The Bikeconomics (Mega)Thread

Holy shit that’s just perfect!

Pickleball has about three months left, right? 

In addition to transitioning into Pickleball, Forged + Bond is also diversifying into other booming industries, like selling 6 7 shirts and a new patent-pending machine that gives you a haircut like Patrick Mahomes.

Carbon fiber Mah Jong sets. 

I said get rid of those sideburns!

i guess im just surprised they kept the name, as if it transfers over and picklers will think 'wow i trust them now that i know they were an MTB supplier before'

i suppose i dont understand picklers, but do they see FORGE+BOND and think... hell yea thats like how i play. STRONG. PRECISE. i dunno

Pretty weird how this pickle ball news showed up here on Vital the same time as this popped up in the local news.

https://mauinow.com/2025/10/30/aloha-pickleball-holds-groundbreaking-for-new-18-court-complex-in-kihei/

Of course the story isn't complete without reading the Facebook comments that accompany this news.

Didn't one of the indoor bike parks get replaced with pickle ball courts?

https://www.nsnews.com/local-business/new-indoor-pickleball-courts-popping-into-capilano-mall-in-north-vancouver-11108281

its also notorious for replacing roller hockey rinks, which i got personal beef with. i think it replaced a skatepark somewhere as well? unless that was the same thing you pointed out. regardless of popularity i dont understand how fads just ABSORB areas in this manner. if its THAT popular, surely, it can raise the funds to create a brand new facility, and not replace existing ones that are already functional. sigh. if only my younger teen self knew what kinda hijinx i'd be worried about as an adult.

i didnt have defending skating/biking/hockey against 'less-cool-tennis' on my bingo card...

The head of YT USA was incredibly naive to consider they could keep going somehow, and did his employees a disservice by telling them to stick with him, instead of jumping ship at the earliest possible opportunity. 

I hope none missed out of job opportunities because yet again, a naive CEO couldn't see the freight train coming for them while they're stuck on the tracks. 

I don't think you're necessarily being fair Steve. I just don't think we know enough about the situation to make such a damning statement. Maybe Marcus was in their ear telling them he was so close to getting YTG and all the rights back, and knowing YTUSA made up 50% of sales, had to keep them on the hook if YT's revival was going to work out. Maybe YTUSA was plying for more investment from elsewhere with the goal of purchasing IP from the receiver, approaching new factories, and tooling up production. All we can say for sure is they hoped to continue and at least someone with access to mess with the website wasn't happy with how Marcus handled things. 

We're def in the he said she said phase...

That said, gun to my head if you ask me who to side with... I'll go with the marketing/brand manager who worked with Fox, Etnies, DC, and K2.

Rather than the CEO-pilled guy who was... A bodybuilder? With experience in... Managing/marketing gyms? (Not exactly a product-based business, more so service. Unless he was sellin equipment i dunno shi)

(As well as the man who has been CEO, head chump in charge, during this entire scenario where seemingly no employees, riders, or customers were warned of the impending doom... Rather baited in with sales and promises to re-open to keep things going to entrap more people. As well as the tasteless Vali Holl world champion advertisement on the EU site, sheesh...)

Put the crow in the freezer, I will happily eat it if need be.

Does anyone know the legal/business mechanics on how we saw Quick Pro with rebadged Nukeproof Gigas and Dissents at China Cycle this year? Looks like it was just the actual asian manufacturer who put their own brand name on them. Now Nukeproof is coming back and how weird would it be to see two of the same frames sold in the same market but one with a Nukeproof badge and one with Quick Pro (Eagle Talon vs Plymouth Laser anyone?) Could we see rebadged Capras, Decoys, and Tues next year? It'd be a shame for the new Decoy to become vaporware.

Yeah that's fair. I was being too judgemental without knowing the real facts. Either way, shit show, I feel bad for the poor workers. 

In Australian news bookings at the bike parks and trail building contracts are going strong this season, so decent turn around from the anaemic summer we had last year. 

add to that what and how he wrote in the short time he was answering/explaining hinself @ mtb-news.de forum. he signed off with „papa needs now to sleep“

Hey Nukeproof: seems like there’s a pretty good distributor and marketing infrastructure set up in the US if you’re looking to move into that market. Give Jeff Taylor a call. 

Now opening Bentonville and San Clemente locations: the Nukeproof Bunker. 

https://www.mtb-news.de/forum/t/neustart-fuer-yt-industries-gruender-markus-flossmann-kauft-die-firma-zurueck-update.1002063/page-3#post-20100989

he even works on a weekend!!!

Markus Fleeceman. 

That's gets a bit more funny when you consider what's not so far away from San Clemente...

from nuclear boobs to nukeproof bunkers

San Clemente has it all, doesnt it!?

Interesting things to come from the germans behind enduro-mtb, probably will be more Euro market oriented given the participants
https://enduro-mtb.com/en/think-tank-brixen/

Looks like it'll still be an interesting read however.

https://escapecollective.com/gorewear-apparel-brand-to-close-after-four-decades-in-business/

A lot of things in that article make sense, but if the participants in that think tank do nothing other than pledge to each other to never again write anything so full of trite platitudes and strained analogies as that article, that'd at least be something.  

If the whole bike thing doesn't work out, they can get into the horoscope business, and then diversify into fortune cookies.

"Before solving symptoms, we need to understand the causes. Before taking action, we need direction. Before talking specs, we need purpose – and above all, a clear vision of where we want to go.

. . .

Will we learn and evolve, or just hit repeat on the same mistakes? Failure isn’t the problem. Our response is. That’s what decides whether we grow or stay stuck."

Sounds like a bunch of MBAs.

Mixed in with some advertising "guru's".

GoPro doesn't look that good, but they keep saying Q4.25 is the one... I'll be curious to check

Interesting news from I9 following the We Are One acquisition, they named We Are One's founder Dustin Adams CEO of the whole company. I say "interesting" because it's not unusual for the management team of the acquired entity to be more or less dismantled as the smaller structure is absorbed into the acquiring one. Sounds like Dustin is the right man for the job at hand!

-------------------------------------------------

November 6, 2025 - Asheville, NC

DUSTIN ADAMS JOINS INDUSTRY NINE AS NEW CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

New leadership appointment set to drive the future of Industry Nine’s global business strategy Industry Nine’s founder and owner, Clint Spiegel, has announced the formal appointment of Dustin Adams to assume executive leadership responsibilities and continue to chart the company’s path forward following the acquisition of We Are One Composites in June of this year. Adams’ new role was officially announced to internal employees on October 23, 2025.

“I am honored to be leading I9 and our family of companies into the next chapter of business. Our deep history in North American Manufacturing has established roots that position us better than anyone else in the industry today. With the recent acquisition of We Are One, Industry Nine will be the only brand to have full control and ownership of its wheel business in the USA.” - Dustin Adams

Adams founded We Are One in 2017, developing advanced composite manufacturing capabilities and renowned for their handmade carbon rim offerings. Since the company’s merger with Industry Nine, he has served as a strategic leader and decision-maker in collaborative efforts to unite business locations, processes, and staff toward a unified vision.

“Our company, like many in the cycling world, has experienced a decrease in vitality. We have to change in major ways to return to that vitality. I view this as war, and I plan to execute a war plan. That means driving more investment towards change and the things I am best at implementing. I intend to come up with new and creative solutions for anything we work towards, using my skills in design, manufacturing, and factory development. I am sick of anemic results. Dustin is the best person I can imagine, willing to drive change and capable of implementing that change to return us to true vitality.” - Clint Spiegel

The appointment serves as a logistical step to further leverage operating facilities in Canada, USA, and Spain, creating full control of the production architecture across design, engineering, machining and manufacturing, creating supply chain stability and cost controls to ensure customers receive increased value and prices remain competitive.

“We have a great culture and passionate employees across three strategic locations. The power of our team and abilities enables us to take brave steps forward. I am here to focus that power in the most meaningful way possible and make the largest impact that we can.” - Dustin Adams

The timing of this being so close to Clint's annual moonlight madness cook & ride extravaganza is probably just a coincidence.