Kelly frames closing shop

[Redturbo]

Sad to see Chris go.
http://www.kellybike.com/1st_rrwhatnot.html

turbo

[mosca]

Sad to hear - hope he's moving on to bigger and better things.

Also noticed that Matt Chester is no longer taking orders.

http://mattchester.livejournal.com/

let's hope this isn't a continuing trend.

[capitán]

let's hope this isn't a continuing trend.

Sad to say you can bet it is. The fact is that most people are more likely to spend the same or even more money on a boring production frame because it's carbon or superlight or high-tech, instead of getting a custom frame that's perhaps even better personally suited to them.

I mean, besides the amount of time and work that goes into hand-building a custom frame for relatively little money, these cats also have to pay for things like liabiliity insurance and renting shop space (in many cases). To top it off, before collecting their hard-earned money, they also often have to rely on third-party individuals (e.g., painters) who aren't always as reliable as we'd like.

I hope I'm wrong.

[bluesea]

Sad to say you can bet it is. The fact is that most people are more likely to spend the same or even more money on a boring production frame because it's carbon or superlight or high-tech, instead of getting a custom frame that's perhaps even better personally suited to them.




I would tend to disagree with that. If anything the frame building market is reaching or has reached its saturation point.

[goonster]

The fact is that most people are more likely to spend the same or even more money on a boring production frame because it's carbon or superlight or high-tech, instead of getting a custom frame that's perhaps even better personally suited to them.

I don't think Matt's decision had anything to do with lack of demand.

Kelly was not primarily a custom builder (although custom geometry was available).

I had seriously been thinking about placing an order with Matt (was possibly the only Ti bike I'd consider), and Kelly also produced very nice bikes at very, very good prices and they'll be missed.

http://www.oldskooltrack.com/files/images/chester.gif

[crossjunkee]

There has been some inventory trickling onto ebay. Keep your eye out!

Kelly had a great eye for design. His frames will be missed.

[e-RICHIE]

I mean, besides the amount of time and work that goes into hand-building a custom frame for relatively little money, these cats also have to pay for things like liabiliity insurance and renting shop space (in many cases).

most of these cats pass these costs along to
the cats doing the paying, otherwise they'za
be taking a major league cabbage hit atmo.

[Fixed]

bro after riding a few forks on my miele the kelly fork I got from a forum member for $40.00 was god sent it 's been great . try looking for a steel bike with a steel fork it's getting harder to find all the time . cheers

[Climb01742]

The fact is that most people are more likely to spend the same or even more money on a boring production frame because it's carbon or superlight or high-tech, instead of getting a custom frame that's perhaps even better personally suited to them.

boring frames aren't limited to "factory" frames. nor are quality frames limited to hand-built frames.

[Grant McLean]

I would tend to disagree with that. If anything the frame building market is reaching or has reached its saturation point.


Yes, I agree with that.
The current upswing in road sales has brought a lot of choices to the market.

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/bicycle-links.html


g

[flydhest]

boring frames aren't limited to "factory" frames. nor are quality frames limited to hand-built frames.

For example, Merlins. They are boring quality frames. Quality because they were designed by TK, boring because Ti bikes, built by good welders last forever and you don't have a valid excuse to buy another one.

But maybe that's not the type of boring you meant.

[bluesea]

boring frames aren't limited to "factory" frames. nor are quality frames limited to hand-built frames.

Exactly, lots of nice production bikes out there that meet the needs of the majority of riders. No factory bikes, no LBSs, and that would be a very sad thing.

[alembical]

Sad to see.

Makes me real glad that I have a Kelly Singlespeed cross bike already.... but real sad that my two bikes that give me the most enjoyment are now no longer made (other being a CSI).

Alembical

[capitán]

I should have stated that "boring" is my personal opinion. Obviously most don't share this opinion or they wouldn't be buying them.

There isn't a single $2500+ frameset in any LBS I've been to that I would rather buy instead of plunking down the same amount for one of the fine craftsmen who do it one-at-a-time. Of course, it is a good idea to choose your builder wisely.

[Marcusaurelius]

For example, Merlins. They are boring quality frames. Quality because they were designed by TK, boring because Ti bikes, built by good welders last forever and you don't have a valid excuse to buy another one.

