Fall from grace

[drystonepaul]

I don't think Raleigh have ever recovered from the loss of their 'Special Products Division' and their high profile race team in the early to mid 90's. The company now does okay with low end stuff and the distribution of other brands, but there is nothing left which appeals to serious cyclists.

GT is another brand which used to be an innovator but lost it's way and it's finances at some point. Unlike Raleigh though, they have recovered somewhat and you can get a decent relatively high end bike from GT nowadays. But sadly, like Specialized, Giant and Trek to name but a few, they don't seem to stand out from the generic masses at all.

It's sad that Suntour were so comprehensively usurped by Shimano in the early 90's shortly after Shimano 'stole' Suntour's Micro-Drive and called it Compact Drive. It's a real shame because Suntour kit, their hubs in particular were really made to last. Ultimately their quality was their downfall. Shimano quickly realised that engineering 'planned obsolescence' meant not only cheaper and less durable materials costs, but also the fact that their components would quickly wear out and need replacing, ensured repeat sales and a steady income. Hence why Shimano chainrings are made of soft cheese.
Shimano prospered while Suntour resorted to making cheap cranks and forks. Although that said, some of the recent Suntour forks are meant to be pretty good.

I like the fact that Saracen, after over ten years in the wilderness now look to have real promise as a credible and respectable brand. Of course this has been driven by new owners Madison and their employment of a new design and marketing team.
Although I'm really not keen on the 'yoof' styled graphics currently on offer, you can't help but notice some nice design features on the 2010 range which hopefully will be developed for the 2011 model year.
Even though it could well just be a marketing ploy, it is nice to see a conscious effort to recognise and publicise the 'heritage' of the Saracen brand.

And finally to Halfords. Their huge purchasing power and distribution means that they can source and build up some very good bikes for the money. The Boardman and Carrera brands consistently do well against other bikes at the same price point. But what let's them down though in general, from experience and from hearsay, seems to be the lack of knowledgeable staff in the majority of their stores. I'd be tempted to buy a bike from Halfords, but only if I knew I had time to take it apart and rebuild it before I rode it. Just to be on the safe side...

 

[xerxes]

A friend of mine has a Boardman, hybrid type bike with 700c wheels and disc brakes. He doesn't use it that much and I've never ridden it, so I can't comment on the assembly or durability, but I was impressed with the finish of the aluminium frame, the welds are so neatly done that it almost looks like fillet brazing. The whole thing looks quite smart as well, with limited graphics, a metalic graphite frame and predominantly black components.

I think this is the model he has:

 

[mikeekim89]

Nice Thread..

My LBS has saracen in, and there range is pretty slick to be fair. relatively good value, rather good looking and dependant on what you buy, hard as a brick wall.
GT have gone down the swanny too, but they are returning slowly, in answer too kaytronika's question, the current GT flagship XC bike is the force, and it's also a very good bike, with the iDrive, i'd consider it better than the RTS/LTS/STS but that's just my opinion.
Suntour do still do a few bikes, mainly cheap and tacky full suspension jobs that are from halfrauds amongst others but, they are still going, and doing okay for themselves.
Raliegh, i've not seen any of in a fair while, and i'm in bike shops all the time, so that says something on there popularity from what was one of the worlds biggest bike manufacturers.
mongoose, not big as they we're either, by any stretch of the imaginaton, but they do nice BMX's and dift jump bikes.

now i've said all of that, i'd think the biggest fall from grace is Kona. they made wonderful frames, and now there trying too replicate all of that again, in new and crap ways. i've got nothing against them, but i'd much sooner have a old one over a new one.

 

[mfh126]

I'd say BITD GT were up there with Cannondale for innovation, always trying new designs and technologies. Definitely a desirable brand amongst its peers (Spesh, Dale,Kona ,Marin). Whereas now I don't really see them pushing the boundaries like they did and have been replaced at the top table(relatively speaking). I'd say these days its Specialized, Cannondale, Trek, Giant.

