DT Swiss Acquires Trickstuff

 no but they will get significantly lighter with the additional holes

 @browner: and they will become political/environmental/bike discipline neutral.

 @EdSawyer:

Whoooosh

 He told him; I want you to want me

 @lbinegar: #cheaptrickstuff

 @browner: cheesy..

 And maybe we can just collectively vote for the next customer to get a pair if the shortage continues.

 @lbinegar: underrated comment

 Mic drop!

 I had one of the faulty hubs. DT had new parts in my hands within 24 hours, and they’ve been flawless since then.

My next hubs will be 240s too.

 @hllclmbr: what was wrong with it?

 @thenotoriousmic:

Apparently, there was a bad surface finish on the freehub body, which allowed the outboard star ratchet to bind, causing skipping of the mechanism under load.

New freehub body, ratchets, and spring were provided to me next day - though I do live just down the highway from DT USA.

 @hllclmbr: I've had a whole wheel back from them within a week previously and most of that time was spent shipping the wheel to them. Ive had nothing but great service from them.

 @hllclmbr: Ah ok. Ether way ratchet systems are way better than pawls with tiny springs. All my future hubs are going to be ratchet hubs.

 @thustlewhumber: then there is something wrong with it. My DT hubs are the most free-spinning hubs ive ever had. They're so free spinning the weight of the valve spins the wheel so it rests on the bottom.

IMO, you have one of the following problems:

Your bearings are packed too full of grease
Your seals arnt seated correctly and are binding
bearings needs replacing

 Stop what you're doing, read all about it.

 

 @Karpiel073: I had to slow down and read this twice.

 So, Hope is OK with it?

 Hopefully! Ideally, DT Swiss will allow Trickstuff to actually have inventory, and the prices could come down, without the quality going Marzocchi-Teneco

 one can only hope, 18 month wait is crazy

 @hamncheez: This is quite different in terms of take-over. Marzocchi moved their production overseas to cheapen costs and we all know where it went from there. These are two manufacturers building high quality components in their home base. DT Swiss is just far ahead in terms of maturity and can hopefully help Trickstuff overcome some of the overhead aches that come with being a smaller player. Trickstuff's issues seem to be keeping up with demand. We'll see, but I'm optimistic. This isn't a struggling manufacturer being absorbed by a big bad wolf, so fingers crossed.

 @dytrdr6: I’m currently in month 22…

 @tomhoward379: welcome to the 43 of April! COVID made these past years look like we were trapped in a hamster wheel.

 @vp27: IDK why I'm getting downvoted. I agree 100% with you and am very optimistic for the reasons you stated (better than I coudl have worded it)

 wish I could acquire some!

 They must have been leaving so much money on the table; I reckon I'd have definitely had an impulse-buy of Trickstuff brakes by now if they were available off the shelf.

(Fair play to them, I have great respect for their staying true to producing a high quality product)

 pre-pandemic (As in last fall/winter) they were regularly available at places like r2. Since maybe January of this year, the wait has gotten crazy. The only place to find them is on the secondary market, german ebay classifieds has several sets (mostly all new/unused). It seems there's a German domestic market of flippers who just buy them to resell at slightly higher than retail pricing.

 @whitedlite yes you can, but not from trickstuff.

same goes for dt swiss wheelsets from jan 1, 22.

 It isn't bad to only build to order and have a waiting list. After all, whatever you produce you're going to get a return on investment and you don't lose anything with an end of season sale. We've accepted that you can have this situation when you buy a frame, a house or certain bike components (like those from Intend). Heck, it's similar to the difference between eating in a fast-food restaurant or a regular restaurant. You choose something, then wait for it to be prepared. You won't die in the mean time.

 @hamncheez: I wouldn't consider this situation correlated at all. DT is known for making quality products that last and perform extremely well. I think the financial and logistical support DT can provide will only increase the market share of truckstuff. They have successfully gone after the crowd who wants no holds barred product where money is no issue. They created their black lineup as a cheaper alternative as to hide and potential blemish in the anodizing. That's their idea of budget. The industry has enough generic brakes available. Ultra high end and reliable is something that really isn't being done outside of trickstuff.

 @hamncheez: I hooe you're right.. I'm dying to get my hands on a set of Piccola, but the wait...

 Agreed. While Trickstuff brakes are undoubtedly of the highest quality and performance, with pricing to match, its a major bummer to spend that much on a part AND be asked to wait 12-18 months.

