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I just wish we could know to what extent this entire rug pull was planned. Well before the insolvency, maybe even before the predatory flash sale. As things go on, it seems he was quite prepared to do everything necessary when the time came. But yeah naturally it could be not dissimilar from the bosch Decoys. Already planned and ordered. May as well promote them asap. I'm quite sure the previous uncaged models were not limited to 50 units. So... Yeah, were these bikes gonna be canceled? Did they basically decide 'ok lets do 50 and if we move 50...

Thanks, subscribed! Are there really more PE firms in the US than McDonalds? Noticed this is incomplete: Update, a few people asked for data points around consumer health, though there are a gazillion, the ones that stood out the most to me include (Who heck down-voted your post?)

I'm betting the AI data center bubble bursts. But this is different than AI as a technology. Two things can be true at the same time, we've way overspent on capex around a narrow architecture (bad) but the technology shows lots of potential to be highly accretive to GDP (good). Where this comes back to bikes is if the bubble bursts and the S&P is down, we'll see a change in spending habits on the right side of the barbell (less high end stuff will move) being the people this will most impact are asset (equity) owners.

I really like the opinionated stuff coming from... People who have, at the very least, more street cred than myself. Or ideally as much as possible. In so far as, I don't expect the opinion stuff outright from pinkbike editors or vital editors, and we all roughly know why. I don't expect it. But the Vital COMMUNITY is like you say the ideal opportunity for that stuff to shine because... Every Tom Dick and Harry is gonna give their opinion on reddit and instagram and youtube and PB and vital and what not, but it will never quite hit the...

Great news for the sports and Valais IMHO. First, I really enjoyed the format. And second, having the local cycling organization in Valais this boosted, perhaps Champery will appear in the world cup calendar soon.

some insight into world champs champery economics via a PR email below Comprehensive Review of the 2025 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in Valais. Sion, 27 november 2025 - The first-ever combined Mountain Bike World Championships in Valais were a resounding success across the board, generating an economic and media impact of CHF 27 million for the Canton of Valais. Additionally, thanks to a range of development programs and initiatives, the canton now boasts a state-of-the-art infrastructure dedicated to promoting cycling. Television broadcasts of the competitions reached a total audience of over 57 million viewers, and the event stayed within...

I 100% agree with Jeff. What he is is trying to say is that discussions/disputes/debates in forums for example get heated very quickly. Sarcasm, irony, mimics, ... are not always being received the way they were sent. Words that weren't meant to be offending, are received to be. More often than not, things totally misinterpreted and cause frustration, anger, even hate. If you, on the other hand, sat with that counterpart in a bar and discussed with him while having a bee, it's usually a totally different storyWhile maybe still not agreeing with each other's views, the dispute would go...

Maybe talk to the guys at Revel or Kona.. Dustin Adams now that he's taking the helm at I9..

Yes, "overfull wheelbarrow" is very accurate. The newer versions handle better, but still fall into the BSO [Bike-Shaped Object] realm. I'm not surprised that they aren't going to replace batteries given that they are probably shutting down entirely in January. Regardless, I am impressed by the sheer number of non-bike brand e-cargo bikes on the road in my little mountain town. The value proposition is excellent compared to similar offerings from Giant, Cannondale, Trek and Specialized.

RadPower: we had one of their 1st gen cargo bikes. It had a 3 month sweet spot one summer where both kids could fit on it and it was cool, as long as you were >175lbs, experienced with overfull wheelbarrows, and determined to “all go out on the bikes, dammit!” Thing handled like a freight train funny car. And when you were loading up it’d do this cantilevered origami takedown move, a slow motion implosion of shitty steel and kid limbs and bright plastic helmets that just wasn’t cool at drop off. Retired that thing to the wet debris zone...

I don't think it correct to assume that "Supercar money" can not be made in the Bike Industry. You can make decent money in the bike industry, then reinvest that money in something that multiplies your wealth astronomically. We live in a crazy world, where you can make insane amount of money with speculation in no time, if you are smart and/or lucky. Now, that money may not directly come from the bike industry, but I would say he could have pulled off his wealth from smart investment of money that he originally made in the bike industry. I believe...

Handing someone a bill for replacement of a Campy drivetrain usually made for an easy Dura Ace sale..

I get the desire to move on from this story, but it deserves the attention it is getting. Here is why: First, there is not much else happening in the space. The Felt news is interesting, and I reached out to Cesar and may do something there later. He is a great guy. Outside of that, the only real story right now, in my view, is the health of the consumer, which everytime I bring up in conversation i get glazed eyeballs (lol...its riveting!). When you compare that to the personality of Markus, the very public way he is handling...

Here's another story of bike industry woes for those who want to read about something new today - CPSC has issued a "Stop Using Batteries in Certain Rad Power E-Bikes Due to Fire Hazard" warning to consumers. The batteries "pose a risk of serious injury and death," the agency says, after 31 reports of fires. Rad Power is NOT offering replacements or refunds, as doing so would be "financially ruinous," the company stated. More here: https://www.consumerreports.org/product-safety/stop-using-batteries-in-….

@Downtime Podcast Been busy and have sporadically been able to follow the thread. I haven’t listened to the DT podcast. Haven’t listened to Brines debrief. But I do know this. MF asked/paid Chris to provide a platform. Chris did that. Jumping on Chris for not asking the right questions is crap. MF was on the back foot from the company crisis. Chris didn’t put him there. MF had every opportunity to at least clear the air and admit wrongdoing. At any point during the pod MF could have said “Let me say this about that”. MF had an open mic...

To me, it seemed like MF('r) genuinely didn't understand the insolvency process or side of business at all leading up to YT falling into it. He straight up admitted it in the pod. TBF I don't either but it seems like until mid '25 there was an assumption that they could just keep "powering through, business as usual" until it was way too late and the house of cards fell. Sweet management chops. He addresses the insolvency like it was an unforeseeable natural disaster rather than gradual foreseeable mismanagement by the company itself. "How could this happen to ME?!" type...

How many people do you really think there are listening to Downtime that don't already know what's going on with YT? If you're nerdy enough to be listening to a mtb podcast with the owner of a bike company, there's a pretty reasonable chance you've already got a base level understanding of what's happening.

There's more than one way to skin a cat. You don't have to deliver a Stephen Sackur HARDtalk style aggressive rebuttal based interview to provide insight. You can just let your interviewee make his case, ask the questions and let him respond. Give him the rope as they say. For anyone complaining about the interview, who has listened to it and thought Flossman came of well? Do you really think anyone out there thinks that? Chris let him make his case, and he sounds incredibly tone deaf and has confirmed to all of us the naive incompetent narcissist that he...

I just want to recognize Chris for stepping into the bull pen that is this thread...

" You are very privelaged to be in your position whether you work hard or not." Might be one of the wildest statements I've read in awhile, and that's before the spelling... --- Chris, keep it going! Get everyone's side of the story, make some money while you're at it, and let the audience decipher the message. You (and all the other podcasts out there) are the platform, we are the interpreters, whether some of those interpreters like it or not. On a cohesive note, I think we can all agree that anyone who knows even the basic details of...