Good Month / Bad Month: Racing Announcements, Business Deals, an Online Scam & Litigation - January 2022

Feb 8, 2022
by Alicia Leggett  
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Racing Announcements

There are some exciting new teams in the mix


Januaries past have nearly always been good months for team announcements, but this year seems extra good.

We started the year with a bang when Neko Mulally announced he would race self-designed bikes. That announcement was shortly followed by the news of Forbidden's new downhill team, the Syndicate's new lineup, and many of the other heavy-hitters going to new team setups.

On top of the usual swapping around of well-known riders and a few surprise team moves (Cam Zink on Devinci?) but the real excitement has been in seeing the way some brands have decided to support the up-and-coming juniors and lesser-known riders who are putting in the work.
Izabella Yankova shutting down the junior womens show just one more time this time with 5 seconds to spare.

(No, this isn't specifically a plug for Pinkbike Racing, though we're big fans of supporting riders and we want to help push the whole industry in this direction. You'll hear lots more about that. We promise.)

It's exciting to see Specialized's Gen-S program with Izabella Yankova and several other promising talents, the new Canyon Collective Pirelli team, the Commencal Les Orres team's foray into downhill, Phil Atwill's Propain Positive team, the new Beyond Racing with Abigail Hogie and Anna Newkirk, Kat Sweet's NW Racing, and a handful of others. These young riders are the future.




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Kitsbow Employees

Kitsbow becomes employee-owned and aims for B Corporation status


Kitsbow revealed at the beginning of January that it has been bought from previous shareholders by its employees. Kitsbow has increasingly put emphasis on corporate responsibility and sustainability, so this is yet another big step in that direction. The company aims to benefit its community, having built trails, assessed and improved its environmental impact, ensuring employees are well-compensated, using only compostable materials for packaging and shipping, and more. It aims to achieve B Corporation status, which certifies a company's positive social and environmental impact, and it has already become a Public Benefit Corporation. Becoming employee-owned will give employees the chance to have more power in the company's social, environmental, and ethical actions.
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The Pinkbike Podcast

Our little podcast has hit 100 episodes


The Pinkbike Podcast has hit a new benchmark. What started as a Covid-era project in April 2020 has become a mainstay on Pinkbike, with talks on a wide range of topics: the state of the industry, advice, guest interviews, soooo many whacky stories, and much more.

We celebrated the 100th episode with a Q&A session featuring Sarah Moore, Henry Quinney, and both the Mikes. Hear their thoughts on carbon versus aluminum, electronic suspension being banned, the bikes they'd keep for the next four years, their opinions on e-bikes, why Kazimer doesn't care about aliens, the work we're most proud of, and more.
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Congrats to Levy and the rest of the crew who made it happen.





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Big Jumps

Riders escaped winter and headed to Freeride Fiesta.


Winter events are nice. They break up the cold and dark season and get us hyped for the things to come once the sun returns. This month, freeriders from as close as Mexico and as far as Greece and Slovenia made the trip to La Soledad Bike Park, outside of Mexico City, where Johny Salido hosted the Freeride Fiesta. The event made it a good month not only for the riders who had the chance to ride the course and participate in the festivities, but for those of us who got to watch it go down.

All the riders threw down, and in the end, Bienvenido Aguado won Best Line, Antoine Bizet won Best Trick, William Robert won Best Style, Louis Reboul won Best Whip, and Chelsea Kimball won El Mexicano spirit award.
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Tom Pidcock's Triple Crown Ambitions

The Brit ticks off his first big goal of the year.


Tom Pidcock has some big ambitions in 2022. The reigning Olympic XC champion has announced he's aiming to win three rainbow jerseys by the end of the year - cyclocross, cross country, and road. If he achieves the feat, he will be the first male rider to hold jerseys across all three disciplines at once (Pauline Ferrand Prevot accomplished this feat in 2015) and the first elite rider ever to win all three in a single year (as Pauline's road win happened in 2014, though she did win all three in 2010 as a junior). He just might do it.

Phase one of the plan is already complete as Pidcock supermanned to victory at the Cyclocross Worlds in Fayetteville, Arkansas last week. The next step is the mountain bike World Championships that take place in Les Gets in August, where he'll probably be one of the heavy favorites barring an injury or being overworked on the road. Finally, he'll have to complete the feat down under at the road World Championships in Wollongong in September. How good are his chances? Cycling Tips wrote a great run down.




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Riders' Backs

Mathieu van der Poel & Marine Cabirou both have some healing to do


Earlier this month, Marine Cabirou revealed on social media that she broke her back in a crash a few weeks earlier. This latest injury came right at the end of a tough year for Marine - her crash off the Les Gets road gap gave her a broken kneecap that went undiagnosed for three months of riding and racing. She's clearly tough as nails, but we sincerely hope this back injury is the end of her bad luck.

It also came to light that Mathieu van der Poel's back troubles have worsened and he'll need complete rest to heal. After a stellar start to his 2022 season, Mathieu began to experience back pain at the Tour de Suisse, his team said, and it worsened dramatically when he crashed in the Tokyo Olympics.

Van der Poel is going to have to turn it up a couple notches come Leogang.

He's had to skip several races since then, including World Champs for both cross country and cyclocross. His condition, called retrolesthesis, requires complete rest to heal, with no other treatments available. The Alpecin-Fenix team expects him to be out for multiple months and he will likely miss his first spring races.

It's a heart-wrenching development for the 27-year-old who was at the top of the sport last season, but we hope he can make a full recovery and return to racing as soon as he's ready.





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Tristan Lemire's Arm
I mean, what the hell?

Sticking with the injuries topic, Tristan Lemire's arm had a bad month.

Those JRA incidents - just riding along - are never fun, especially when they result in real injuries. The up-and-coming Canadian junior was down training in Windrock, Tennesse, when something on his left side, probably his jersey sleeve, snagged on a tree without his knowing. He was yanked off his bike, and the twisting of his arm when he fell resulted in a spiral fracture to his humerus.

The injury happened on New Year's Eve and, after 18 hours of driving, he underwent emergency surgery January 1.

First World Cup podium for Tristan Lemire. P3 for the young Canadian.

He's been on the mend all month, focusing on physical therapy, and aims to be back on the bike and in race shape before the race season begins in April at Lourdes.





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Cane Creek's Online Presence
Those too-good-to-be-true deals are a scam.

Cane Creek warned this month against a website that is fraudulently advertising heavily discounted Cane Creek products. The site, www.canecreekstore.com, has several of Cane Creek's products listed for just fractions of their actual retail prices. No, you can't order a Helm fork for $89. Now, it's also advertising Wolf Tooth and Whisky products as well.

This scam is reminiscent of the fake Shimano clearance website that appeared last year. Luckily, now, the Shimano one appears to have been suspended.

We strongly recommend not ordering anything from canecreekstore.com. Cane Creek's actual website is canecreek.com.
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Shipping Delays

The supply chain chaos won't resolve itself anytime soon.


SRAM CEO Ken Lousberg said in a CyclingTips podcast that SRAM has more stock than ever before, but can't transport it out because the shipping capacity just isn't there. SRAM has increased its manufacturing capacity by at least 50% across the entire company, but now that industries worldwide - not just within biking - are fighting to keep up with the supply chain chaos caused by the pandemic, it's wildly competitive to access shipping containers.

Whether it's to ship complete bikes with SRAM components out of factories in Asia or to ship components to bike factories elsewhere, there seems to be massive bottlenecking at every stage of the process with shipping containers, ship space, port entry, and transportation after that all hard to come by.
SRAM Drivetrain Development Centre Schweinfurt visit January 2015

The cost of shipping, too, has increased quite a bit, and those costs will be passed on to SRAM's customers, which will then pass on the costs to the end consumers.




