 |
| Mount Tam |
My riding partner had picked up a thorn in his tire so we needed to do some field repairs before we could complete our ride. While putting a new tube a rider pulled up on a slick new carbon fiber 26" hardtail mountain bike.
As I wrestled with a tight fitting tire my riding partner struck up a conversation with the guy on the carbon bike. The carbon bike rider said he was working for a new bike company called LaMere that specialized in custom carbon road and mountain bikes from China.
Looking at the prices of the frames being offered (prices ranged from $800 for a hartail mountain bike to $900 for a dual squishie, complete bikes go up from there) a Chinese made carbon frame will cost you roughly half of what a US made steel frame will and that's rather depressing.
I've talked to a couple of smaller builders and most of them talked about the challenges of being a one man operation and one has gone as far as to say that becoming a frame builder was the worst economic decision he has ever made.
With inexpensive, light weight frames being made customer direct its just going to be one more challenge for small businesses to overcome.
Personally I think we are going to see more and more smaller frame builders go under. I am also expecting to see some smaller independent bicycle dealers (IBDs) go close their doors too. Granted, you can't hold up a bicycle to your computer monitor and have some one on the other side of the screen lean forward and adjust your shifting or true your wheel but if people insist on shopping price point rather than quality or service I don't see any other way for the industry to pull out of its nosedive.
it's very good for me......thanks.... Cheap Carbon Bicycles
ReplyDeleteAdam certainly raises some interesting points. The survival of IBDs is dependent on them changing with the times. Electric bikes are one of the emerging trends that can help them of they embrace the idea.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't be surprised if you see more dealers and vendors trending towards a 'buy on-line, pick up in store' policy. Buying a bike without a test ride, to me, seems rather foolish. Why would you want to tell your friends "it rides like crap but at least it was cheap."
ReplyDeleteI'd never be caught dead on one of those Chinese-made, cookie-cutter carbon frames. I'm hoping that many of us will continue to buy frames made by craftsmen.
ReplyDeleteAdam, what is your point? So I should not sell my product because I want to keep the independent frame manufacturers in business? I'm all about the small frame manufacturer, I'm actually looking for a custom Ti road bike builder now and have not settled on one yet, but do I have the budget to buy all custom Ti frames for my full susp, my hardtail, and my road bike? No, I'm not making enough money off LaMere Cycles (yet) to be able to afford that...and how many people out there can afford to have all custom Ti or steel frames made for all their bikes? I'm not saying our open-mould carbon frames that we purchase direct from Asia are superior or have magical powers, I'm saying they are the same quality as all the big brand names (Specialized, Trek, Santa Cruz, Cannondale, etc....) at way less cost and with a lifetime warranty. Our biz model is to custom build your bike with whatever group, wheelset, and components you want, at am amazingly great price, so I'm putting people on sweet bikes at a fraction of the cost of what they would pay for a brand name bike, what am I doing wrong and why am I the bad guy? I'm a bike junkie like you, maybe more so, I worked at Park Tool as their marketing manager, I lived and worked in Taiwan and China and speak Mandarin, I know how the bike biz works, and I want to try to subsidize my riding lifestyle doing something I love which is customizing sweet bikes for my people, so please tell me why I am the Man, what I am doing wrong, why I am the bad guy, because I really want to know.
ReplyDeleteJP LaMere of LaMere Cycles
It's also important to remember that not every Asia or Chinese carbon frame being sold is taking away an equal sale in the states, in fact it is creating a sale that wouldn't have happened otherwise in some cases. For example, I called several custom ti builders for my next fat frame, looking specifically at Ti. I called all the usual suspect's and won't bother listing them here, but they would have all been great choices and I would have loved any of them. Average cost was approx. $2500-$3200. I can't afford that, so no sale was made on that. As in, I was going to do without. Now I see the Lamere carbon fat frame and fork for half the cost (less than half actually when you consider you get the fork with the frame on Lamere) and BAM....found my next fat bike. In short, $2800 = NO sale what-so-ever, $1400 = a sale and patronizes a small bike guy taking a big chance AND doing battle with the big boys. Plus, when you buy a frame/fork module, obviously you need other parts so then I will be supporting yet another store in the states somewhere by buying said parts for the frame that I never would have bought if "Made in the USA" was my only frame choice. Plus, the more you ride the more expendable stuff you go through. Chamois Butter, tires, cycling specific clothing, helmet's, etc. All stuff I buy at my LBS. Am I supporting the "Asia carbon frame business" when I buy something from Asia like a Lamere? Yes, but so is everyone else riding their "carbon whatever" they purchased from their LBS because that's where their frame was made to. So how is this any different? Fact is, your local LBS is already stocking carbon frames made overseas and selling them to you, so I am not sure I understand why this is supposed to be so different or evil.
ReplyDeleteExcellent points Jeff. I met with a Giant rep a little while ago and I'm beginning to get a better idea what carbon does, what it doesn't do and how much handwork that goes into it, even if those hands belong to people who live far away. I spoke to JP LaMere a little while ago and he seems like a good guy. He's a bike nut like a lot of us and he's definitely not getting rich doing this.
ReplyDeleteThe point I made with JP is he and companies like Swtichback Bikes are on the leading edge of where the industry is going and if you can get a high quality frame and fork that rocks your world for $1400 then more power to you.
With this sort of competition, however, I don't see the independent bicycle dealerships staying around much longer let along many custom frame builders.