But maybe that's not the type of boring you meant.


I recall reading a frame durability test done by Damon Rinard and a Merlin frame was one of the first to break. A Derosa SLX frame didn't fare much better. I believe only three frames survived the test: Trek OCLV, Cannondale and a forgotten third.

[Fixed]

it (the 3rd) was principia bro but in the real world i broke an oclv in under a year with 300 mile weeks . cheers

[bfd]

Bruce Gordon talked about plight of small builders on the ibob list awhile back, and no e-ritchie with his 4 year wait list probably doesn't fit into this catagory:

I'm writing to expose "the dirty little secret of the bike biz", that no one
wants to talk about.
First I want to commend Don for the show. It was the most unique gathering
I have been to in my 35 years in the bike business, it was also the most
troubling.
I write this because I think most of the visitors are totally unaware of the
plight of the small builder.
First - I really like bikes, I like making them, I like thinking about them,
I like riding them - I hate the bike business. Like many of you - I might
say that I am passionate about bikes.
One of the most disturbing moments of the weekend was when I was having
dinner at the hotel after spending an exhausting day at the show talking to
people. A builder whom I really respect, who has been building about as
long as I have, quietly ordered a bowl of soup. I could tell it was not
because he was not hungry - it was because entrees were $15 to $20.
In the last 18 months I have been to 5 shows like the NAHBS. Don's show in
San Jose was the biggest. I have been to the Velo Rendezvous in Pasadena 2
times, the Cirque in North Carolina, and the Handmade Bike Fair in Tokyo
Japan. In each show except the NAHBS I have won first place awards for my
bikes. I am humbled and honored by the awards. However, it has cost over
$20,000 with almost no sales. I have sold 3 frames in the last 16 years. I
was hoping to sell some of the prize winners at the NAHBS show to recoup
some of my expenses. No luck (they are still all for sale) and I spent
$2000 to attend and display.
Making the fancy lugged frames bikes is very therapeutic for me. It gets me
back to my roots.
At the NAHBS I got to talk to some builders I have known and admired for 30+
years. We talked bikes, but we also talked business. I handed out an
anonymous questionnaire I had printed up about the business. Some of the
answers might shock you. The first question was "what should a competent
frame builder earn a year?" The most common answer was $40,000 to $50,000
per year - certainly not Greedy. I have a 30 year old friend who is a Union
Plumber who just turned Journeyman. He just started a job in San Francisco
doing copper piping in a new Condominium at $43 per hour + health coverage +
retirement. I should have been a plumber. I could have afforded to go the
Plumbing Shows and show off my fancy edged carved Copper plumbing fittings.
I found in the questionnaire that no one including the well known small
builders even made $35,000. Most were about $20,000, which is where I fit
in. I asked if they could ever retire on their current income - everyone
replied NO. As for health insurance - 75% had no insurance, or if they had
insurance - most had it through their spouse.
When I started building in 1974 with Albert Eisentraut he would say: "You
won't get rich building frames, but, you can make a living."
For the first 28 years of my business I could always afford an employee,
that has not been the case for the last 4 years. Even working alone I have
had to dip into my personal savings to pay the bills. If sales stay the
same, I have 1 or 2 more years left before my savings are gone.
Most of my business for the last 16 years has been making more utilitarian
TIG welded touring frames and racks. But even those TIGed bike sales have
dropped from 60 to 70 bikes a year to 25 last year. Is it because my stuff
is lousy?? I don't think so. I think I make pretty good, reasonably priced
touring stuff.
What has happened is that the business has been taken over by what I call
"Marketers". People who have discovered that "Why make it yourself if you
can have it made overseas for a lot less?". That way you can spend more on
marketing, which seems to work better. Fine, some will say, THAT IS
CAPITALISM!. But, something to think about is this. Over the past 30 odd
years I have seen many innovations in the bike biz. Almost all were from 1
to 3 person shops. A couple that come to mind are Merlin, the first viable
Titanium frames (early TI attempts, Teledyne, etc. just did not work) and
especially Mountain Bikes. Now, if you go into a bike shop - 90 to 95% of
Mountain Bikes are made in Taiwan or China. If we were to wait for the
Taiwanese or Chinese to invent the Mountain Bike - we would still be
waiting.
One of my most vivid memories of my first trip to France in the late 1980's
was that it was a country that almost everyone drove French cars. Not
because they were the best, they weren't (they have vastly improved since),
but because they were built by French people, and they liked to support
their own industry.
What has hurt my business the most are the Rivendells, Surlys, Somas,
Kogswells, etc. I AM NOT TALKING ABOUT THE QUALITY OF THEIR PRODUCTS!!!!!
When Rivendell started - they were only going to be made in USA, then, maybe
some made in Japan, then, OK maybe some from Taiwan. It is a slippery
slope, and there is NO chairlift back to the top of the mountain.
For me in California, I cannot compete with a $249 wholesale Surly Touring
frame. I know the argument - we are better in the USA doing the designing
and outsourcing the production. B.S. - People in India, Taiwan and China
have the same computers we have. In fact, my Hewlett Packard computer as
made in China. They also have people who can use them. The only jobs that
can not be outsourced are the jobs pouring your coffee at Starbucks, and the
job wearing an "Orange Apron" and saying - "Welcome to Home Depot".
That gets me back to the question of why I wrote the original post. If we
want to have the passionate, small, innovative builders - we have to start
buying from them. We need to buy from the people who are passionate about
building them, NOT just from the passionate people who Market them. I doubt
that the factory workers in Taiwan, or China, etc. are passionate about
bikes like you are.