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It's been an interesting month for...

I'm going rogue here with a new category for this month (probably a one-off, but we'll see...) because this month has been, well, interesting.

Specialized

Specialized has partially gone direct-to-consumer.

The news broke near the end of January that Specialized would be going partially direct-to-consumer, as the first primarily dealer-sold brand to do so. This move, of course, has profound implications for the dealers that depend on Specialized sales, but it's not clear exactly how. The increased number of sales avenues means that perhaps more riders may choose Specialized bikes, and maybe (big maybe) Specialized can work to keep costs down, especially on its aluminum bikes.

But what of the local bike shops? Unfortunately, more direct-to-consumer sales, especially from as big a brand as Specialized, could be devastating for the shops that rely on Specialized sales.

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It's worth noting that Specialized does now have a few options that entail partnering with local shops, and customers can order bikes from Specialized and have them assembled and fitted by Specialized dealers. That option may benefit dealers in that they'll profit from those bike sales without having to stock the bikes. Still, the convenience of ordering a bike pre-assembled from Specialized may win out, and the little guys might suffer. It would be incredibly sad to see local bike shops lose out to this new situation.





Business Deals

Some big names are changing hands and big people are moving around.

The rapid growth of the bike industry has attracted a wave of investment, and we've seen that play out in several company sales this month. Kona, once a small Vancouver company, was sold to Kent Outdoors and will likely continue to grow globally. As for brands that were already part of major groups, the owner of Lapierre, Ghost, Haibike, Raleigh, and others was [L=https://www.pinkbike.com/news/owner-of-lapierre-ghost-haibike-and-more-bought-in-156-billion-deal.html]sold in a €1.56 billion deal[/L] to a consortium led by the KKR Group, a US investment firm. This month, too, SRAM acquired Hammerhead to continue to grow its large portfolio of bike industry brands.
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Some industry names also shifted around this month, with bike industry veteran Will King becoming Vice President of 5 Dev and former Nike executive Nicolas de Ros Wallace becoming the new CEO of Canyon. It's too soon to say how these moves will play out. 5 Dev's new VP brings immense bike industry experience to the company, so 5 Dev now seems slated to expand significantly. Canyon, too, will likely grow, but it's a bit of a different situation. The new CEO's background is in growing divisions of Nike and other giant corporations without necessarily having much or anything to do with the product. Is this a good thing? Bad thing? It's hard to put it in a particular category, as more money to bike brands means more money in the bike industry and more money for things like racing... which Canyon has been doing a great job of supporting with its approximately 5000 teams. We'll have to keep eyes on this one to see how things progress.





Litigation

SRAM & Fox ended a 6-year patent battle

After six years of suits and countersuits, SRAM and Fox have given up their massive legal battle. The back-and-forth started when SRAM sued Race Face (which is owned by Fox) for alleged patent infringement on Race Face's chainrings. Fox, a year later, sued SRAM for violating several of its suspension and axle patents. Now, both parties have dismissed all claims and counterclaims, and have granted each other the rights to use the patents in question. The costs of this litigation are estimated to be in the millions, and some speculate that the lawsuits were dropped because the costs simply became too high. Both parties are now responsible for covering their respective legal fees. It's a good month for the lawyers and an interesting month for everyone else.
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Author Info:
alicialeggett avatar

Member since Jun 19, 2015
740 articles

95 Comments
  • 234 28
 Bad month: Paywall bullshit on the front page
  • 12 2
 With the millions blown on lawyers Sram could of made some riders happy. But measuring their balls is greater...
  • 2 0
 Yea that!
  • 7 2
 ...lining up edible hats for Smurthwaite, Levy and Kazimer when their first paywall articles drop
  • 9 20
flag GotchaJimmy (Feb 8, 2022 at 11:04) (Below Threshold)
 Oh my god. Get over it
  • 8 0
 Good month (February) - Beta filter is now an option. Thanks Brian!
  • 2 1
 If the paywall just sticks on BETAMAX content then all good???

Fingers Crossed...
  • 6 8
 Yeah, no one has bitched about that yet. Get over it.
  • 7 0
 @dmackyaheard: Ah I see you try to make yourself feel better about the money you spent on outside+ Wink
  • 2 2
 Don't Speak too loudly, you might hurt someone's feelings: making extra profits can be such a sensitive subject LOL
  • 1 0
 @Jeffmn8: agreed. Credit where credit due.
  • 12 12
 @bashhard: I am a + member. It's $8 a month for f*cks sake. If you don't see the value, then don't join. Bitching about it isn't going to change anything.
  • 9 0
 Weird how we all paid for DIRT for years, or DECLINE or MTB ACTION no worries but suddenly Journalists want money for their time and effort....I'd rather apy for quality over Qty. My only gripe is that being an Aussie currently all the benefits are for US and Canadian residents.
  • 2 2
 @michaelbevege: Yeah... how could you actually charge for a service? Its like people want to earn a pay check or something.
  • 68 4
 Just... don't start. You know what I'm talking about.
  • 6 0
 Yup, I know. Don't start.
  • 54 1
 if you can't keep yourself from commenting on it, you'll have to show yourself out...side...
  • 19 1
 I don't get it. must be an INSIDE joke or something...
  • 2 0
 Ha. Didn't start until this month anyway.
  • 1 0
 I dont get it.. I feel left out
  • 2 1
 Wouldn't want anyone's feelings to get hurt over their lust for profit...
  • 26 0
 don't think we didnt notice 3 podcasts in 3 days, it almost seems like Levy has found his calling!
  • 36 11
 Specialized finds a new way to charge obscene amounts of money and screw the little guy all at the same time.. there's a reason I avoid them like the plague.
  • 1 0
 I wonder how much of a difference there is in the price between the two? Being Spec, I imagine not too much.
  • 7 0
 I actually respected how Specialized insisted to not bypass their dealers. I used to work in a shop that sold a lot of Specialized stuff. Not just bikes, but also clothes, helmets and other protection etc. Only shops that didn't sell over the internet were allowed to sell their stuff. Not sure whether they changed that policy in the mean time, otherwise it seems pretty harsh to restrict their dealers and then drop them like this.
  • 6 5
 Yep. I’ve been around bikes for long enough to know that buying a specialised is only good for specialised. Since the Horst patents expired, there’s literally no reason to buy a specialised bike.
  • 12 5
 Every river dries in the end. So it will with every single major company Trek, Scott, Giant and so on. You can moan on being cheated or find a new source of income. Guess which is the better survival strategy. Especially when done with head held up high.

It’s been written on the wall many years ago.
  • 25 4
 Did you read the press release? Did you also see they will opening their own shops / experience centers? Do you realize they will employ mechanics and are actually positioned to support wrenching as a real career with good pay and things like health insurance?

The world has changed, volume is the name of the game in shops as is customer service/experience. Vast majority of shops are bad at both sadly.

Finally, go look at the builds and specs these days - middle of the road Spec builds are very competitive with the DTc brands and even better in some cases. I get we’re all supposed to hate big companies, but this is a good move for the industry as a whole if you take off your tin foil hat
  • 3 0
 @calmWAKI: Yeah, but I think it has to do that one of their selling points was a certain ethic. Just like "made in the USA or Canada" seems to be a selling point to quite few on here. Something similar could go for "only sold through your lbs". If Devince starts to have their frames produced in eastern Asia, it would lose some of the appeal to their current target group. So yeah, I can imagine that happening to Specialized as they now compete directly against the big German direct sales brands. They just don't have what it takes to go up against them. I'm not saying it is wrong, just that it is stupid.
  • 5 9
flag choppertank3e (Feb 8, 2022 at 6:31) (Below Threshold)
 @MikeyMT: Specialized are a bunch of litigious arseholes. The only Specialized I ever bought was a Hot Rock kids bike which the store increased the price on twice before I got it.
  • 6 1
 The one that really terrifies the LBSs in the States is when QBP decides to flip the switch and direct to consumer.
  • 6 1
 @MikeyMT: "Finally, go look at the builds and specs these days - middle of the road Spec builds are very competitive with the DTc brands and even better in some cases."

I'm affraid that says more about the DTC brands nowadays to be honest.
  • 7 0
 @MikeyMT: Well put. Mountain biking is a growing industry with a fanbase staunchly determined to keep it small and exclusive. Hippy elitism, let's call it. For a similar concept, go look at heavy metal and their refusal to accept anything new or different that in any way changes what, even though change and difference is literally the foundation of the entire genre. They're still angry at Metallica for going on after Burton died.
  • 1 3
 @Exbow: Nah...just the way of the world and prices going up. Its not 2015 anymore where YT was likely taking a loss on every bike just to break into the US. DTC is a small niche...mainstream buyers won't go for them with no shop support IMO
  • 5 1
 @MikeyMT: "DTC is a small niche", Yeah just ask Canyon how small that niche is...
  • 15 1
 @typx: I personally look forward to the day the 'dude bro' shops go away. It's long overdue...they treat customers like crap but worse they treat employees like crap too
  • 1 0
 @bashhard: Are these companies large, yes of course. But compare their sales figures to the industry as a whole and you start to see they make up a small percentage of overall bikes sales.
  • 3 2
 @MikeyMT: I think that there are a lot more nuances to the situation. So, you pay 1 or 2 mechanics properly at the S-store but squeeze 10 other stores (who all employ a mechanic or two) hard enough that they start to cut corners, time and jobs? Win? What about all the stores who have signed contracts to stock and rep Spec, but waited in vain for deliveries as they watched their store hemorrhage money and will possibly have to close, aggravated by the need to withhold stock to go into S-stores? And then there are things like recalls (eg. Tarmac forks ), selling the most appropriate bike not a brand, peripheral support (you'll have to go to a Shimano dealer for help with those non-Specialized parts) etc.

I think it is quite apparent that this isn't good for stores with an added knock-on that will affect the broader employee base. It is doubtful that it will be better for the consumer, at best it will have minimal impact but likely there will be no cost savings passed on, less choice and expertise but with more likelihood of the monostream being available as stock. It is even questionable whether this will be good for Specialized; personally I think that it is going to be a problem for them.
  • 3 3
 @solephaedrus: as a dinosaur I remember very well the articles on brick and mortar shops going down due to significant increase in online sales around 2010. I myself was tearing my shirt and swearing allegiance to LBS making aggressive/ empathetic comments about corporate greed. So did many. I was upvoted for my heroism

