Check this out. http://www.bicycleretailer.com/news/newsDetail/1533.html
Future of Iron Horse
- Thread starter Mikedsx
- Start date
So Sundays, MKIIIs and 6 points will be distributed exclusively over the WEB?
Time to start looking for a new ride! Sorry Sam, it was good while it lasted!!
Isn't this old news? My mom got a low-end IH hardtail (forget the model) from Dick's about a month ago.
yeah I grabbed a Warrior ht at Dick's last summer.
Well, they have always sold low end ones at places like Dick's.
But the interesting part is:
Iron Horse Bicycle Company announced Tuesday that it will discontinue sales of its middle and lower priced bicycles through independent bicycle dealers and will sell its high-end bikes exclusively through Randall Scott Cycle Company in Boulder, Colorado
So its either low end at Dick's or high end through Randall Scott.
FAIL.
Word, didn't know that. Never really noticed them before I guess, then one day not too long ago I saw them filling the shelves at Dicks and thought it was strange.
since when is 5 years qualify as "long been a leader". Even counting the way back days of rebadged Foes Weasel's & piles of crap red/white/blue SGS's...they're hardly a leader.
Can you say hype?By the way Jeremy, I'm deducting 1 rep point for you skipping over a joke regarding "warriors" being sold at "dicks".
Yes, I was expecting something good about that too from you Jeremy
lthumbsdown:
The question is still what mid- and high-end bike will even be sold at Randall Scott? With the DW-link going away what will they have to offer?
x
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that article belongs in the Imminent Failure thread in the lounge.
I find it of interest to note that a lot of it has to do with dealing with competition from Trek and Specialized. Both companies are pushing the shops they deal with to become exclusive dealers for their brands. exclusive maybe isn't the right word, but they would require a shop to stock x% of all bikes and y% of accessories to be their brand. These percentages are very high too (think in excess of 75% based on what I witnessed firsthand at a large shop who sold both Trek and Specialized).
It puts shops in a bad position. It forces them to put the vast majority of the business with a single brand. While both companies do offer excellent lines, both in breadth and depth of their offerings, it puts basically all the other companies in jeopardy. Running a bike shop is a hard enough market to be in, but I fear that this will force a lot of smaller companies out of business because they will be losing their share in larger shops, and may also alienate higher end customers who want more boutique items then Trek or Specialized offer.
It puts shops in a bad position. It forces them to put the vast majority of the business with a single brand. While both companies do offer excellent lines, both in breadth and depth of their offerings, it puts basically all the other companies in jeopardy. Running a bike shop is a hard enough market to be in, but I fear that this will force a lot of smaller companies out of business because they will be losing their share in larger shops, and may also alienate higher end customers who want more boutique items then Trek or Specialized offer.
who buys high end bikes in a shop anyway??
Roadies. When I was a wrench our shop had 2 locations, one which happened to be in the affluent part of town. Roadies would come in and drop money like you wouldn't believe. We'd have people come in and drop 8 grand on a bike without as much as a test ride.
I think that is a bit of an excuse.
Commitment to the LBS requires better warranties, dealer-only events, and lots of advertising.
Mail order has to do with low prices.
Having one retail outlet is not that hard to support. Try having a thousand dealers.
i am not so sure that is entirely a problem, the shop i work at is 80% trek for sure, a ****load of kids bike and 3700s, all the high end stuff is smaller boutique brands. while a shop might have to do this it may not affect the small companies, a 3700 is still a 3700 no matter how many u have on display
I never mentioned anything about pricing.
And yes, a big part of this is commitment to the LBS. Which is something that Trek and Specialized do remarkably. I can't speak for Giant, because I never worked for a Giant retailer. Biking is a fickle, niche industry. There are a lot of smaller companies (not shops) who have to try very hard just to stay afloat, yet alone give that kind of dedication to a network of LBS's.