That said, I did put down my deposit last March, so I'm hoping to get my brakes in May '22.

 @dytrdr6: try ordering a bike right now.

 @Woody25: I had an impulse buy something like 14 months ago. Wonder if they'll show up.... To be fair to trickstuff, this was my expectation, and they won't take my money yet, so no problems here.

 @KJP1230: put down a deposit? I placed my order and no money is paid until they are ready to ship.

 @jomacba: Whoops - correct. Put in an order, but no money paid just yet.

 @KJP1230: Not a super big deal. The wait definitely does suck, but at least your not paying and waiting

 @hamncheez: the red white & blues are to work now, tho the (neg)props are on your permanent record

@pakleni: now that they're a Swiss brand, DT can help them with their local manufacturing problem

@southoftheborder: too soon to talk about it in the past tense

 @jomacba: did you order through their website or a different one?

 @yetiyot: no payment until ready to ship if you order directly from trickstuff.

 @yetiyot: Their website

 *became

 I thought the 535 fork was well appreciated. And the rear shocks are being used in top xc competition, aren't they?

 @vinay: very much so the Mens 2021 XCO World Cup overall was won on DT Forks and Shocks, look at an XC World Cup start line or the Olympic MTB and you'll see plenty of them.

 @hatter: well, sponsored racers ride what they get but average joe doesn't buy a DT fork usually and i wouldn't know one bike equiped with DT suspension. The 535 is a cool fork though but i haven't seen one on the trails.

 @kazwei: Moves like this may help. The more DT can offer as an OEM supplier the more they can appeal to product managers who want to deal with fewer suppliers when specing a bike (and gain cost efficiencies). DT wheels are out there, great channel to push Trickstuff product through (if they want OEM business, margins may not fit the business).

 @pourquois-pas: too bad RAM will just lower bike manufacturers' discounts if they don't use SRAM brakes. I expect to only see Trickstuff brakes on very expensive niche bikes that want to provide something different or really want to provide the best of the best, even when risking sales because people don't know Trickstuff and prefer SRAM brakes because they are a known brand.

 @Mac1987: There is no point for Trickstuff to bother with the OEM market. OEM deals ensure you sell a large number of your products but at a reduced price. Trickstuff already sells all their brakes at full price, why would they settle for less? Plus, this way they don't have the deal with annoying claims from bike product managers when they don't meet production targets. Plus of course, the aftermarket for "decent" disc brakes may have collapsed as complete bikes are already delivered with "decent" disc brakes so there's usually little reason to replace them by something of similar quality. Trickstuff brakes could still be considered an upgrade. So whereas most disc brake manufacturers need to land OEM orders to stand a chance of selling their brakes in the first place, a premium brand like Trickstuff can safely stay in the aftermarket like most other disc brake brands could nearly twenty years ago.

 @vinay:
Trickstuff does offer OEM product but in a smaller scale, SCOTT Spark 900 Ultimate has their brake on it.

 @vinay: sure, but since people tend to buy the brands that are already on their (friends) bikes, the only way to significantly grow is by entering the OEM market. And companies do tend to try to grow. I would actually welcome some diversification of the OEM market. There are far too many bikes with NX/GX groupsets and Pike/Lyrik or Fox 34/36 forks. We could use some choice.

 @Mac1987: Agreed, I would have expected more Hayes (Manitou, SUN-rims etc) OEM stuff on complete bikes now that Manitou has come back in favor. But it doesn't quite seem to kick off. Hayes, Manitou and SUN was more common on bikes early this century.

That said, I don't think I have ever bought anything because a friend has the same brand. It could be clever if you want to share product specific tools and spares (like bleed kits etc) but other than that I just buy what I want. We do recommend product based on perception or previous experience, but very often it isn't what we have now.

 @vinay: there are always the well-informed, but the vast majority will simply buy what they see and know without further investigation. With 95% of bikes coming stock with the same brand, this is what what they will buy again. Average Joe doesn't search for hours for user experiences and measurements to finally buy Trickstuff brakes and Manitou forks. They replace their Reba with a Pike because the next level up bike has it, their friends with more expensive gear ride them and because the shop advised it.

 Wanna stop your bike? Just pay $99.99 and you'll be grea... oh, you hit a tree.

 They need to sort out their distribution model too. They’ll sell to customers direct, but then also sell to the big German resellers. You’ve no idea how frustrating it is to place an order direct, and have to wait nearly (as it stands) 2 years for brakes, whilst seeing people complain that they had to wait a month or 2 when they ordered through one of the resellers.

 Are they machining them as they assemble each brake? Two months to put a couple brakes together seems a little too much attention to detail...

 @southoftheborder: I say ‘just’, I mean a month ago. I assume they are mining the bauxite at the start of the assembly process.

 @tomhoward379: probably because those brakes someone sourced through the reseller were ordered by that reseller from Trickstuff before you ordered yours from Trickstuff.

 @southoftheborder: they assemble them in-house. They have some CNC contractors for the machining in Germany.

 @Zozordan: oh I know, I hope that’s what it is anyway, doesn’t make it any less frustrating though.

 @tomhoward379: You could have easily had them between March and Dec. 2020 from R2 or other places. Direct is great but not only is r2 cheaper but as you mentioned, often faster.

 @EdSawyer: I know, I just rather support the little guys, rather than big resellers. Trickstuff do make it difficult though. I haven’t paid for mine yet, maybe I’ll ask for the above to be factored in when I do.

 @tomhoward379: Have you considered that the resellers may have placed their order before yours, so they're just getting theirs in now...allowing them to give their end customers a 1-2 month wait time?

I highly doubt those resellers are placing their order at the time the customer places theirs through the reseller website, and with a factory-fresh purchase order, Trickstuff is prioritizing today's order over one that you placed 2 years ago.

 @neons97: I’m pretty sure that’s what’s happing yeah, but as I say, it doesn’t make it any less frustrating. If they are going to sell in (relatively) big numbers, to the distribution channel, presumably at trade pricing, why are they taking orders at full price from customers and putting everyone in the same queue?

 Come to think of it, when did Maximas become available? I got my first set in July 19, having backed the Kickstarter for them, then they came available for everyone some time after that, obviously it won’t have been a 2 year wait at that point, but was 9 months at March 2020, when I ordered, which was moved to July/august 21 after COVID started, and then delayed again, and again… hmmm

 @Serpentras: I know, I was just being sarcastic. If they assemble them in house, I'd say they need to better organize their workspace. Two months to assemble a pair of brakes makes me think they keep just misplacing their tools and spend more time searching for the right spanner than adjusting a bolt :-P.

 @Serpentras: so they have none of the manufacturing equipment in house?

 @mandingo18: no they haven't had the space for it. I was there a few times. It was really tiny.

If they have now some machines is unknown to me but I think they have Zero. They only assemble them and service old ones.

 Affordable and Swiss don’t fit well together…

 @Armand74: COVID and affordable don't go together

 Once you rode a Maxima everything else feels like crap. Worth every penny but they keep the value as they do not get cheaper even second hand.

 @Armand74: You people need a 52% tax bracket, I'm sure capping salaries would bring prices down

 @aerik: Average tax rate is 17% with an average income of 60’000 €/$/CHF. Don’t make us richer than we are.


Fly away with my Yeti e-bike!!!

 @ridebullit: not sure about that , Direttissima owner here...

 @Armand74: AND you have mountains. We're an overcrowded, over-taxed swamp.

 @Armand74: Are you saying a $108 54T star ratchet is not affordable?

 @aerik:
True, but our mountains are currently covered in that white fluffy stuff. You can still ride in your swamp.

 @cvoc: Satan’s dandruff, yes. We get it 3 days a year. Today the swamp is frozen over so time to ride before the rasputitsa sets in again.

 @ridebullit: levers yes but calipers not anymore. There are Hayes Dominion a4(17mm*2) on DOT, Formula Cura(18mm*2), and Magura mt5/7(17mm*2) on mineral oil. I do not understand why nobody talking about Hayes it is f**ng the best value and quality on the market.

 ...and have them delivered by the end of 2028.

 Hydraulic leverage. They choose parts that gave them great leverage. Plus just nice design all around. Levers on bearings, etc... I have 2 sets that I only received last week after a long wait. If you have the means, I highly recommend them. One really nice feature that many might not recognize is that the band clamp on the Piccola or Piccola HDs is the only brake mount that I have found that plays nice with an AXS controller. All other brakes required me to place my AXS shifter in a far from ideal position.

 pretty sure they're made on purpose and nothing will change

 @sr-34: The exclusivity/limited supply drives the price. Can't have poor people using them silly!