Mike,
Have you thought about hiring a web designer for your “Manufacturer” web sites?
It’d lend you a lot more credibility to customers who come across your websites through search engines. I know you’re pretty good with internet marketing; a field I’m also in.
Cheap bikes are cheap. Kilos and Motomesses have some dinky parts out of the box, but so do SE Drafts and Lagers. The difference is with BD it’s the customer that deals with the minor issues, and with SE/Fuji bikes they never know because the LBS deals with it. Personally I’d rather do it myself, but I am BD’s target consumer - the cyclist with his own tools who prefers to build his own brand new bike than to pay for an LBS’ overhead.
Now, if certain components are actually problematic or faulty, it would be in the retailer’s interest to use something else. All it takes is a few emails and/or returns (ideally).
[quote=shiftpgdn]Mike,
Have you thought about hiring a web designer for your “Manufacturer” web sites?
It’d lend you a lot more credibility to customers who come across your websites through search engines. I know you’re pretty good with internet marketing; a field I’m also in.[/quote]
All sites are being redone this year
Moto site will be up soon
Gravity site being redone next
But 2010 is a year of lots of web work for us including several new sites
Now that I’m down to two bikes, my 2 wheeled family is 100% BD. I’ve had my Kilo for just over 4 years and still love the thing. I was never plagued with broken and inferior parts as other people seem to be, but I also took the bike apart and rebuilt it myself (under close supervision from a shoprat friend) within a month of owning it. 4 years later, there’s not a stock part on the bike, but nothing failed catastrophically or anything. I just wanted nicer parts or parts that fit me more specifically (properly sized bars, more comfortable saddle, tried my hand at wheelbuilding, etc).
On the subject of parts though, I will say I’m not crazy about the no-name bottom brackets that came on both of my bikes. The FSA cranks that seem to come on all their road bikes can eat a jar of dicks too. My Motobecane Vent Noir came with (imo) a nice Ritchey stem and seatpost. The shifting was a little weird from the start but I’ve gotten it dialed in at this point. I think BD is a great way to get a quality bike if you already know what you’re doing and don’t want to pay the premium for better setup, support, maintenance, whatever that you’d get in a shop.
When is the $300 steel 29er coming?
My critique of the stock build of Windsor Cyclos…
First of all, the wheels are shit. Not tensioned right, shitty Alex rims, tank wheels. Even Aksiums would be an upgrade.
Poop seatpost, poor stem. Setback seatpost on a 72 degree seat tube is a bad idea. Bars are crap - why not stock FSA Omegas since they’re cheap/popular? And Ritchey stem/post would be worth it even if the price was a little higher.
Crankset - gearing makes sense for cross (36/46) but FSA cranks are no bueno… why not 105?
Brakes, Shimano 105/Ultegra parts and the frame and fork are all good.
Stock tires - utter garbage. Kenda Kwicks? Not durable and not even safe, because cornering hard on them, no matter the PSI, almost certainly guarantees a slide-out.
Dawes DEADEYE now out and shipping at $319 delivered with disc hubs; gravity crank; full 4130 with disc tabs
selling very quick already
http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/dawes/deadeye.htm
BTW - the Orange is insane in person and out selling Black and White
[quote=SuperVillain]Cheap bikes are cheap. Kilos and Motomesses have some dinky parts out of the box, but so do SE Drafts and Lagers. The difference is with BD it’s the customer that deals with the minor issues, and with SE/Fuji bikes they never know because the LBS deals with it. Personally I’d rather do it myself, but I am BD’s target consumer - the cyclist with his own tools who prefers to build his own brand new bike than to pay for an LBS’ overhead.
Now, if certain components are actually problematic or faulty, it would be in the retailer’s interest to use something else. All it takes is a few emails and/or returns (ideally).[/quote]
A friend of mine got a Draft for $280 from a bike shop, which is less than the Windsor Hour I purchased. Not a very positive comparison for Bikes Direct, whose whole business model is built on being significantly cheaper than the ‘competitors’. I think the Windsor was a better bike, but it was also $50 more after shipping & tax.
Don’t get me wrong, there are a couple BD bikes I wouldn’t mind buying, but if I do I won’t be under some ridiculous assumption that I’m paying half the price of an identical bike with a name brand. The BD dude’s responses smack of wishful thinking, and I don’t live in a fairyland where everything is whiskey and unicorns.
Dawes DEADEYE now out and shipping at $319 delivered with disc hubs; gravity crank; full 4130 with disc tabs
selling very quick already
http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/dawes/deadeye.htm
BTW - the Orange is insane in person and out selling Black and White[/quote]
This post kinda bothers me. I have nothing personal against you Mike, as I’ve already said, but none of the other vendors here spam threads with links selling their stuff. I know, you were asked a specific question about a specific bike, but rather than answering with “Oh, we have one out now. Check the site if you want some details” you posted what equates to a sale pitch. I feel safe in saying we don’t want Bike Forums-esque BD threads.
There was a discussion a long time ago here (I tried searching, but I don’t remember who said what or even what thread it was in) about this behavior, and everyone seemed to agree that we didn’t want large vendors here as anything beyond a regular user. The H+Son wheels guy is here, and while he’s posted lots about his wheels when asked, I don’t think he’s ever posted a sales pitch or anything beyond a link to his site in his signature (also, a raffle. Though if I’m wrong, someone with a better memory please correct me!). Yet he also contributes on a personal scale, something which past history shows you don’t do.
This isn’t a personal attack dude. You’re more than welcome to stay and contribute, but unless the rest of the people here have a major objection, I’m going to ask you stop selling your bikes on our website. There is a marketplace forum, and if you really feel the need to announce a new model or want to give group buy discounts or whatever else is business related, you can post it there (unless the rest of tarck is not ok with that).
nazi mod
delete this thread
I’m with Jim.
MIJ HTIW M’I
How about I de-mod Jim and mod Mike?
bears direct
Dammit, Jim!
Mike,
As can be seen by this thread your brands suffer from perceived (be it legitimate or not) quality issues. People have made several thoughtful suggestions on how you can improve the value of your brands by showcasing the quality associated with them. Regardless of what other companies do you can easily go out and buy a Giant OCR3 in “medium” and weigh it with pedals, then post your offering in both the same group level (which should cost less) and at the same cost level (which should have higher specs) and show the weight in both. In addition it might be worth while to offer a $25-40 bike prep feature that includes a certified mechanic pulling the bike apart, greasing it, truing the wheels, etc. You would have to watch like a hawk that the mechanic actually did the prescribed work though as the first fuckup and you will take a huge hit for it. As someone who regularly works to create value and standardize workflow such jumps are hard but truly beneficial to longterm business growth.
I personally think the Kilo line is wonderful for the price and have recommended it a number of times to people. I even had a deposit on your first line of ti road bikes but had to cancel due to the lead time extensions.
Nate
Also, I’ve never seen a BD bike come with a headset shimmed with cardboard, but I sure have seen a Republic Bike ship that way.