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It's a very interesting and impressive interview. Thank you, Sam, for taking the time and going so much into detail and also Jeff, of course for trying and then making this happen! It was interesting to hear how YT experienced the turbulent times during covid. For us, I can say, that we already saw OE orders being postponed and cancelled already around Q2 2022. But the more important thing happened to me in April 2021. There was one particular OE customer who used to need around 1,500 post per year from us. End of 2019 (pre-Covid) we received a projected...

Wrapped up @jeff.brines podcast with Sam yesterday. I'm definitely not a business wonk, but I really appreciated the high-level business discussion that was still digestable for me, as an educator who runs a school. It also gave me a lot to think about even in my own practice of being the "CEO" of a school around making tough decisions, strategy, and revenues vs. outflow. Anyway, I feel like this sort of business insight into the bike world might have a somewhat limited audience... but I do think that it follow the 1,000 true fans model that the people who appreciate...

@jeff.brines' interview with Sam Nicols, YT CEO from 2021 to 2024. some really interesting insights about the inner workings of a brand like YT. i found the bike ordering, building and assembly process fascinating. 00:00 Introduction to Sam Nicols and YT Industries 01:49 Sam's Background and Career Path 09:28 Challenges of Stepping into YT During the Pandemic 11:35 Navigating Supply Chain Issues and Customer Care 16:01 The Private Equity Interest and Acquisition Process 23:45 Aligning Goals with Private Equity 30:15 Understanding the Risks of Private Equity 34:11 The Impact of Market Conditions on YT's Valuation 37:05 Transitioning to In-House Assembly...

Pretty much doomed to break a bunch of shit now.

Commencal have had their media / video / production done in-house for a long time; Leon Perrin who made that video has been there for like 10 years now I believe? In that case it is worth noting as a very different business approach to marketing from just about every other company out there. That's why ALL of the video production is so coherent, on-brand etc, they've actually invested in having that capacity rather than the "throw $X at filmer Y to make a video with athlete Z about product A" that most other brands seem to have.

I believe the two "oldest" bikes on the market right now are S Enduro (2020) and Banshee Titan (2019) and they are both still perfectly relevant going into 2026... I'd say Titan became even more popular as the time went by which is pretty funny in modern times but I'd say there are more and more of us who dont really buy into latest trends of blingbling marginal gains and are perfectly happy with a simple, capable, reliable and affordable bike and Banshee ticks all of those.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DSLoG1WklR3/?igsh=MW02Z2RrbXRuOHh3Yw== Jesse retired, what a legend he's been for the sport. And a huge blow for Enduro.

Not tech rumors, but soil tech history! The difference between Oregon, WA and BC is all about ice. Kilometer+ thick ice sheets created glacial terrain features and exposed more bedrock from Washington State north. Oregon didn't get the sweet, sweet ice sheet remodeling. The maximum extent of the Puget Lobe of the Cordilleran Ice Sheet was Tenino, which is between Seattle, Washington and Portland, Oregon. In the Seattle area you have a lot of glacial till soils that the ice pushed around. Further north the ice scraped away soils and smoothed the bedrock, making terrain for amazing tech riding. This...

The single most newsworthy innovation is widely available USD forks. Regarding other things that stick out to me from this last year: -Chain Slap / Anti-kick back devices: E13 sidekick hub, DT Swiss DGDF -Drivetrain items: Shimano Wireless, Sram c70/c90 mechanical transmission -Misc suspension: MRP Lift Damper, Fox DHX/X2 lineup, Push Sv8/vtx, More Bomber/DHX aftermarket tuning options -Brakes: Hope's new lineup, Maven Base, Shimano's new brakes, Lewis Xerox Machine, thicker rotors, rotor shrouds -Ebike: Bosch cx gen 5, DJI avinox, specialized fast charger for levo 4 -Apparel/Accessories: Battery tire inflation pump madness, Canyon's new breakaway helmet design, The return of...

On Brand for longer and slacker. jank components came out with an Ibis link to lengthen the chain stay and slacken the head tube. https://jankcomponents.com/products/jank-link-long-chainstay-linkage-fo…

I just fell to my knees in my LBS

Honestly, I'm surprised there hasn't been more fallout or investigation into Giant and the allegations of forced labour. It seems like one day there was an article about it and then a few weeks later, it was like, look everyone, there is a new STP! I would love to see a deeper dive into whether or not this is a more widespread issue than just Giant. Or maybe that kind of investigative journalism is above the paygrade of Vital and PB? As shady as Marcus is and what he's done with YT, I feel like the Giant thing should be...

(For those who don't know, @Sacki is Stefan Sack, the founder of BikeYoke 😁)

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...

You're very entitled to your own opinion, but I didn't hear the same contradictions you did. I've re-listened multiple times this morning and I still can't hear it the way you have. I heard Markus say they knew they were facing tough times but weren't expecting the PE firm to get to a point where they aren't willing to inject cash. The Fire Sale was an effort to get through that specific period without having to ask for more cash. That failed and then they were told 'no more'. As for your previous point, it's not exactly clear to me...

If your definition of making money in a cushy fashion is 4 days work for minus £40 and comments like this, then I must be that hanger on using mountain bikers for my benefit. Just to be clear, this was my decision to do this interview and I'm not unhappy about doing that at my cost. YT just covered the bulk of the travel to enable us to do it in-person, which I think provides not only a better quality audio and video experience for you all, but also makes the conversation flow better. This doesn't in any way change...