Back then folks were saying “it will be worse for LBS, consumers and companies themselves. Well, look! here we are today!
  • 5 0
 For the last two years our shop has been increasing focus on labor over bike sales. It's always been the more profitable side of the business but since the recent bike boom, if you're waiting on bikes to make your money, you may as well shutter you shop. We're still delivering bikes from over 13mos ago as supply trickles in, The big problem is the quality of bikes we're getting has gotten significantly worse. Many of our $500-$1200 bikes are coming in with a hodgepodge of parts and require significant rework to get out the door. Plus, the quality of the frames are suffering with bikes coming out of several countries that weren't previously producing frames. We've had to true more brake mounts than ever before, tighten bottom brackets, properly install headset bearings, reroute cables, bleed factory brakes, stuff we've never had to get into the weeds with previously. If you sent any of these bikes DTC then they'd be at their LBS for correction anyway.
  • 1 0
 @BikesBoatsNJeeps: Didn't Trek have such a program recently. Buy online but pick up at your local dealer? That may be the best approach. Though I suppose Canyon assembles their bikes in Germany (or maybe for the US in the US now) so you'd expect people at the assembly line should be trained to do their stuff. Not sure where assembly for brands like YT is done.
  • 2 0
 @MikeyMT: I worked in shops for 10 years. Can confirm.
  • 4 0
 @vinay: To my knowledge they still do. With that program the shop makes about 1/2 the standard margin, but still has to assemble the bike, make ready, etc. Our owner was skeptical of that program, plus the reduced margin really pissed him off, so if you order your bike through Trek your shop supplied service warranty is significantly shorter.
As an independent bike dealer, it's a mixed bag, you make some margin on bikes you don't pay floor plan on, but you still have the same amount of hands on time. Also, Trek sells accessories this way, which still eats into margin, and you need a place for the items to sit until the purchaser come in at their leisure to collect.
Trek has been buying all the local chains in our area, I think 10 stores in total in the last five years, They've shuttered at least one shop (it needed to go to be honest) and staffed the rest of the stores with unexperienced labor. It helps us a little since those who want top-notch service come to us, but also they've attempted to undercut us on price at least twice, which they made right on, but it's still bad move. Plus our rep no longer makes any attempt to visit since he spends his days factory stores drinking coffee.
  • 2 0
 @calmWAKI: too many of those mellow mushrooms buddy?

You’ve become incomprehensible.
  • 1 0
 @wyorider: allI meant was that we were all predicting doom and gloom in time of growth of online German shops as well as rise of direct sales brands like Canyon or YT. Yet here we are 10 years later and we are as well off as it gets as consumers. Shops that would die anyways died quicker and those who were good are thriving now. Some new opened.
  • 2 0
 @calmWAKI: dude, mayhaps you shoulda gone with zenWAKI
  • 2 0
 @calmWAKI: I agree - and I don't think this will be the end of the LBS, even companies like Apple still need the 'phone and electronics multi brand stores.

To echo your dinosaur reference, the Bridgestone catalogue (back beginning of the 90's) had a rant on the back page about the end of the LBS due to mail orders and 20 years later you could replace 'mail order' with 'online' and it would sound like a current article.

I think that this could be quite damaging for Specialized, it's just a pity that so many other businesses could be adversely affected. Not the end of the LBS, but maybe the end of an LBS in your town ...
  • 3 0
 @vinay: based on my buddy and his two YT bikes - assembly is never really ‘done’ … but he makes it back to the truck every time!
  • 4 0
 @neimbc: when a turbo levo costs almost 25k in Australia (almost that of something like a ktm superduke).. things are just a bit ridiculous.
  • 31 12
 You forgot about Beta shit huh?
  • 13 0
 I can’t quite get my head or wallet into a “spend $220 on a pair of bike shorts” territory, but I do believe that employee-ownership of companies can be a really good thing.