If you got this far - thanks for reading and letting me get this off my
chest.
Regards,
Bruce Gordon
Bruce Gordon Cycles
www.bgcycles.com

[e-RICHIE]

Bruce Gordon talked about plight of small builders on the ibob list awhile back...


sorry -
i cannot buy into this.
we debated this on the framelist after
his initial post was made. i'd rather paste
links to the thread and posts than to revisit
it here at length atmo.

[zank]

sorry -
i cannot buy into this.
we debated this on the framelist after
his initial post was made. i'd rather paste
links to the thread and posts than to revisit
it here at length atmo.

I'm with e-RICHIE. I don't want to relive that experience.

[Climb01742]

you could say the same about the plight of struggling artists, writers, chefs, software developers, architects, people starting a million small businesses, the list is long of people striking out to follow their passion.

anyone who strikes out to follow their passion is to be applauded, in my book. but the world owes that person nothing. they will succeed or fail based on merit. being a bike builder is no harder -- nor less hard either -- than being a painter or a software writer.

IMO, people like richie and TK and dario are successful because they are good, not because they are "small" builders, or artisan builders, or whatever one wishes to call them.

maybe some builders fail simply because they aren't good enough, not because the bike business is evil or unfair. how many poets earn a living?

if a poet whined about how unfair the publishing business is, how much sympathy would he or she get? not everyone is donald hall. and not everyone is richie or TK or dario or ben or DK or carl strong or ...

maybe some folks fail because, well, they should.

signed someone who followed his passion to be his own boss and is daily struggling to make that dream true and who feels no one owes me nothing that i can't earn by busting my butt, along with a million other folks who have hung out their own shingle.

[fiamme red]

maybe some builders fail simply because they aren't good enough, not because the bike business is evil or unfair.Or maybe their marketing isn't good enough?

There are quite a few good builders out there whom only a few (probably local) people have heard of.

[IXXI]

please define 'marketing' in your context.

in mine, a small artisan builder's success has nothing to do with traditional marketing or especially, advertising.


signed, someone in advertising who is about to take over ownership of a small agency his boss has spent 32 years building into something pretty great that i hope i can make a success of as defined by me without running this fragile thing called 'a business' into the ground...... gulp. (OT: climb, i'd like to be in touch with you about this offline at some point.)

[Fixed]

bro to me the craftsmen artist that make great bikes are a treasure .that we should all support . instead of playing make believe euro-pro. i.m.h.o.
b.t.w. i went to a bike store the other day they have a colnago technos 2000 it's been in the store fore 5 years at least when my bro owned it... well the new cats saw me looking at it and said hey that is just right for you ...bro i said it's a 55 i ride 57 ... they said you know all the pros are ridding lots of post and long stem .... I told them bro i ride a 57 and i have 130 stem ...they said man that's to long . ..w.t.f. they would put someone on a bike 2 cm to small with a 110 stem just to make a sale... they must think we all fell off the dump truck yesterday.

