want to buy a clincher front for my new aero setup at a somewhat reasonable price - make sense or wait it out?

---

==================
Ditch the carbage - Go keto!

I just saw this on BRAIN:

http://www.bicycleretailer.com/...d-fiber-wheel-assets

---

--------------------------------------------------------
John Behme
Charlotte, NC

food for thought, for anyone looking at a cheap Mad Fiber wheelset.

---

-------------------------------
´Get the most aero and light bike you can get. With the aero advantage you can be saving minutes and with the weight advantage you can be saving seconds. In a race against the clock both matter.´

BMANX

And on the same page, there was an article stating that Saratoga Frameworks (i.e. the old Serotta factory) was shutting down.

Good lord, Divine Cycling Group royally fooked up 3 companies in the bike biz.....what a colossal train wreck they turned out to be.

---

Chicago Cubs - 2016 WORLD SERIES Champions!!!!

"If ever the time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin." - Samuel Adams

Wow! Did I read that right? Stapleton sold VoiceStream Wireless to Deutsche Telekom for $50 billion!! Bob could buy and own the whole Pro-Tour!!

---

---

Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

Good lord, Divine Cycling Group royally fooked up 3 companies in the bike biz.....what a colossal train wreck they turned out to be.

I don't know the full story with this, but often the higher level mess-up comes from people thinking these bike businesses, be they a bike company or an accessories or component company, are going to somehow be big money making businesses. When in fact they really are micro-businesses, that should be managed and run that way with appropriate expectations. Make what you can make, and sell what you can sell. Do it all so that you can make a bit of money and realize a bit of growth.


As someone else said, these are often niche products within an niche market - how BIG is it ever going to get? How many units are you ever going to sell? This is not the fast food business? It's not the software business? It's not real-estate. Heck it's not the general bike business. The better approach is like many of the exhibitors at NAHBS - which is going on right now. It's a hobby and it's a passion. Leave it at that.

---

---

Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

There is so much to this story that has gone untold and unfortunately will never come out due to legal papers preventing anyone from talking. Suffice it to say that it all could have been avoided but alas, the smart guys in the room just wouldn't listen to the bike guys. It's sad that only Blue Bicycles survived and moves on and that so many people lost their jobs. It wasn't just Devine or Divine, it was Lake Rudd Capital that also screwed the pooch. Just glad it's all behind us and we can now get back to selling bikes.

Fleck, as you well know, the bike industry (and enthusiast categories, in general) has seen more than its fair share of "business" people who were gonna show the bike people "how business gets done." And while there are a lot of things that can (and should) be learned from general business practices, there are very valid reasons why the bike biz sometimes operates the way it does.

The fact that these "business" people don't understand the markets they are entering violates the first principle of sales & marketing...know your audience. Staggering.....

The irony is that I have gone the other way....from the bike biz into other consumer product categories. The skills that I learned in the bike biz have GREATLY helped me outmaneuver my competition more times than I can count.

---

Chicago Cubs - 2016 WORLD SERIES Champions!!!!

"If ever the time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin." - Samuel Adams

Well, that was what the company sold for....Bob didn't pocket that amount. (But he made a whole fookin' truckload of cash, no doubt!!)

---

Chicago Cubs - 2016 WORLD SERIES Champions!!!!

"If ever the time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin." - Samuel Adams

The irony is that I have gone the other way....from the bike biz into other consumer product categories. The skills that I learned in the bike biz have GREATLY helped me outmaneuver my competition more times than I can count.

I have found the same.

Well said. Agree with the whole premise of your post.

---

---

Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog