Oh Boy!! Here's a topic that gets me going. So many things to say, I don't know where to start!
Given the two brands discussed in this thread, MASI and RALEIGH, with glorious past successes, and rich histories, it really makes you scratch your head to think that they believe their current products are going to give them newfound success in today's marketplace.
I believe more than ever that you need to stand out to be successful selling bikes. What's that expression "rising tides lift all boats"? Well, the tides are out!!! Look what happened to Schwinn. Their bikes were out of step with the market, and they went "poof".
Consolidation happens when unit sales are down and market share becomes the only way to grow. Far from "stickering up" nondescript frames, the current successful brands have fantastically unique manufacturing and technology. Can someone name a copycat brand that is successful in the bike business?? My impression is that 50% of the bike industry is one bad season away from bankruptcy.
Whomever thinks someone is getting rich putting Masi stickers on aluminum frames needs their head shaken. These bikes are on ebay because they can't give them away to dealers!
The 50's 60's and 70's were such glorious times in the bike biz, because there were some great economic times in those periods. The bike boom in the 70's allowed a lot of great opportunities to the industry, even if you weren't so good at your job! Today, even small mistakes can mean the end. Every business has so little margin for error.
Just a few examples for those who "slag" the current road biz as "all the same", here's a few examples. In 2004, at least 50% of the road bikes in the USA will be from the big 3 brands:
Cannondale: Handmade AL in Bedford Penn. Trek OCLV: Handmade Carbon in Wisconsin Litespeed: Handmade Ti in Tennessee
Kinda makes you think?
Grant McLean toronto.ca
e-RICHIE wrote: turning raleigh into a "brand" like all the other firms that, say, sticker up nondescript product from asia and market it as their own. e-RICHIE chester ct
From: Richard M Sachs <richardsachs@juno.com> To: BobHoveyGa@aol.com Cc: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Subject: Re: [CR]Re: How the mighty are fallen Message-ID: <20040304.220059.2772.34.richardsachs@juno.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Precedence: list Message: 14
funny - back in the CR list "old days" this subject was debated every other week. i've been on both sides of this issue, and i'm not even a blond!!!!! i'm curious as to why folks think these framebuilder slash icon types want to stay at their benchs all day long until retirement and "create" those dang same ol' things year after year. etcetera. over "there", framebuilding is not the touchy feely artsy phartsy profession that we have/had projected it to be. most who were doing it were born into the family business or entered it after grade school; it wasn't to exercise a creative bent or to "keep the flame burning". those who succeeded at it in various eras should be allowed the opportunity of profiting from the market they helped create. to a builder, i never met any italian who believed it was a virtue to stand at a bench when the option to "grow the business" was possible. e-RICHIE chester, ct
BobHoveyGa@aol.com writes: Sad isn't it? The good news is that Masi (Alberto that is) apparently has regained US rights to his name so perhaps these Chinese bikes are going to get some competition on our shores. Even better (and on-topic) news is that some of those Italian Masi's will be KOF's... according to the ad in the third
Asphalt, we should expect to see a steel internally-lugged 3V, and a Sachs-lugged Nuevo Prestige. I still like the old bikes better, but I can't help but
welcome the news... could it be that round steel tubes might become a new fashion in the bike industry?
Bob Hovey Columbus, GA ------------------------------
Date: Fri, 05 Mar 2004 03:07:53 +0000 From: mpcup70@comcast.net To: Richard M Sachs <richardsachs@juno.com> Cc: BobHoveyGa@aol.com Cc: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Subject: Re: [CR]Re: How the mighty are fallen Message-ID: <030520040307.10843.736b@comcast.net> Precedence: list Message: 15
those who succeeded at it in various eras should be allowed the opportunity of profiting from the market they helped create. to a builder, i never met any italian who believed it was a virtue to stand at a bench when the option to "grow the business" was possible. e-RICHIE chester, ct
Beautiful, Ritchie, and dead on!!!
Regards,
Mike Carney
snipped from below: "When Raleigh stopped making machines in Nottingham, it died..."
why? e-RICHIE chester,ct WHY?
Because there was a time when English bikes were made in England by = Englishmen who actually rode the bikes they used. Whole generations were = raised on these machines. They reflected the national cycling traditions = just as the now vanished French and Italian national makes. Today, they = are made by cheap Third World labour. No one is going to tell that = doesn't reflect in their quality. At least no one belonging to a site = dedicated to classic bicycles!!=20
Peter Kohler
Washington DC USA