I guess what it comes down to (for me anyways) is how Trek/Specialized are going about their dealer programs. They've both got rules as to how a shop can look, the kinds of merch displays you can use (a lot of which have to come from the company), etc. While this is a great way of supporting an LBS from a retail standpoint, it kind of takes away from the homegrown feel of where biking came from and places it in more of a controlled environment (to me at least). I guess I'm just worried that ultimately this will turn your LBS into another cookie cutter location a la Wal-mart/Starbucks. For me, part of biking is the mom and pop feel that a lot of shops have. Is that to say that a company flagship store couldn't retain its individuality and intimate relationships with customers? Not at all. I guess I should just be glad that the industry is still large enough that there is still plenty of space for mom and pop shops.
Almost all the boutique stuff I've ever seen in a shop is high end. The people that want this kind of item are the ones who have the determination to seek it out.
But from a business standpoint, there's a big difference between having to carry x number of a certain bike because of consumer demand, and being required to carry x amount of a certain model by the manufacturer. edit: to clarify, I am referring to quantities above MOQ.
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which is no different than any 800lb Gorilla in any industry.
Because Iron Horse has long been a leader in racing technology, the company intends to maintain this high end racing focus through its partnership with Randall Scott Cycle.
As of September 1, low- and mid-priced Iron Horse bicycles will be available in chains such as Dicks Sporting Goods, The Sports Authority, REI, LL Bean, Toys R Us, Wal-Mart, Performance Bicycles and the Forzani Group in Canada.
Seems like conflicting statements.
IMO this is a terrible decision for the IH brand. WAY more people are going to see IH bikes in those box stores than on the RS website. Won't be long before they're perceived on the same level as any other wal-mart bike thus dragging ALL of there bikes down with them. Mongoose anyone?
As of September 1, low- and mid-priced Iron Horse bicycles will be available in chains such as Dicks Sporting Goods, The Sports Authority, REI, LL Bean, Toys R Us, Wal-Mart, Performance Bicycles and the Forzani Group in Canada.
Seems like conflicting statements.
IMO this is a terrible decision for the IH brand. WAY more people are going to see IH bikes in those box stores than on the RS website. Won't be long before they're perceived on the same level as any other wal-mart bike thus dragging ALL of there bikes down with them. Mongoose anyone?
Specialized & Trek have 1 thing they have never waivered from in all the years I've ridden. That is product demos annually in every part of the country coordinated through their independent dealers. Without fail each year, Specialized & Trek both have big demos here in Asheville that are planned way out in advance and you KNOW it will happen each year.
It boils down to being disciplined, forward thinking and focused on the future...which both have always beaten any other brand at. Cannondale had the same formula until they used bike profits to build motos. They may never recover that level of involvement.
It boils down to being disciplined, forward thinking and focused on the future...which both have always beaten any other brand at. Cannondale had the same formula until they used bike profits to build motos. They may never recover that level of involvement.
exactly
So the conversation went something like:
"remember a few years ago when nobody cared or had much respect for our company?"
"Yeah"
"I miss that and want to go back"
"great lets go"
Just cause you can doesn't mean you should.
Probably more like...
" Ever since we started catering to these downhill idiots we spent 3x the energy and make about 14% more money. Those numbers suck. Lets just sell chump bikes to chump people, and life will be easier."
"But we love downhilling."
"Yes, but now instead of listening to the idiots whining on forums and bugging us for warranty when they plow into trees, we can actually go riding ourselves."
"oh yeah."
" Ever since we started catering to these downhill idiots we spent 3x the energy and make about 14% more money. Those numbers suck. Lets just sell chump bikes to chump people, and life will be easier."
"But we love downhilling."
"Yes, but now instead of listening to the idiots whining on forums and bugging us for warranty when they plow into trees, we can actually go riding ourselves."
"oh yeah."
^exactly^
methinks we're small potatoes in the grand scheme of things. have you seen the margins on econo bikes? factor in the numbers moved and it's a wonder anyone bothers with high end dh bikes.
methinks we're small potatoes in the grand scheme of things. have you seen the margins on econo bikes? factor in the numbers moved and it's a wonder anyone bothers with high end dh bikes.
