The New Serotta?

[weatherman]

http://saratogaframeworks.com/

Interesting. Looks like they are doing some work for Tomac.

[MattTuck]

Some of those bikes in the gallery look really good. Why weren't those on the serotta website????

They kind of kept the same "S"... slightly modified.

[54ny77]

well fancy them apples, eh?

[Louis]

I wish all the best to the workers there, but I sure can't say the same for ownership / management.

[cmg]

sounds like they took some of the suggestions from the what ben should do next threads when his departure was announced. best of luck to them. it would be cool to see samples of the shops new works.

[54ny77]

wow, they cleaned up the website big time, slashed prices really big (pronto f& f&f and a ck headset for $3300), and it looks like they're makin' serottas and contract stuff.

good for them. i wish them the best of success, and most importantly continued jobs for the guys who actually make the stuff.

everything else is just noise.

[tch]

...the Meivici. Anyone else? They claim to be building Ottrots, so carbon is there somewhere -- but other than that everything else Serotta is ti.
?

[pbarry]

Is this the new white label site? Not the IF style start up I am still looking forward to.

[regularguy412]

Originally Posted by tch

...the Meivici. Anyone else? They claim to be building Ottrots, so carbon is there somewhere -- but other than that everything else Serotta is ti.
?

If they are building some in carbon, I wonder if they somehow kept the Poway facility or if they are sourcing custom tubes somewhere else.


Mike in AR

[FlashUNC]

The blog is particularly interesting about the Serotta name and DCG and Saratoga's relationship.

[MattTuck]

Originally Posted by tch

...the Meivici. Anyone else? They claim to be building Ottrots, so carbon is there somewhere -- but other than that everything else Serotta is ti.
?

I'm not sure. They are featuring this video on their website (which I'm surprised I missed whenever it first came out)....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBqHLNGl3xQ#t=60

[54ny77]

meivici in stock geos for 4500 f&f. now that's some good market pricing for a top shelf rig. just for yucks, a stock parlee z3 frame is ~$6k, and an sl4 tarmac is $3500.

http://serotta.com/meivici-sg/

this thing is downright smokin':



and all the other standard geo bikes are here.

http://serotta.com/standard-geometry...les-framesets/

[rustylion]

The employees deserve only the best.

The owners deserve everything that is coming to them.

Karma.

Originally Posted by Louis

I wish all the best to the workers there, but I sure can't say the same for ownership / management.

[rustylion]

So, one minute the Serotta craftsmen are making the best and most expensive frame sets in the world. The next they are making dumbed-down and cheap contract bikes for other brands and private label.

In the spirit of Saratoga's 150th anniversary of thorougbred racing, I see this as connecting the race horse to the plowshare.

First, let me say the craftsmen at Serotta are the best both as craftsmen and as human beings. I still have the deepest respect for them. They should be building bikes and they do deserve the best. In that light, this is a good move for them. They still have jobs doing what they love to do.

But, now let's look more closely at the ownership of Serotta or whoever owns the Saratoga Springs facility. BTW: at this point, I think these owners are different. It was not long ago that Brian Case publicly touted his marvelous opportunities at Serotta. I guess that did not go so well for him because then shortly thereafter, there was lots of public hype about the marvelous opportunties of Brian's merger with Divine Cycling Group International. Now, with even less time passing, I guess Brian thinks we have all forgotten his previous annoncement so he can now trumpet his new and improved formula for his Saratoga Springs investment.

I speculate that all this is pretty simple: a real estate investor trying to get top dollar out of a real estate investment he made in 2012. Spin the story, buy time and watch the value of the property go up. In Brian's recent actions, I see no loyalty to the industry and little desire to care for the Serotta owners that he was, until recently, excited about.

Aren't we smarter than this?

[rnhood]

Correct me if I'm wrong but, didn't he buy the company on the brink of bankruptcy? While you might be right in that someone else got the better deal (e.g., the bank, Ben, or whoever), why would he not be expected to make changes that might rescue the company? Should he keep running the company with the same management and idealism that have driven it to the brink of bankruptcy?

I certainly wish them success but the path ahead will not be easy. They do seem to be putting the building blocks in place first. The new website is better than anything Serotta ever had and retaining the craftsman that define the quality is also a feather in the cap. A Mevici frame set for $4500 should also get some interest. However, with virtually no dealer distribution its the marketing and sales that will be the challenge. Personally, I do not think they will make it but I hope that I am wrong. I continue to wish them well.