Owner of Gazelle bikes buys Cannondale, Schwinn for $810 million

Soundguy

#SenditGuy
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Sorry bruh, Evil got bought up too so they can actually have bikes in stock
LIES!

Actually might be selling my Evil. Need to fund new enduro/parkslayer. That might just mean a bigger Evil. Or a newer Commencal. Or Guerilla Gravity. ...Decisions.....
 

Soundguy

#SenditGuy
Team MTBNJ Halter's
rTalk, is this a good brand
They have an interesting business model. Their whole getup was to create an eco friendly way to produce carbon frames. They claim that their recycled carbon is stronger than the big named carbon frames. They also only make a single front triangle and sell different rear triangles to change the geo from trail bike to full enduro. The only person I know that has one rides some of the gnarliest shit I've ever seen.... and does it very fast.

Also, Yoann Barelli rides them....which was pretty much what sold me the Commencal.
 

tonyride

Don't piss off the red guy
How about a subscription bike service, like a lease, you get a new bike every year or two?
Like the cell phone programs they have, after 18 months you trade in for the new model, get a discount, and keep paying.
As someone who sold 4 bikes this year and bought/built 4 bikes (so far) I'm thinking a subscription or a lease plan may be better for me as long as I don't have to stick to just one or two brands. Of all the bikes (too many to count/remember) I've bought I think I've only returned to Cannondale (2), Giant (3), and Diamondback (2). All other brands just once so far.
 
Last edited:

dvaidya

Well-Known Member
As someone who sold 4 bikes this year and bought/built 4 bikes (so far) I'm thinking a subscription or a lease plan may be better for me as long as I don't have to stick to just one or two brands. Of all the bikes (too many to count/remember) I've bought I think I've only returned to Cannondale (2), Giant (3), and Diamondback (2). All other brands just once so far.
What size bikes do you ride so I can be on the lookout for next time you make a change 🤣
 

serviceguy

Well-Known Member
The subscription model has been spreading from the tech sector to everything else, I don't think the bike industry is far from getting into it once there's a small enough number of big players that decide to push it as the only available option to actually own, or I should rather say ride, a bike. Also perfect to keep up to date with the latest geometry at the beat of .25 deg changes, Bubka docet!

Enter bearings that fail at the year mark, frames unrideable if not certified with certification not being possible after number of years, etc. or just stopping supplying some specific smal parts that would allow you to keep riding your old bike for ages...conspiracy theory material, I know, plenty of bikes, parts, tires etc. available at the moment, right...

Entertain me though, since I have to sit on top of a number of perfectly working network appliances completely unusable because no longer patched nor patchable for the latest standard pushed by the very same manufacturer that produces them (and the later version I had to buy).
 
  • Like
Reactions: don

Patrick

Overthinking the draft from the basement already
Staff member
Entertain me though, since I have to sit on top of a number of perfectly working network appliances completely unusable because no longer patched nor patchable for the latest standard pushed by the very same manufacturer that produces them (and the later version I had to buy).

the difference is they don't have the H/W to support the new standard, and a retrofit would be too expensive.
and by h/w i mean it may not be able to perform at the needed rate with headroom, vs just a s/w patch to add the functionality.
how much is spent to have a gigabit switch backwards compatible so i can plug-in my 10mb/s network drive running samba? A: too much.

Engineered obsolescence! it is built into computer stuff automagically. Not so much bike stuff, but it could be. or at least a predictable non-catastrophic failure?
 

Steve Vai

Endurance Guy: Tolerates most of us.
It's actually not a terrible idea. You haven't been able to buy the proprietary headsets, stems, future shocks, spacers or the like from Specialized for the Roubaix, Diverge, Venge, or SL7 since the bikes were introduced. Every one that comes in needs headset bearings that probably will never be available for sale. Previous model parts have been 100% discontinued as well. They expect everyone to buy a new bike every 1-2 years so it's a huge waste of time for them to even stock replacement parts. A lease program would fit the bill so well in the current market.
 