[justinf]

Can someone please post the original Gordon link? thanks.

[e-RICHIE]

Can someone please post the original Gordon link? thanks.


start here
http://search.bikelist.org/getmsg.asp?Filename=classicrendezvous.10603.1068.e ml
i am very passionate about this subject and i
will drop my gloves in an instant to debate what
i thought was the drivel that initiated the thread
over on the phred list atmo.

[goonster]

bfd posted Bruce's message in toto above.

If that's not enough, here's a year's worth of messages from the framebuilder's list containing the word "Gordon"

http://search.bikelist.org/?SearchString=gordon&FMMod=-1y&FMModDate=&SortBy=MsgDate%5Bd%5D&Scope=framebuilders

[capitán]

signed someone who followed his passion to be his own boss and is daily struggling to make that dream true and who feels no one owes me nothing that i can't earn by busting my butt, along with a million other folks who have hung out their own shingle.

This is so self-righteous it makes me ill. Thanks for revisiting the American dream for us and all, but unchecked free-market capitalism is doing more to kill said dream than whether or not an entrepreneur is "good" at what they do. Go to Main Street in Smalltown USA and asked the merchants if their stores are closing because they're not good at selling products or because Wal-Mart built a new store in town.

[72gmc]

In the particular circumstances of Kelly and Chester, I wonder if perception isn't a significant factor in their failure. Or to use Climb's word, marketing. Each built bikes that are by most if not all accounts very high quality, and yet both projected a sort of utilitarian ethic. No insult to them or anyone posting on this board (or hosting it), but these two builders in particular seemed determined to represent frames as tools rather than fetish objects. A means to an end rather than a ticket to a dream. Think "bone stock" or "utilitiman."

By actively NOT trumpeting something sexy about materials or fabrication methods or other innovations, weren't they placing their fates solely in the hands of a finite population of true believers?

[zank]

Or maybe their marketing isn't good enough?



Isn't that part of being good enough to run a successful business?

[e-RICHIE]

In the particular circumstances of Kelly and Chester, I wonder if perception isn't a significant factor in their failure. Or to use Climb's word, marketing. Each built bikes that are by most if not all accounts very high quality, and yet both projected a sort of utilitarian ethic. No insult to them or anyone posting on this board (or hosting it), but these two builders in particular seemed determined to represent frames as tools rather than fetish objects. A means to an end rather than a ticket to a dream. Think "bone stock" or "utilitiman."

By actively NOT trumpeting something sexy about materials or fabrication methods or other innovations, weren't they placing their fates solely in the hands of a finite population of true believers?

okay i'm getting ready to imbibe.
and if i do i'm gonna paste links!
to rehash this for the the umpteenth
time, these cats are not selling bikes,
they are selling space - the space between
their heads. if shet is in a frenzy up there,
no one is going to want to hang with them.
in fairness to the examples you've named,
i truly believe they simply wanted to move
on, rather than be life-ers. otoh, the general
tone of the links to bg's message is that it's
written by someone who'd rather be somewhere
else atmo hiccup.

[Ken Robb]

One of my oldest friends is a retired home builder who used to love to harass me that as a salesman I was a parasite living off others who "really produced something". Well I get his point just a little and I would find it very satisfying to see progress from raw materials to finished products every day but I've got very little manual dexterity so that's not gonna happen.

I did shut him up a little bit with this formula however:
Production minus Sales equals Scrap.

I think to succeed a small frame builder really has to sell performance and beauty that is unavailable from the mass producers. A JB-quality paint job adds a lot to the desirability of the custom frames many of us lust after and, speaking for myself, hand-cut lugs can add more appeal. Note: I wrote "JB-quality" to denote that there may be others doing equal painting but he's the guy whose work is familiar to me.

[IXXI]

nicely put, ken.

[David Kirk]

Being a good builder in not nearly enough to insure success as a builder. Aside from building one needs to be good at -

accounting
marketing
purchasing
sales
inventory control
product design
etc.


You get the idea. In a one man shop the one man needs to wear all the hats. If any one of the hats doesn't fit then the whole thing will fall down.

The frustrating thing from my perspective is when builders talk about how little money can be made and how many 14 hour days they need to work. I earn a modest living and I work 8 hours a day and 5 days a week. More if I really want to but never because I have to. I think that the builders out there who say they eat nothing but PB & J and work 12 hours a day for 10K a year need to visit the above list and see what they need to improve. Most concentrate on welding and not on the other stuff. A builder will have nothing to build if he hasn't -

marketed properly
purchased smartly
sold something
kept the proper raw materials in stock
etc.

Building them is the easy part. Hey, thanks for reading.

Dave

P.S. Al Einstein defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. I think that some of the guys out there who have been struggling for 30 years might listen to Al.

[e-RICHIE]

Being a good builder in not nearly enough to insure success as a builder. Aside from building<cut>

great post -
for anyone who wants to search the phred archives
wrt to the thread that was referenced, what you'll
find is this: the folks that complain are the ones
that average 2-3 frame sales a year at most. their
pov is certainly valid enough for them to consider
picking up an abusive habit or two, but it doesn't
represent the status quo of the working f'builder atmo.

[Climb01742]

bro to me the craftsmen artist that make great bikes are a treasure .that we should all support . instead of playing make believe euro-pro. i.m.h.o.

fixed, i respect your opinions but here i disagree. buying a mass-produced bike doesn't mean (not always, anyway) that someone is a wannabe euro racer dude. someone can honestly feel that it is a great bike. loads of riders love 'nagos_for how they ride_not the euro vibe. i honestly love how a time frame rides_not 'cause boonen or bettini ride 'em. i think different riders can choose different frames for honest reasons, not fashion statements or wanna-be reasons. a time may not have_soul_but damn, it rides like a dream to me.

[Climb01742]

Being a good builder in not nearly enough to insure success as a builder. Aside from building one needs to be good at -

accounting
marketing
purchasing
sales
inventory control
product design
etc.


You get the idea. In a one man shop the one man needs to wear all the hats. If any one of the hats doesn't fit then the whole thing will fall down.

The frustrating thing from my perspective is when builders talk about how little money can be made and how many 14 hour days they need to work. I earn a modest living and I work 8 hours a day and 5 days a week. More if I really want to but never because I have to. I think that the builders out there who say they eat nothing but PB & J and work 12 hours a day for 10K a year need to visit the above list and see what they need to improve. Most concentrate on welding and not on the other stuff. A builder will have nothing to build if he hasn't -

marketed properly
purchased smartly
sold something
kept the proper raw materials in stock
etc.

Building them is the easy part. Hey, thanks for reading.

Dave

P.S. Al Einstein defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. I think that some of the guys out there who have been struggling for 30 years might listen to Al.

word.

[Ginger]

A Time has soul...it IS a bike after all...it's just a *different* soul.

[andy mac]

ok, any frame builders need a hand with ads??

i'd be happy to talk to anyone who needs a help. my old boss, let's just say he's one of the guys in the outside magazine bike club article, used to do lemonds ads for product not because he needed the bikes or money, but because he loves bikes.

i'm just about to start a big new job with demanding global clients that may drive me nuts. it'd be nice to have something on the side i cared about.

i can bore you the full resume if you pm. basically done award winning ads around the globe for a whole range of stuff including nike.

hit me up peoples - lemme know if you need a hand.

:beer:

[Brons2]

I earn a modest living and I work 8 hours a day and 5 days a week.

I think this is how much time e-Richie spends posting on the Internet :D

It's no wonder his waiting list is so long ;)

[72gmc]

Thanks for chiming in, Dave K et al. Very informative.

And thanks for your response in particular, e-richie. FWIW, I wasn't referencing the bruce gordon thread--I haven't even read it--just wondering aloud whether choosing a utilitarian esthetic isn't a shorter-term business strategy than providing a little special sauce. Ken put it better when he said, "a small frame builder really has to sell performance and beauty that is unavailable from the mass producers."

