be the lower end aluminium models that they no doubt have extra stock in. Still a lot of there bikes that arent bogo. Atleast i hope thats the case. A buddy and all around good guy still works there and i hope he can continue in his roll
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The sale includes all process models. They only make a couple of carbon bikes anymore, and they are included.Quote:
Originally Posted by grinch
They are not necessarily done but they are a shell of what they once were. They have fucked their dealer network since the changeover. That being said I hope the best for your buddy.
Kona will be a big5/dicks sporting goods brand.
As a counter factual for GT, they are not closing down but they are evolving and rebuilding the brand to focus on the core bmx and DH customer rather than just be cannondales red headed step child. I know folks on the team.
I havent seen any all encompassing earth shattering journalism on what might be termed the collapse of the bike industry but Shop bro told me things were fucked 8 months ago so it wasn't any secret things were fucked and i would see dribs and drabs of bad news but who could make money writing it and would anybody pay him for it
I guess i haven't really looked at their site in a while. I figured they had some higher line process'. There is no hartail, cargo, kids, and just the one emtb on the sale but maybe they nixed those as well.Quote:
Originally Posted by Eluder
Thanks ,those jobs are going to be hard to come by i'd imagine
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I’m in once the Sutra pricing is BOGO
This ^^^ The most we ever seem to get with news reports these days is "we reached out to xyz company by email" and you either get no response, a generic statement or you get referred to a press release the company put out.Quote:
Originally Posted by east or bust
I'm with you, can't be that hard to get hold of someone on the phone and get some comments, even if they are off the record. You'd think with all the product testing bike websites do they would have pretty solid contacts within most bike companies or with former employees. It isn't a big industry.
That's one of my Konas.... the other is a 2018 Explosiv steel hardtail, last year for that model -- I think they ditched it in favor of the Honzo.Quote:
Originally Posted by Peruvian
What are the Raleighs that are owned by the other maggots? Mine is a 2017 (?) Grand Prix road bike -- steel frame with Ritchey breakaway fittings and Campy Veloce drivetrain. Couldn't pass it up when it went on clearance for like $900, including a travel bag to hold the whole bike when broken down.
Exactly. Investigative journalism, substantive writing..... it's time - consuming and hard. Not to say that writers in bike mags can't do it. It's more that they almost certainly have other ) easier) pieces to write and they don't have the resources to dedicate to a well written, thoroughly researched pieceQuote:
Originally Posted by rideit
I have a 2006(?) XXIX. When I moved to missoula, I pretty quickly realized that my mid and long travel squishy bikes were overkill for 95% of the trails there, so I bought a rigid single speed 29er (back when 29ers were still something of a rarity). Had a lot of fun farting around on that thing. Then I moved to whitefish and basically haven't ridden it since. It got converted into a skinny tired commuter, but it doesn't really ever get used. I should just sell it, but it's not really worth much of anything.Quote:
Originally Posted by El Chupacabra
What about Evil? They going under, too?Quote:
Originally Posted by smartyiak
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I have a first gen tamland set up with 35mm slicks, fenders and a rack for commuting. It’s perfect for that comfy and cheap enough that I wouldn’t be to pissed if it disappeared.
Quote:
Originally Posted by El Chupacabra
I have received quite a few blow out sales from Knolly the last few months. Hopefully, they're OK, not that I'll be buying another Knolly anytime soon (they lost me when they went superboost).
I have a 1986 Raleigh Teton. My commuter bike. Single speed w/ a rack & panniers. It's known as "Big Red".Quote:
Originally Posted by El Chupacabra
What’s the best deal on an enduro ripper right now?
Got a Status last year at their cheapest, but didn’t like it as much as my Meta AM V4 or Transition Sentinel.
TPC has a bunch of Forbidden Dreadnoughts in nice spec for like $3200- common sizes too and new with warranty, not used or second stock. If I hadn't bought my Spire last summer I'd be 100% in on one of these.Quote:
Originally Posted by Velomayniac
https://www.theproscloset.com/produc...ke-2022-medium
If high pivot witchcraft isn't for you, Transition still has a bunch of Spires and Patrols. The raw alloy Patrol with RockShox Ultimate suspension and GX/Codes for $3500 is also a great deal for a more traditional 4-bar.
https://www.transitionbikes.com/Bike...l_Closeout.cfm
Depending on what size you are, buy one of those Dreadnought XT builds for $3000+... fuck that's a good deal. I can't imagine an enduro bike getting much better, especially if/when you add the Cascade Link.Quote:
Originally Posted by Velomayniac
Supergood deals on those Dreadnoughts! I’m 6’2”, but I much prefer Large to XL on most bikes. Seat tube looks way too long for me on them XLs. Darn this bike is sick!
The Transitions look great too. Aluminum is more up my alley and they have Large sizes in stock for both Spire and Patrol.
Commencal has Meta AM V4 in green for $2100, but terrible components. I really enjoyed how this bike rode.
I hopped on the Transition deal the other week. Ordered a Patrol through my local dealer who honored the sale price. Couldn't be happier to have snagged a ripping deal and link it to a local shop.
I’m not sure if this is old news, but Specialized is having a sale now, too:
https://www.specialized.com/us/en/c/...ountain&page=1
They've had a non-stop sale since March... it's been awesome for the resale value of my demo fleet. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by jerlane
Just saw an IG ad for GT BOGO.
Edit: appears to be just BMX
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When I log into my pro program with them, the price of the red Enduro Comps go back up to $5400 from $3899.Quote:
Originally Posted by jerlane
I chatted in and they said the best they could do for me is $3780. Same bike was $3400 for me this past summer. I’d like this bike for sure, but I'll have to pass at $3780.
The Spires look so good, but I feel like I want something more linear and couch-like. Reading some reviews makes the bike seem like an all rounder when I'm looking for a race rig.
The ChainReaction/Nukeproof implosion is netting some insane deals. I'm almost 100% sure Nukeproof will get purchased and relaunched by somebody or other, so buying one shouldn't be too much of a risk.
Giga 290 (carbon Deore) for $2100 https://planetcyclery.com/sale/12-da...rbon-bike-2022
Mega 297 Elite (carbon GX Transmission, Fox X2/38 Elite) for $3500
Digger also looks interesting, more a drop bar mtb than a gravel bike, which is right up my alley for the kind of riding I'd do on a gravel bike. Half off at $1600 with Rival and a dropper https://planetcyclery.com/sale/12-da...-rs-alloy-bike
I'm 6'2 and the large dread is perfect. The xl is massive.Quote:
Originally Posted by Velomayniac
Really wish the Druid was on fire sale like the dreadnoughts are….
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I'm 6'2" as well and find the large too small. XL WAO Arrival in 170 guise is perfect. We'll have to ride next season.Quote:
Originally Posted by crashidy
As far as Norco, it's not looking good from what we hear at my shop. Can't remember exactly but the distributor L2P is shutting down.