I can see what you mean, doubt we'll see another RTS out of them.
I also remember being excited at seeing my first LTS, doubt I could name their current FS bike.
I always thought 'Dorel Industries' sounded like the faceless corporation of a baddy to be honest.

Not only does Dorel own the GT brand, it also has Cannondale, Schwinn, Mongoose, and IronHorse in its portfolio. More crap to come!

 

[FST4RD]

Cannondale for me to a point...
Everything was made in the good old U S of A... I lusted after one for years, now alot of them are made in taiwan... :cry:

 

[Andy R]

Nice Thread..

Mongoose, not big as they were either, by any stretch of the imagination, but they do nice BMX's and dift jump bikes.

Not forgetting the Teocali Elite whch, in the flesh, is a pretty nice (and fairly rare) bike.
I mean rare as in not ubiquitous.....

 

[GoldenEraMTB]

Wilderness Trail Bikes?

Innovative, cool, and functional
to
run of the mill and souless

 

[marin man]

there seems to be a lot of negativity over Halfords going on...
i know it's retrobike but does it have to be retro-attitude?
the place has changed a lot over the years, they now stock a lot of high end bikes exclusive to halfords that are taking the top places in bike of the year awards.
The carrera brand has evolved massively, yes they used to be the equivalent of the apollos, but now easily compare to the GT range, especially when price comes into it.
Do halfords make bike components? NO! so why is a halfords bike classed as a bad thing, the Boardman FS Team i have recently bought is one of the best performing bikes i have ever ridden.
if you are looking at the cheap end, a £100 bike is a £100 bike wherever it comes from,
if you bought one would you enjoy it? no! but hey, many people do want to buy them and someone has to sell them.

I understand your point but it is not what they sell that is the problem :roll: It is their aggressive marketing techniques that have undercut many small bike shops and forced them out of business :shock: :twisted: In my town we used to have six bike shops,two high end ones , two raleigh centres , lawfords which had a very long running club,and a low end kids type bike shop as soon as halfords opened their bike departments five of our local shops yes FIVEwere pushed out of business and two had been going for over thirty years :shock: :evil: So yes they may sell some good ish gear but in my experience most of their staff know very little about bikes and fix most things with a hammer

 

[GoldenEraMTB]

there seems to be a lot of negativity over Halfords going on...
i know it's retrobike but does it have to be retro-attitude?
the place has changed a lot over the years, they now stock a lot of high end bikes exclusive to halfords that are taking the top places in bike of the year awards.
The carrera brand has evolved massively, yes they used to be the equivalent of the apollos, but now easily compare to the GT range, especially when price comes into it.
Do halfords make bike components? NO! so why is a halfords bike classed as a bad thing, the Boardman FS Team i have recently bought is one of the best performing bikes i have ever ridden.
if you are looking at the cheap end, a £100 bike is a £100 bike wherever it comes from,
if you bought one would you enjoy it? no! but hey, many people do want to buy them and someone has to sell them.

I understand your point but it is not what they sell that is the problem :roll: It is their aggressive marketing techniques that have undercut many small bike shops and forced them out of business :shock: :twisted: In my town we used to have six bike shops,two high end ones , two raleigh centres , lawfords which had a very long running club,and a low end kids type bike shop as soon as halfords opened their bike departments five of our local shops yes FIVEwere pushed out of business and two had been going for over thirty years :shock: :evil: So yes they may sell some good ish gear but in my experience most of their staff know very little about bikes and fix most things with a hammer

well stated.

This is the story for many, if not most, LBS located in urban or suburban settings, when the big chain stores move into town, like WalMart, Target, etc. Big business is many times not good for small businesses, though ultimately the consumer is to blame.

 

[marin man]

Thanks Golden boy The only good outcome is that the lawfords cycling club is still going strong even though most members are in their 70s :shock: