Univega so underrated?
- Thread starter Gaddmeister
- Start date
I picked one up a few months ago, an Alpina 502 in dark metallic red, with full STX groupset and Mavic rims.
Rode it for a bit and have just sold it only because I needed a bit of space in the garage and picked up another runabout.
Really nice bike and sorely overlooked as not many people know them.
Rode it for a bit and have just sold it only because I needed a bit of space in the garage and picked up another runabout.
Really nice bike and sorely overlooked as not many people know them.
Gaddmeister
Retrobike Rider
Re:
I also wonder if they were confused with the Universal brand in this country?
I also wonder if they were confused with the Universal brand in this country?
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Re: Re:
A few people said this when I had my first Univega years ago :facepalm:
Gaddmeister":2lhrykle said:
A few people said this when I had my first Univega years ago :facepalm:
Gaddmeister
Retrobike Rider
Re:
Me too!
Me too!
focomat 1c
Retro Guru
Re:
To this day my bike remains 'unbranded' after a respray for the same reason !
I still miss the ' Max Mudroom ' sticker
To this day my bike remains 'unbranded' after a respray for the same reason !
I still miss the ' Max Mudroom ' sticker
vtwinvince
Senior Retro Guru
I have a minty lugged bonded carbon frameset waiting to be built, and you don't see a lot of them around.
Titiritero
Retro Guru
Re:
My opinion is that Univegas are underrated NOW not so much for what happened back in the 90's, but because of the brand right now. They still exist but make very impersonal and average bikes, so nobody is very excited about them, meaning that unless you were into bikes in the 90's, you wouldn't care now.
Same happens to other brands that have lost their appeal now, but were doing great bikes back then: Mongoose, GT, Wheeler (Germany), etc. Try telling someone new to mtb that a Mongoose from the 90's is an amazing bike but now you can find them in Walmart...
Breezer left the mtb market in the late 90's to make urban bikes. They tried to rejoin in 2010 when they were bought by Advance Sports, but since nobody new to the sport knew them, their mtb range has been lagging big time, now only having one model left as far as I know... Nothing to do with the great reputation of its early models.
My opinion is that Univegas are underrated NOW not so much for what happened back in the 90's, but because of the brand right now. They still exist but make very impersonal and average bikes, so nobody is very excited about them, meaning that unless you were into bikes in the 90's, you wouldn't care now.
Same happens to other brands that have lost their appeal now, but were doing great bikes back then: Mongoose, GT, Wheeler (Germany), etc. Try telling someone new to mtb that a Mongoose from the 90's is an amazing bike but now you can find them in Walmart...
Breezer left the mtb market in the late 90's to make urban bikes. They tried to rejoin in 2010 when they were bought by Advance Sports, but since nobody new to the sport knew them, their mtb range has been lagging big time, now only having one model left as far as I know... Nothing to do with the great reputation of its early models.
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I think its a lot to do with the shillings and Pence.
These companies are about profit, and not nostalgia. Its bottom line always, it was the same BITD and its no different now. Advance sports owns multiple brands, for example the Breezer Repack range is no longer in the market place, but it is, but marketed under the Fuji Brand name. All owned by the same company. (obviously there have been tweaks too the platform to accommodate new components in the three years since the last Breezer badge "repack" model but you get the gist) ( and remember in this time (three years since the Repack model ceased) we have seen huge leaps into Gravel bikes etc (marketed as the new next best thing) which Breezer has been excelling in, as well as there transportation models)
https://www.fujibikes.com/usa/bikes/mou ... n/auric-lt
Univega was an interesting company BITD, been around since the early days of the Mtb but a later entry into the brit market.
There were two ways to do it here bitd, the way that ATB sales and PACE did it, or the way others like Univega did it.
Both Pace and ATB sales with Marin, held there ground with supply, and offered strict areas for there dealers, each dealer had an area None of them were on top of each other, and you had more chance of getting a date with Princess Diana than you did getting any huge discount from a dealer.
With great marketing and controlled supply and discounts being frowned upon , this increases the perception of there Value and there perceived quality. This doesn't fade over time, it actually increases the perception.
E.Reece importer for Univega bitd, would buy container loads (as they all do), but do deals with big dealers who sold in great numbers. for example, a Univega 5.7 could be bought in bulk, i forget the retail price now, but for argument it was 499, if you had enough money you could buy the quantity and retail them for 299 (fact). this was the current model year too. £200 pounds discount on a current model at retail...! As you can imagine they sold like hot cakes. people drove miles to buy them.
The Importer made a margin, the dealer made a margin, the end user, got a bargain.
But this doesn't create the right image, its a short sighted business model, it doesn't promote longevity in the Brand name, or future proof it. Hence why they arent coveted Now.
In truth, Both Marin, Kona and Univega were all made in the Far east, and very little separated any of them, other than marketing and those who controlled the flow of sales.
Titiritero":32l99yvk said:
I think its a lot to do with the shillings and Pence.
These companies are about profit, and not nostalgia. Its bottom line always, it was the same BITD and its no different now. Advance sports owns multiple brands, for example the Breezer Repack range is no longer in the market place, but it is, but marketed under the Fuji Brand name. All owned by the same company. (obviously there have been tweaks too the platform to accommodate new components in the three years since the last Breezer badge "repack" model but you get the gist) ( and remember in this time (three years since the Repack model ceased) we have seen huge leaps into Gravel bikes etc (marketed as the new next best thing) which Breezer has been excelling in, as well as there transportation models)
https://www.fujibikes.com/usa/bikes/mou ... n/auric-lt
Univega was an interesting company BITD, been around since the early days of the Mtb but a later entry into the brit market.
There were two ways to do it here bitd, the way that ATB sales and PACE did it, or the way others like Univega did it.
Both Pace and ATB sales with Marin, held there ground with supply, and offered strict areas for there dealers, each dealer had an area None of them were on top of each other, and you had more chance of getting a date with Princess Diana than you did getting any huge discount from a dealer.
With great marketing and controlled supply and discounts being frowned upon , this increases the perception of there Value and there perceived quality. This doesn't fade over time, it actually increases the perception.
E.Reece importer for Univega bitd, would buy container loads (as they all do), but do deals with big dealers who sold in great numbers. for example, a Univega 5.7 could be bought in bulk, i forget the retail price now, but for argument it was 499, if you had enough money you could buy the quantity and retail them for 299 (fact). this was the current model year too. £200 pounds discount on a current model at retail...! As you can imagine they sold like hot cakes. people drove miles to buy them.
The Importer made a margin, the dealer made a margin, the end user, got a bargain.
But this doesn't create the right image, its a short sighted business model, it doesn't promote longevity in the Brand name, or future proof it. Hence why they arent coveted Now.
In truth, Both Marin, Kona and Univega were all made in the Far east, and very little separated any of them, other than marketing and those who controlled the flow of sales.
Re:
What was nice, about Univega 5.4 and upward, you had folk arriving to buy BSOs and they went away with a much better bike for about 100 quid more.
Thats got to have got some fellas into this thing of ours, that may not ever have considered it if they had bought the BSO.
What was nice, about Univega 5.4 and upward, you had folk arriving to buy BSOs and they went away with a much better bike for about 100 quid more.
Thats got to have got some fellas into this thing of ours, that may not ever have considered it if they had bought the BSO.
