One thing I wonder is whether any of the aluminum frame manufacturers are having problems sourcing enough material. I work for a construction company, and we're...
One thing I wonder is whether any of the aluminum frame manufacturers are having problems sourcing enough material. I work for a construction company, and we're having a hell of a time sourcing smaller quantity / short lead time beams and pipe because the data center boom is gobbling it all up. We use steel, but I'm sure aluminum is also hit. Ironically, we're building tools like mad to be used to build DCs and rocket launch pads, but we're being told nothing is available for 3+ months out until the next mill roll, and prices are way up because demand is so high. The US isn't the only country with the massive DC buildout, so I'm certain that the supply pinch extends to Asia as well.
When I asked someone at Specialized why the Chisel FS was no longer being made they said that the higher end aluminum bikes are out because...
When I asked someone at Specialized why the Chisel FS was no longer being made they said that the higher end aluminum bikes are out because of tariffs.
I assume the margins are gone, and people wont buy an aluminum bike from a large brand for carbon prices.
For what it's worth: The Specialized Chisel is still very much in production and for sale, just not in the US. They still sell it here in Europe and the rest of the world. My friends at Specialized Germany have confirmed to me that the bike is still in production and can be ordered by dealers in unlimited quantity.
We can only guess, but by the looks of it, Specialized no longer considers it a (sufficiently) profitable endeavour to import one of their best-selling bikes into the US due to the effects of orange man's tariffs.
they more or less refused to play the tariff game. I finally took my nsr off my truck and wanted their garage stand so it would match and they basically refused to sell it to me. Ultimately there was other options so I went there.
Definitely an example of a small business struggling with ever changing policies between its largest trade partner.
Great to see Garmin doing well but I can’t help but think they are the next “blackberry”. I have a hunch the categories itself is really...
Great to see Garmin doing well but I can’t help but think they are the next “blackberry”. I have a hunch the categories itself is really growing. But when their new bike computers look more and more like smartphones, it begs the question if Apple can end up eating their lunch if they wanted to down the road.
Apple is really far off Garmin when it comes to battery life, at least as far as watches are concerned.
Great to see Garmin doing well but I can’t help but think they are the next “blackberry”. I have a hunch the categories itself is really...
Great to see Garmin doing well but I can’t help but think they are the next “blackberry”. I have a hunch the categories itself is really growing. But when their new bike computers look more and more like smartphones, it begs the question if Apple can end up eating their lunch if they wanted to down the road.
Apple is really far off Garmin when it comes to battery life, at least as far as watches are concerned.
Yep, I replaced my Apple Watch with a Garmin because the Apple's battery life is such shit when using it for activity tracking. Recording skiing, it would die before 2:00 after charging overnight due the load of GPS recording and cold. My Fenix is good for a week for normal use, at least a few days when recording a long activities each day. And it charges fast enough that throwing it on the charger while I shower is basically infinite battery life. Apple's GPS accuracy isn't as good either per tests on DC Rainmaker. Garmin has some other nice features too, like a built in flashlight. (Sounds silly, but it's incredibly useful in practice, especially when you need both hands free.)
For what it's worth: The Specialized Chisel is still very much in production and for sale, just not in the US. They still sell it here in Europe and the rest of the world. My friends at Specialized Germany have confirmed to me that the bike is still in production and can be ordered by dealers in unlimited quantity.
We can only guess, but by the looks of it, Specialized no longer considers it a (sufficiently) profitable endeavour to import one of their best-selling bikes into the US due to the effects of orange man's tariffs.
they more or less refused to play the tariff game. I finally took my nsr off my truck and wanted their garage stand so it would match and they basically refused to sell it to me. Ultimately there was other options so I went there.
Definitely an example of a small business struggling with ever changing policies between its largest trade partner.
Apple is really far off Garmin when it comes to battery life, at least as far as watches are concerned.
Yep, I replaced my Apple Watch with a Garmin because the Apple's battery life is such shit when using it for activity tracking. Recording skiing, it would die before 2:00 after charging overnight due the load of GPS recording and cold. My Fenix is good for a week for normal use, at least a few days when recording a long activities each day. And it charges fast enough that throwing it on the charger while I shower is basically infinite battery life. Apple's GPS accuracy isn't as good either per tests on DC Rainmaker. Garmin has some other nice features too, like a built in flashlight. (Sounds silly, but it's incredibly useful in practice, especially when you need both hands free.)
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