When you’re making decisions for the long-term future of the company that your retirement is tied to, you tend to make better decisions than investors looking for a quick flip.
  • 7 0
 Regarding Specialized doing direct sales, I do think there is a chance we see this as a win for bike shops. I'm not a shop owner nor have I worked in one, but I've read that a challenge of running one is financing the $10,000-$100,000 fleet of bikes to fill up your showroom. Couple that w/ the fact that bike sales is low margin whereas servicing is high margin. It may actually shake out that bike shops can focus on consumable parts (tires, cables etc.) and servicing and still remain profitable, or even better, moreso.
  • 5 0
 Agree, look around what do you see more of car dealerships or mechanics. Cars are also low margin, but fixing cars is high margin. That being said, more good mechanics, bikes stay in the trail longer, lower volume of new bike sales. Bike leases / subscriptions are the future. You get a new bike every two years for the low price of $250 / month.
  • 4 0
 @ElDebarge: Please stop giving Specialized ideas like that
  • 2 0
 A guy I know is part owner of a big bike shop and I asked him what they make more money on, bikes or labor, he said bikes, and added that labor is bare minimum profit margin for customer service, can't be competitive with several other bike shops any other way
  • 1 0
 @DizzyNinja: I guess we should define what "more profitable" means. It could mean "portion of total revenue", "highest profit margin item", or possibly even something else. I meant highest profit margin, but could totally see how it would be the highest revenue source for a shop (a $5,000 bike is like 25-50 full tune ups). Then you also have to look at the two totally different physical presences: a big bike retailer requires a big space, whereas a service/consumables-only style shop could theoretically operate out of the back of a van. I'm not saying _all_ shops come out ahead on this, but I don't necessarily see this model as an LBS-killer.
  • 1 0
 @Lanebobane: doesn't really matter when he said "labor is bare minimum profit margin for customer service". They don't charge $150/hr like car dealers, they charge $30 for this, $60 for that and make money on selling bikes and accessories and the parts needed for service (fork seal kits, etc)
  • 1 0
 @Lanebobane: from hands-on experience -bikes aren't a big margin portion, they're just a large part of the overall revenue. However, for whatever reasons, parts and accessories absolutely track bike sales. Maybe this will change in the future but sales of bells and helmets and bottle cages etc. (which is where the best margin is) need bike sales.
The primary problem in the service section is that as an industry the cost of tools and expertise has been sold too cheaply and so there isn't a healthy profit as shops are undercharging for service. If shops can increase their services fees, backed up by a good track record, and not undermine their tech staff value by giving away labour, they can make this aspect a solid part of the business.
  • 8 1
 Didn't Pauline Ferrand Prevot hold all three simultaneously as an elite rather than a junior?
  • 4 0
 Yes you are right. I don't think she won them all in one year though. She held them all at once by winning the road in autumn, cross in winter/spring and MTB in summer.
  • 3 0
 I talked to a guy from a Specialized dealer about the new terms, and he told me not only does the shop take a reduced margin on a bike sold online to be assembled and collected at the LBS, but the shop isn't even paid in cash--they get paid in credit towards an order of Specialized soft goods (apparel). So this is an even bigger cash grab by Spesh than I first thought.
  • 2 0
 Now that’s getting sketchy
  • 2 0
 I just bought a stumpjumper evo from my LBS. Previous bike was a YT. Recently they have really been investing into nearby trails, building and improving them, so I was excited to support them. Hope this move to DTC doesn’t hurt them in the long run.
  • 7 0
 Neko Mulally?
  • 5 0
 As an engineer with a BMX background, it's been a bad month for engineers with BMX backgrounds.
  • 5 4
 Demand for shipping is one thing, but can you stop credulously parroting the BS from suppliers about increased shipping costs being a material driver of the prices consumers pay for parts? The cost of moving a container across the Pacific might be $14,000 more than it was two years ago, but a metric shitton of derailleurs and cassettes fit in a 40' container.
  • 5 0
 Yeah a ton of shifters and cassettes can. Wheels and frames not so much. That $14,000 shipping increase for a container of 200 frames, that's an added cost of $70 per frame. A 40' container can hold roughly 400 sets of wheels, that's $35 per wheelset. So shipping just added $105 COGs per frame/wheelset. That does not include suspension, brakes, or the rest of the build. It does add up.
  • 1 0
 All you guys realize in some cases it’s better for a retailer to sell a ‘just in time’ bike for less margin, then have to inventory it, let people test ride it, clean it, rent space for it, and clearance it a year later?

Take some basic Econ.

Same morons complaining a podunk ski hill charges $12 for a burger… newsflash - that cow wasn’t born on the side of a mountain and most small mtns aren’t getting semi drops in the weekly… it’s all 2nd and 3rd truck… some of these places a dude shuttles the frozen prep food behind a snowmobile…

Get off my lawn
  • 4 1
 Will SRAM and FOX also be passing the costs of litigation to their customers? You betcha!
  • 2 0
 It's been a good month of roasting Pinkbike staff in the comments.

@clapped-out-46 vs @mikekazimer
Below threshold threads are hidden







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