UK bike sales plummet
Discussion
YorkshireStu said:
I browsed the GT website just now, some very fine looking bikes there. Very much still in the game.
Looks like Hutch from the 80’s still sells original design BMX’s!!
https://hutchbmx.com/
I looked up Skyway and they are too. Nostalgia sells I guess.
My Hutch:
LovelyLooks like Hutch from the 80’s still sells original design BMX’s!!
https://hutchbmx.com/
I looked up Skyway and they are too. Nostalgia sells I guess.
My Hutch:
I had a Redline with Arayas.
My first MTB (1990) was a Diamondback. DX thumbies, 110mm stem and Marzocchi XC - 80mm travel. I also had Onza SPD type pedals. they used elastomers, not springs, In winter, they went rock hard and were like track pedals to get out of....
It also had cantis, with a Gorilla brake booster. sometimes, when the weather was warm and dry and Saturn was in its 4th quarter and the wind from the south east, they actually worked.
i also recall hankering after the San Andreas, probably weighed a ton mind.
I was driving past a Cash Converters a couple of years back, they had a Pace RC100. By the time i parked up, it had gone!!
rich861 said:
I found my Thomson dropper to be every bit as good as the Bikeyoke revive, nicer to use and more reliable than the Rockshox reverb and Fox transfers. Don't see many about though ..or any tbh.
I’ve never used one, but I dint recall them getting reviews particularly well and nor do I know anyone who actually bought one. Were they pretty expensive at the time too especially compared to the Reverb that was forever discounted at one point.Me Reverb experience was largely positive other than the awful lever. I’m now using One Up droppers and there’s no way that I’d go back to a Reverb.
President Merkin said:
I expect that might have been a margins thing between the brands they stocked. As it goes, Spesh innovate well on MTB, certainly on the eeb side they've done good things in recent years. The bikes don't appeal to me much but that's just a personal view but I can think of much worse options and their after care is pretty good too, much better than some of the direct to consumer brands.
They're also practically giving them awaty right now, Spesh discounts are everywhere, definitely in the oops, we massively misjudged 2023 category.
Specialized are good on the innovation like the SWAT system, they integrated controls on ebikes better than most. Their geometry is often quite conservative but I do tend to get in really well with their bikes having owned loads (Rockhopper, FSR, original Big Hit, Demo 9, original Demo 8, SX Trail, Demo 8 carbon and now a Kenevo SL).They're also practically giving them awaty right now, Spesh discounts are everywhere, definitely in the oops, we massively misjudged 2023 category.
They used to be great value for money. When I worked in a shop, we sold loads of Rockhopper pr hardtails in the early 2000’s. They were £800 or so with decent forks, XT rear mech, decent Shimano brakes etc. Nothing else came close. These days they’re often not great value for money.
Spesh UK often had good deals at the end of the year; I bought my Demo 9 frame for something like £600, so it was rude not to.
Back on topic, it looks like Bez Baraona won’t be riding for Yeti/Fox next year despite having some really good results this year although not in their eyes (she won one race and we fifth overall).
Enduro seems to be really struggling with Ibis, Devinci and Polygon not bothering next year.
She’s not been able to find another sponsor to date.
Enduro was hailed as the next big thing but I guess it’s hard to televise and appease sponsors.
Enduro seems to be really struggling with Ibis, Devinci and Polygon not bothering next year.
She’s not been able to find another sponsor to date.
Enduro was hailed as the next big thing but I guess it’s hard to televise and appease sponsors.
Court_S said:
Back on topic, it looks like Bez Baraona won’t be riding for Yeti/Fox next year despite having some really good results this year although not in their eyes (she won one race and we fifth overall).
Enduro seems to be really struggling with Ibis, Devinci and Polygon not bothering next year.
She’s not been able to find another sponsor to date.
Enduro was hailed as the next big thing but I guess it’s hard to televise and appease sponsors.
I do wonder just how well race results actually translate to sales though. Enduro seems to be really struggling with Ibis, Devinci and Polygon not bothering next year.
She’s not been able to find another sponsor to date.
Enduro was hailed as the next big thing but I guess it’s hard to televise and appease sponsors.
I can't think of anyone I know who has bought a bike on the basis of it being a successful race bike.
ETA... Talking solely about MTB. Roadies are different.
TGCOTF-dewey said:
I do wonder just how well race results actually translate to sales though.
I can't think of anyone I know who has bought a bike on the basis of it being a successful race bike.
ETA... Talking solely about MTB. Roadies are different.
Whaaaaat? I know of at least 2 cyclists alone who bought a Scott Spark purely because Nino Schurter. I can't think of anyone I know who has bought a bike on the basis of it being a successful race bike.
ETA... Talking solely about MTB. Roadies are different.
YorkshireStu said:
TGCOTF-dewey said:
I do wonder just how well race results actually translate to sales though.
I can't think of anyone I know who has bought a bike on the basis of it being a successful race bike.
ETA... Talking solely about MTB. Roadies are different.
Whaaaaat? I know of at least 2 cyclists alone who bought a Scott Spark purely because Nino Schurter. I can't think of anyone I know who has bought a bike on the basis of it being a successful race bike.
ETA... Talking solely about MTB. Roadies are different.
TGCOTF-dewey said:
I do wonder just how well race results actually translate to sales though.
I can't think of anyone I know who has bought a bike on the basis of it being a successful race bike.
ETA... Talking solely about MTB. Roadies are different.
True, but there must be a reason that companies have invested heavily in teams in the past. Listening to Fairclough talk candidly about his contracts, he was earning pretty good money consider DH is a niche sport. He’s quick, but he’s not a Gwinn, Bruni etc.I can't think of anyone I know who has bought a bike on the basis of it being a successful race bike.
ETA... Talking solely about MTB. Roadies are different.
The likes of Bex are pretty active on social media though which probably counts for more than race results these days - look at Hannah Barnes. She’s paid by Spesh to basically by a personality on their bikes.
TGCOTF-dewey said:
Court_S said:
Back on topic, it looks like Bez Baraona won’t be riding for Yeti/Fox next year despite having some really good results this year although not in their eyes (she won one race and we fifth overall).
Enduro seems to be really struggling with Ibis, Devinci and Polygon not bothering next year.
She’s not been able to find another sponsor to date.
Enduro was hailed as the next big thing but I guess it’s hard to televise and appease sponsors.
I do wonder just how well race results actually translate to sales though. Enduro seems to be really struggling with Ibis, Devinci and Polygon not bothering next year.
She’s not been able to find another sponsor to date.
Enduro was hailed as the next big thing but I guess it’s hard to televise and appease sponsors.
I can't think of anyone I know who has bought a bike on the basis of it being a successful race bike.
ETA... Talking solely about MTB. Roadies are different.
Edited by andyeds1234 on Wednesday 15th November 16:38
andyeds1234 said:
Pretty much every brand relies heavily on either past or current racing results for brand awareness. While someone might not directly think “X bike brand, won a big race, so I’m going to buy it” they probably wouldn’t have heard of the brand without those big results. The likes of Canyon, Specialized etc wouldn’t achieve anything close to their current sales, without their racing history across road and MTB.
Absolutely true. Edited by andyeds1234 on Wednesday 15th November 16:38
A friend of mine is a former European DH Champion and he is anal about kit and bikes. I've been into bike shops that only sell Enduro/DH, nothing else (with him otherwise I wouldn't have gone inside
). They totally know who their top riders are, what they wear, what they ride and promote it to their Customers. Some MTB-types like to think they are 'cooler' but they are no different to the rest of us cyclists.
Court_S said:
Back on topic, it looks like Bez Baraona won’t be riding for Yeti/Fox next year despite having some really good results this year although not in their eyes (she won one race and we fifth overall).
Enduro seems to be really struggling with Ibis, Devinci and Polygon not bothering next year.
She’s not been able to find another sponsor to date.
Enduro was hailed as the next big thing but I guess it’s hard to televise and appease sponsors.
I can't help but think that they have sacrificed enduro to get DH and XC, I have heard rumours that next year will be the end of the EDR, and from 2025 it will be E-EDR only. I can see why sponsors aren't keen to continue with it - team entry fees are up and coverage is down.Enduro seems to be really struggling with Ibis, Devinci and Polygon not bothering next year.
She’s not been able to find another sponsor to date.
Enduro was hailed as the next big thing but I guess it’s hard to televise and appease sponsors.
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