Volume
Why I will never own a Trek or Specialised again, 80% of your business comes from 20% of your customers. something LBS often neglect and usually people who can afford high end price is not there only justification, this is not good for the bike industry, I liken it to integration its all about forcing dumb consumers into one pie hole!
People are so gullible sometimes, I'd rather pay more and support the small guys that still do it for the passion, employ real people and have a soul still and produce amazing products, with innovation and evoultuion than revoultion and hype and marketing BS about the latest lightest POS they dump on the consumer, sure some of these bikes are good these days but lets face it its all about market share and just like everything else is run by bean counters..
The small guys provide a great product and CS! its a sad day, Ive seen what Trek and Giant & Specchy do to shops who can't support there program! If they can't have confidence in there own product to stand on its own then and force a shop to take ex amount o this and that then that says it all to me..
Flame away!
i think its beat a company who had a good streak is in the gutter but i see this as a prime time to buy a decent bike for a good price. randall scott has some killer deals on old bikes. imo things wont change that much, especially in the xc world. so pick up cheap bikes while you can.
this is all very interesting as this wont effect independent bicycle dealers in New Zealand, nothing is changing for 09
is this just a US thing ?
anyway, i love my 6point
is this just a US thing ?
anyway, i love my 6point
If IH stays strong in the racing circuit and brings out a serious new DH Bike after the sunday a lot of riders will buy the Sunday II again. It has a lot to do with marketing and a winning rider. If they can resign sam or another top ten WC rider (hasen't Fairclough a two year contract?), they will be o.k.
Keep the overall look of the bike and tweak it to Sam´s geo and they´ll be fine. Just move the links a little to get around the patend. And fix that overcomplicated shockmount.
Sorry DW... I really like the linkage design, but the look of the sunday is just super sweet (love the rear triangel).
If they put together a Sunday 2 that is close in function to the previous one, for the right pricetag, I´ll buy it.
Sorry DW... I really like the linkage design, but the look of the sunday is just super sweet (love the rear triangel).
If they put together a Sunday 2 that is close in function to the previous one, for the right pricetag, I´ll buy it.
Do you want a job?!?
I plan to just keep using my 07 Sunday until it blows up. Being 5'2" the Sunday is one of the few DH bikes that fit and the performance is incredible.
Then, when I finally destroy my sunday, it will be time to look for the next bike....
Gotta wonder though, for those that need a new frame every year what the re-sale value will be on the DW Link Sundays in the future? People addicted to E-bay have paid a lot more for some of my old crap than I could have ever dreamed of!
Then, when I finally destroy my sunday, it will be time to look for the next bike....
Gotta wonder though, for those that need a new frame every year what the re-sale value will be on the DW Link Sundays in the future? People addicted to E-bay have paid a lot more for some of my old crap than I could have ever dreamed of!
^Fixed^
A lot of you guys who aren't from the northeast are probably not aware of what Todd did for that company, but he was dragging trailers full of DH bikes to races 7+ hours away, sponsoring DH racers, and generally pushing the high-end side of things 8-10 years ago. It took a long-ass time for him to gradually convince management to move in the direction of a boutique brand (including changes like bringing in Dave, sponsoring a world cup team, etc.), probably because they were doing fine in the low-end, big-box store and Taiwanese catalog bike business. Those of us from up this way remember Seplavy always pushing hard in that direction, and why they let him go is a total mystery to me. It always seemed like WWCS had a bent toward quantity above all else, and maybe Todd's passion for things didn't gel with management.
In any event, best of luck to Todd and Iron Horse/WWBC. It will be interesting to see how all this shakes out.
--JP
When Sam leaves so will the legacy of the Sunday. It's a great bike, but it's sales machine revolved around Sam Hill.
Hmmm, I'd say there is at least as much DW hype as Sam Hill hype on the intarweb, and we know the intarweb doesn't lie.