Final no matter it was I lauded Canyon Bicycles GmbH for its formidable monetary objectives, and I’m happy to report they’re getting even nearer to attaining them by firing a number of hundred folks:
They don’t need to do it, however they haven’t any alternative:
“Canyon is a close-knit group, united by a ardour for biking. It’s due to this fact significantly painful that now we have to half methods with valued colleagues. That makes it all of the extra vital to me to navigate this course of as responsibly as potential,” Arnold mentioned.
This assertion evokes Homer Simpson consuming his beloved pet lobster:
That is unlucky. However actually, what can Canyon do? In any case, gross sales are down 7%. SEVEN PERCENT! And you’ll’t say it’s as a result of Canyon bikes aren’t superior, as a result of they’re–perhaps even the awesomest bikes in all of cycledom!
[Gravel Product Manager Matthias Eurich, who may or may not still have a job, uses both hands to stroke the girthy awesomeness.]
No, the issue is due to “business oversupply and discounting:”
The latest monetary assertion from Canyon’s possession group, GBL, mentioned gross sales have been down 7% over the primary 9 months of the yr due to business oversupply and discounting.
So who’s chargeable for all this heedless oversupplying and discounting? Definitely not Canyon, whose web site options 37 completely different bikes within the street bike class alone, lots of that are being bought at a reduction:
Then there are the Grizls.
So many Grizls…
And how are you going to name your self a motorcycle firm in the event you don’t provide (12) separate classes of mountain bike?
Numerous folks learn the information and have coronary heart palpitations over what’s happening with Greenland or no matter. Not me. What causes me to lose sleep is considering HOW MANY GODDAMN BIKES THERE ARE on the earth, and the way we carry on making an increasing number of and extra of them. Presumably that is how cat rescue folks really feel about strays, and why they run round neutering them and shaming folks for purchasing cats from breeders as an alternative of adopting them from shelters. Why pay numerous cash for a bizarre inbred cat with deformed ears when you will get a traditional cat that’s about to be euthanized totally free?
Equally, why pay hundreds for a brand new plastic Fred sled with numerous proprietary components from Canyon when there are bikes like this in want of rescue?
And earlier than you reply, don’t trouble, I already know. It’s the identical cause why, in the event you ask me what number of bikes I’ve, I’m unable to reply with out counting in my head for a number of minutes first. As a twenty first century American I’m among the many most rapacious shoppers ever to have walked the earth, and as a bicycle owner I’m a member of an elite strike drive inside that group–kind of a SEAL Staff Six of buying issues we don’t want.
So imagine me, I get it, and on no account do I believe I’m by some means completely different or particular as a result of I’ve a number of classic bikes among the many [intern, go count the bikes] whole I retailer on three separate flooring of my New York Metropolis condo constructing. However I nonetheless fret about it. How does any bicycle anyplace have any worth in any respect at this level? You’d suppose they’d be just like the Papiermark throughout the Weimar Republic.
However I suppose we’ve seen all of it earlier than. For instance, Cannondale was in a position to journey the aluminum pattern and the mountain bike pattern and the street bike pattern for a number of a long time:
These have been heady days certainly:
He wore denims and sweatpants; favored conversations over emails; and opened workplaces in Europe and Japan however saved his manufacturing base in Bedford, Pa., which he visited twice weekly on flights aboard a company jet that he piloted.
Although in fact they finally flew too near the solar with the entire bike factor, Montgomery moved on to the glamorous world of medical billing, and Cannondale turned simply one other set of decals from Pon Holdings:
The corporate is now owned by Pon Holdings, a Dutch conglomerate. Mr. Montgomery later based a software program firm to deal with billing and medical information.
SO MANY BIKES. Cannondale’s web site says that the Synapse is the “solely mate you want:”
But when so then why are there like 70 completely different Cannondale street bikes?
After which there’s all the opposite firms that promote bicycles in all of the acquainted mainstream shapes (Specialised, Trek, Big, Bianchi, Pinarello…), plus all these new Chinese language manufacturers:
They made the bike business’s lunch for them, and now they’re consuming it:
Most of the Chinese language challenger manufacturers began off as contract producers for Western manufacturers, so even when they’re nonetheless comparatively unknown within the West, they’ve loads of expertise within the business. They often personal their factories too, so they’re vertically built-in, with their R&D, high quality assurance and fabrication carried out in-house.
At this level the one factor all these acquainted American and European bike firms have over the Chinese language ones is that they’re higher at branding stuff for the Western shopper. However within the digital age nothing appears “bizarre” anymore. Certain, a middle-aged Fred would possibly nonetheless pay a premium as a result of he’d reasonably his bike say “Colnago” on it than “Elves,” however somebody who grew up watching TikTok movies from everywhere in the world definitely gained’t:
I believed perhaps the title “Elves” was a kind of bizarre cross-cultural coincidences, however no, based on a preferred search engine’s AI characteristic the bikes actually are named after elves:
The title “Elves” for the Chinese language carbon bike firm comes from its objective to embody the qualities of elves: mild, mysterious, highly effective, and delightful, utilizing high-end carbon fiber. The model attracts inspiration from J.R.R. Tolkien’s Elvish language for product names (like Vanyar, which means truthful/mild) and goals for light-weight, robust, and aesthetically pleasing bikes, reflecting a great mix of nature and expertise of their design philosophy.
Ironic that the 2 most Tolkienesque firms in biking are Rivendell and Elves.
