Trust me...
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Now that trails are closed building a curb smasher seems like a good idea.
Just kidding, I only huck off curbs, I use the wheelchair ramps to get up them.
Just kidding, I only huck off curbs, I use the wheelchair ramps to get up them.
Oh, I wasn’t invested enough in the details to pay attention.
All we need is Mr. Influencer pouching trails on this magical doohickey.
They had a cash back thing, but that was on your second fork, not your first.
I still want one of these stupid things so I huck curbs and collect dust, I just need more depreciation.
covid-19 - the face saver of all generations.i like how they partly blamed it on corona virus.
I mean based on their own math it caused them to miss out on the sale of (checks calculator) at least 16 forks. An obviously irrecoverable financial burden.i like how they partly blamed it on corona virus.
Who knew trying to run an MTB company the same way you run a shitty app company in Silicon Valley wouldn't pan out? You'd think that gaggle of industry vets would realize how insignificant this industry is. RIP, luckily they're probably too small to have had any actual employees in the first place, so nobody innocent lost their job here.
Give it a week, they'll be $83 before you know it.
Give it a week, they'll be $83 before you know it.
Well, they did have a bug up their ass.i like how they partly blamed it on corona virus.
i’m amazed they even found 1000 suckers
Not that surprising, only about every 200th dentist in the US bought one, even less if you consider the forks sold abroad and those 100+ forks that were given for free to youtubers and bike media outlets. So there is a huge market waiting to get the message! Maybe a gravel fork in collab with Rapha?
nope, we only collab with quality brands (or make our own)
Well it certainly wasn't due to any engineering deficiencies.i like how they partly blamed it on corona virus.
how could they stay in business if they didn't have product to not sell?i like how they partly blamed it on corona virus.
seriously though, considering how much bike product comes from ASPAC they're probably not going to be the only company closing up shop as a result.
Did they sell 1000 of them or just give 1000 of them away to social media types?
Exactly.
Trust guys read too many issues of Fast Company.
Following that thread...I wonder if they ever intended to run a linkage fork business long term or was the plan to ultimately sell the IP to Spec, Trek, whoever.
“Serial Entrepooneur”
Trust guys read too many issues of Fast Company.
Following that thread...I wonder if they ever intended to run a linkage fork business long term or was the plan to ultimately sell the IP to Spec, Trek, whoever.
“Serial Entrepooneur”
I'm still wondering why didn't they go straight with a gravel/XC fork, given the platform's characteristics. They could have ended with a much lighter end product, with a simpler damper, and probably with a cheaper MSRP. TBH their speech for their trail offering "it has 135mm of travel but yields the same performance of a 160mm telescopic fork" was hard to digest.
Most if not all of the XC bikes are already 29ers, so they would have had a much more specific product. And deriving a gravel version would have been trivial.
Most if not all of the XC bikes are already 29ers, so they would have had a much more specific product. And deriving a gravel version would have been trivial.
Happens a lot around these parts.
Not just tech industry either. Alta motors is a prime example of this failure. The owners/founders never intended to run it long term. Just to start, get it going, and sell it. Sold some IP to Polaris now they are gone.
RIP best electric dirt bike ever made.
People just want to put in the initial effort and "cash in". Few really want/can to deal with the realities of running a company for the long term. That involves effort and stuff and sometimes you "gasp" might lose money.
That most certainly was NOT alta's business plan.
they let in some shit head investors that did the stupid
And it tanking had to do with harley, not polaris.
Wasn’t someone here working for them?
Just about any company in Silicon Valley would be testing for product/market fit before major investing. It would be really tough to get a second round of funding without it.
Trust picked the right market IMHO. Gravel dorks and XC guys are weight weenies first and foremost, and the thing just was t going to compete with a Sid or 32SC on weight, marginal suspension improvements wouldn’t be able to overcome that. Plus the Lauf already exists and does everything the gravel geezers and those oddballs who buy Black Sheep abd Moots Ti softails want, but it costs and weighs less than the Trust.
Harley ruin an otherwise awesome motorcycle company, are you sure? That just doesn’t sound like something they would do.
The lauf also makes horrible shrieks when ridden slightly aggressively. It's entertaining.
Forgot his name. Thanks for that. Hope he made it out ok - was cool here on the forum back in the day.
He's doing okay. I see him every so often when he passes through and talk to him somewhat regularly.
I kind of wish he'd dive into the arms of honda or yamaha at this point but he's always working on something.
I kind of wish he'd dive into the arms of honda or yamaha at this point but he's always working on something.
Hmm, not quite sure about that. Not mentioning names, but I am pretty familiar with the main players. Most of them had done this in the past, started and then sold businesses off, multiple times. Pretty sure one of them told me to my face that was the intention (but I had been drinking).
Harley was the "customer", but then backed out/screwed them over or whatever. Polaris or someone similar came in and grabbed the IP scraps after they shut the doors. But they were hurting for cash way before that. If the owners/founders really wanted to create and own an electric moto company for the long run, they would not have acted as they did.
For a comparison, look at Zero motorcycles. Started in 2006, still around, still run by the guy that started it. Not started to sell off and move on to the next project. I am sure he had some lean years and maybe some offers to buy it, but didn't dump the company.
Such a shame because those Alta bikes were killer!
fixed.
in all seriousness has anyone actually ridden one of these? Hideousness aside it *seems* like it has a few logical benefits. *But* a complete moron such as myself can’t help but wonder why, if the supposed benefits are so great it never went anywhere with motocross bikes?What with their r&d budgets that have to make anything done on a bicycle seem completely laughable by comparison... don’t mind me...
A good friend did test one a few years ago. He said once you leave any IMBA style trails and find moar irregular terrain the front wheel starts jumping side to side. In his own words, "The steering precision gets driven by Heisenberg's uncertainty principle".
Unless it's marc derrek or jeff they came on later. Sounds like you know one of the investors or someone they brought in.
Marc is a good friend of mine. Literally the CEO going back 8 or 9 years to founding BRD after jeff and derrek got together and decided to do electric bikes. I've been skiing/biking with marc for about 15 years after I met him on here. I know that they were mixed on relinquishing controlling interest which is where they brought in the investment douchebaggery that eventually sunk them. I don't really know jeff or derrek but I definitely know what marc thought of it the whole time.
Besides it was BRP/skidoo you're thinking of, not polaris.
I agree though, those bikes are fuggin sweet and it's painful to know they're not getting further developed.
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