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"I'm hesitant to paint everyone else in the industry as idiots" I was forced to sit through a multi-hour presentation where the management of a very large bike brand starting with T explained to us that it was'nt a bike boom caused by the virus. It was the result of all THEIR hard work making everything sooo awesome and it was our duty not to let them down. Anyone who voiced anything approaching common sense was roundly chastised for a 'negative attitude'. When the downturn bit and the 50% increased target turnover was consistently missed, it was due to our...

Without getting really in the weeds on "what is a company", for the purposes of this discussion a bike company is any purveyor of components, accessories, soft goods, frames or complete bicycles for sale to the specialty bicycle market. (IE, not Huffy). As to the decision of how vertically integrated you really are (IE, how much do you do "in house"), its any management team's choice where they want to draw that line. No matter what company you are talking about, there is always going to be some farming out of something to make what they make happen. When we...

I don't see Forbidden going anywhere in the short term. They seem to be doing okay from my insider eye on them. I do know some larger companies are in a world of hurt and there will be a lot more consolidation in the market. I see a few clothing brands being eaten up by larger component or bike brands, and maybe a shoe line or two becoming part of a larger group also. We've seen QBP consolidate its house brands and I expect that to continue as well. 2024 is going to be rough. Q4 of 23 has already...

You would think that planning for that bubble burst would be a no-brainer, but I worked for a bike manufacturer during 2021-22 and the talks of growth just didn’t stop. “We’re gonna double our team size.” “We’re gonna double our output.” All the leadership bought fancy trucks in advance. When I left, the shelves were full of inventory that wasn’t moving. The employee turnover was ridiculous. Every one of us actually getting our hands dirty knew that bubble was gonna pop long before it actually did. The leadership just refused to accept it. The idea of increased profits really can...

The best case study in our world (sort of) for this is Peloton. They were the goldenchild of the pandemic, only to realize they literally made enough stationary bikes for the entire market and stopped production (fully). Stock was at $150 at the peak. $5.00 (not a typo) today. Point I'm trying to make, most people in a position of management at any company wants to believe it is their operating ability, not market beta, that is the real cause for success. Add to this bonuses and incentives that keep the gravy train going and its hard to see why...

One thing I'm having a hard time understanding is how this "...some people got a little too optimistic in the last 3 years and partied like it was gonna be 2020 forever." happened. What kind of CFO/money person thought the boom was going to continue and was able to convince private investors, people who's whole job is figuring out market cycles, that it was worth taking a chance on? Why/how?

Just to add a little more broad business nerd color and context to what Robot is saying, there are two ways to raise capital for any business. Take a loan (debt) or sell "part of your company" to investors (equity). TBH, I don't know if many companies were really ever able to take on much debt, being banks usually secure their long term notes in one way or another. Maybe a handful of companies are way out over their skis with respect to their credit facilities, but I'd bet this is not the contagion in the bike industry we'll see...

looks like a decoy is ready to rip as soon as the snow is gone

if he didn’t win a world champs when he was completely dominating the sport, I’m not sure he’ll be able to win one now. I’d love him to prove me wrong though. I’d like to hear more of him in the booth. Aaron’s input last year improved the whole broadcast. He’s a natural on the mic.

Agreed, he is an announcer. His job is to speak clearly so everyone listening understands what he is saying. Claudio has a pretty thick accent and English is not his first language but we could understand him. I don't know Ric, I bet he's a nice guy. However, he wasn't very good at announcing. AG came in with zero experience and did a better job of preparing (researching the athletes, asking them questions about the track, their season, their health, etc.) and a much better job speaking. Aaron was easy to understand and much more informative, all without stepping on...

Hosted by Ric McLaughin.....for me that's reason enough not to listen to it, based off the terrible commentary we've had to endure during the world cups in 2023 Next...

I don't think they would. They don't aim at this kind of target from a sales perspective, and I'm pretty sure their Enduro teams allow them to test new concepts for their mtb & emtb markets. And moreover, I read that the accel group finances had been downgraded lately ( here), partially due to overstock issues. Given that financial incertaincy and the context of global mtb racing I'd say that adding another team to their lineup would be unlikely.

Ho no, you speak logical when we just want drama.

Came here to share that and saw that somebody disregarded it as grandfather's contract and so on. I don't think that's just disrespectful, but it's also missing the point. The man is sponsored almost his whole adult life and complete professional career by the same brand and just enleghtend gis contract, all while the industry is in awe about stormy waters and dropped pros. Why is that? Because he is Hans? Because he knows the right people, has ties? I don't know, but he said himself in an interview (probably in an older podcast on this very site) that the...

That is flat out dissregarding what and who probably (amongst a very few others) paved the way to what you froth arround today. Go play some minecraft now..

Guys… GUYS! This is a BIG ONE:

Risky choice of host. It could end up that there'll be more questions/comments about race commentary than Greg's new ride.

Yeah, sorry, just bad translation ! The right name is drivetrain, full sram drivetrain !

jsut because one rider follows another, or a team, doesnt mean they are changing teams. at the end of the day these are all riders following their buddies on social media. no different than the rest of us. we all shoudl stop worrying about who follows who when it comes to team rumors... unless there is an actual "can't wait to be on the team with you" i wouldnt look to far into a like or comment on someones post.