  • Like
Reactions: don

stb222

Love Drunk
Jerk Squad
It's actually not a terrible idea. You haven't been able to buy the proprietary headsets, stems, future shocks, spacers or the like from Specialized for the Roubaix, Diverge, Venge, or SL7 since the bikes were introduced. Every one that comes in needs headset bearings that probably will never be available for sale. Previous model parts have been 100% discontinued as well. They expect everyone to buy a new bike every 1-2 years so it's a huge waste of time for them to even stock replacement parts. A lease program would fit the bill so well in the current market.
Yeah but you not have companies where you can buy all the spare parts for suspension, which is a huge plus and is a big difference from the full sus bike of yesterday year where you couldn’t get anything.

Seems like bikes have too much of a risk of getting damaged during the leasing period. I guess the insurance people could get in on that. That being said, isn’t pro’s closet a joke leasing program? Haha
 
  • Like
Reactions: don

Karate Monkey

Well-Known Member
The subscription model has been spreading from the tech sector to everything else, I don't think the bike industry is far from getting into it once there's a small enough number of big players that decide to push it as the only available option to actually own, or I should rather say ride, a bike. Also perfect to keep up to date with the latest geometry at the beat of .25 deg changes, Bubka docet!

Enter bearings that fail at the year mark, frames unrideable if not certified with certification not being possible after number of years, etc. or just stopping supplying some specific smal parts that would allow you to keep riding your old bike for ages...conspiracy theory material, I know, plenty of bikes, parts, tires etc. available at the moment, right...

Manufacturers certainly use proprietary hardware to lock you into them. My Lenz has 8, 9(?) pieces of hardware for the pivots, and none of them are proprietary. I can walk into McMaster or Grainger, and have a full set of functional hardware for $20. The hardest suspension part to find is the bronze sleeve bushings at the rear pivot, and the worst part is cutting one to size lengthwise if I had to. FWIW, you could replace many 'proprietary' suspension fasteners with standard hardware, too...it just wouldn't look pretty.

Suspension bearings usually last about a year, anyway, unless you want to take the suspension apart, pop seals, and clean/grease them. Just part of owning a FS, imo. Plan for the added maintenance costs ($100-200 a year for bearings/suspension work)

Like @stb222 said, you'll wind up with weird insurance clauses (like a leased/financed car, you HAVE to carry certain insurance riders). Have you ever rented a bike? It's super easy for a crappy shop to rake you over the coals for damage if they want to.

And Giant. And Specialized. And Salsa. And soon to be whoever is left.

The writing has been on the walls for a while. Giant started the ball rolling almost a decade ago with company stores/buying underperforming places. eCommerce sales that gave you a commission for sales in your territory, even if you didn't sell the bike directly! There have been periodic trials of 'now easier to assemble!' packaging from the manufacturers since then, too. Have you/any of your acquaintances noticed that you can ship some things directly to you now, from brands that formerly made you go to a shop?
 

tonyride

Don't piss off the red guy
What size bikes do you ride so I can be on the lookout for next time you make a change 🤣
Haha. My riding buddies said the same thing since I've sold 3 of my bikes to 3 different friends. They're wondering which one of the friends is going to buy one of my current bikes.
 

Steve Vai

Endurance Guy: Tolerates most of us.
Manufacturers certainly use proprietary hardware to lock you into them. My Lenz has 8, 9(?) pieces of hardware for the pivots, and none of them are proprietary. I can walk into McMaster or Grainger, and have a full set of functional hardware for $20. The hardest suspension part to find is the bronze sleeve bushings at the rear pivot, and the worst part is cutting one to size lengthwise if I had to. FWIW, you could replace many 'proprietary' suspension fasteners with standard hardware, too...it just wouldn't look pretty.

Suspension bearings usually last about a year, anyway, unless you want to take the suspension apart, pop seals, and clean/grease them. Just part of owning a FS, imo. Plan for the added maintenance costs ($100-200 a year for bearings/suspension work)

Like @stb222 said, you'll wind up with weird insurance clauses (like a leased/financed car, you HAVE to carry certain insurance riders). Have you ever rented a bike? It's super easy for a crappy shop to rake you over the coals for damage if they want to.




The writing has been on the walls for a while. Giant started the ball rolling almost a decade ago with company stores/buying underperforming places. eCommerce sales that gave you a commission for sales in your territory, even if you didn't sell the bike directly! There have been periodic trials of 'now easier to assemble!' packaging from the manufacturers since then, too. Have you/any of your acquaintances noticed that you can ship some things directly to you now, from brands that formerly made you go to a shop?

You can buy a Tarmac SL7 and have it shipped to your house. Good luck to any home mechanic that takes a swing at that!! I don't even comprehend how they could even offer a Warranty knowing someone is using YouTube as their knowledge base. On the other hand, pricing has nearly doubled this year so they've more than likely already factored that in. Shareholders are smart.
 

JerseyPete

Well-Known Member
He actually was one of the founders of Evil, but sold it off at some point to pursue other ventures. But his suspension designs are some of the best in the biz for sure. I loved my Ibis and am eager to back into another one (Exie) when they become more readily available.
I thought he was a founder for Evil and I thought another brand as well. I know he did the funky looking shock but I guess no more full bikes.
 

rick81721

Lothar
Yeah but you not have companies where you can buy all the spare parts for suspension, which is a huge plus and is a big difference from the full sus bike of yesterday year where you couldn’t get anything.

Seems like bikes have too much of a risk of getting damaged during the leasing period. I guess the insurance people could get in on that. That being said, isn’t pro’s closet a joke leasing program? Haha

Yeah leasing is a silly idea on a vehicle with no odometer - and even if it did, riding a mountain bike 200 miles on the road is totally different from 200 miles on rocky trails. Not gonna happen.
 

serviceguy

Well-Known Member
the difference is they don't have the H/W to support the new standard, and a retrofit would be too expensive.
and by h/w i mean it may not be able to perform at the needed rate with headroom, vs just a s/w patch to add the functionality.
how much is spent to have a gigabit switch backwards compatible so i can plug-in my 10mb/s network drive running samba? A: too much.

Engineered obsolescence! it is built into computer stuff automagically. Not so much bike stuff, but it could be. or at least a predictable non-catastrophic failure?
I am specifically talking network appliances because they've been stable for years (not talking big datacenters, more like a 200-400 clients) and yet perfectly functioning Gigabit switches are to be trashed because obsolescence due to obscure protocol enhancements or simply no longer being supported while 99% of the users are still on IPV4. Have you counted how many different fiber standards are out there? I'm jus been told that due to some CheckPoint protocol update I have to up the specs of a perfectly working virtual machine from 6 to 16 cores, 200GB to 600GB and 8GB to 32GB...being a virtual machine and since we just installed a new cluster that is not going to be a problem (well, because it's not a Windows machine and it doesn't run Oracle, or it would have been a bloodbath to update the licenses alone).

Have you ever tried to buy a decent 1 1/8 straight tube fork? Doesn't need to be a predictable non-catastrophic failure, just stop making the component or its parts.
 

JonF

Well-Known Member
I thought he was a founder for Evil and I thought another brand as well. I know he did the funky looking shock but I guess no more full bikes.
He also co-founded E*thirteen and later Trust (the funky linkage fork). Unfortunately the pandemic forced him to shutter the Trust venture, however, just recently the IP for those forks were sold to Specialized so we may see a return of that technology in some way in the future.
 

Captain Brainstorm

Well-Known Member
He actually was one of the founders of Evil, but sold it off at some point to pursue other ventures. But his suspension designs are some of the best in the biz for sure. I loved my Ibis and am eager to back into another one (Exie) when they become more readily available.
I fell ass-backwards into a Ripmo before the hammer dropped, best bike I've ever ridden.
 
Top Bottom