[Fixed]

fixed, i respect your opinions but here i disagree. buying a mass-produced bike doesn't mean (not always, anyway) that someone is a wannabe euro racer dude. someone can honestly feel that it is a great bike. loads of riders love 'nagos_for how they ride_not the euro vibe. i honestly love how a time frame rides_not 'cause boonen or bettini ride 'em. i think different riders can choose different frames for honest reasons, not fashion statements or wanna-be reasons. a time may not have_soul_but damn, it rides like a dream to me.
bro i agree with you it's guys who just walk in a shop and walk out with the whole team kit .bro I love nagos too if that 55 was 57 I would have bought it 5 years ago when my bro owned the store...a time may have soul just like a vitus.. sometimes history gives soul i.m.h.o. bro i've never even seen a sachs or a kirk in person and that pisses me off.. sorry if i made anyone angry
.when i was a kid the old owner let me work in the shop I'd clean the shop or whatever. he had a old used dark blue colnago mexico with nuovo record and zeus cranks with holes drilled in the chain rings I worked for free all summer at the end of the summer he called me into the office and gave that bike to me it was first bike i rode that had soul . he was like family to me he sold his shop last year . I miss him .

[GoJavs]

I looked at Knobby X's and Bonestock's for quite a while when I was planning my return to cycling after double hernia surgery a few years ago. I should have probably bought one. Sweet bikes.

[nicrump]

Being a good builder in not nearly enough to insure success as a builder. Aside from building one needs to be good at -

accounting
marketing
purchasing
sales
inventory control
product design
etc.


You get the idea. In a one man shop the one man needs to wear all the hats. If any one of the hats doesn't fit then the whole thing will fall down.

The frustrating thing from my perspective is when builders talk about how little money can be made and how many 14 hour days they need to work. I earn a modest living and I work 8 hours a day and 5 days a week. More if I really want to but never because I have to. I think that the builders out there who say they eat nothing but PB & J and work 12 hours a day for 10K a year need to visit the above list and see what they need to improve. Most concentrate on welding and not on the other stuff. A builder will have nothing to build if he hasn't -

marketed properly
purchased smartly
sold something
kept the proper raw materials in stock
etc.

Building them is the easy part. Hey, thanks for reading.

Dave

P.S. Al Einstein defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. I think that some of the guys out there who have been struggling for 30 years might listen to Al.

Straight up correct. Deep in my second year full time. I find the building to be the easy part. I am pretty much all alone and spend well over half my time doing anything and everything but building.

Business is business, if you can’t get that part right then you suffer regardless of the product.

[cpg]

Being a good builder in not nearly enough to insure success as a builder. Aside from building one needs to be good at -

accounting
marketing
purchasing
sales
inventory control
product design
etc.


You get the idea. In a one man shop the one man needs to wear all the hats. If any one of the hats doesn't fit then the whole thing will fall down.

The frustrating thing from my perspective is when builders talk about how little money can be made and how many 14 hour days they need to work. I earn a modest living and I work 8 hours a day and 5 days a week. More if I really want to but never because I have to. I think that the builders out there who say they eat nothing but PB & J and work 12 hours a day for 10K a year need to visit the above list and see what they need to improve. Most concentrate on welding and not on the other stuff. A builder will have nothing to build if he hasn't -

marketed properly
purchased smartly
sold something
kept the proper raw materials in stock
etc.

Building them is the easy part. Hey, thanks for reading.

Dave

P.S. Al Einstein defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. I think that some of the guys out there who have been struggling for 30 years might listen to Al.


All of the above is correct and I agree but one important element was left out. That element is luck. What has been outlined can be followed to the letter and still business' can fail. With that said, unless anyone knows anymore about Kelly and Chester's decision of stop making bikes let's stop with all of this speculation. We have no idea why they stopped and stopping doesn't necessarily mean failure.

Curt

[72gmc]

We have no idea why they stopped and stopping doesn't necessarily mean failure.

Failure was a poor word choice in my original post. I personally find utility to be an interesting aspect of bicycling--these two builders seem to feel the same way. Hence my post. It was an attempt to discuss the market opportunities afforded by a utilitarian approach to bicycling, not a judgement on the abilities of these two builders.

[David Kirk]

All of the above is correct and I agree but one important element was left out. That element is luck. What has been outlined can be followed to the letter and still business' can fail. With that said, unless anyone knows anymore about Kelly and Chester's decision of stop making bikes let's stop with all of this speculation. We have no idea why they stopped and stopping doesn't necessarily mean failure.

Curt

I agree 100%. I think the reasons for the above folks closing up shop are well documented. I intended my post to the naysayers that think it can't be done........that it's impossible to make it as a builder. I don't think my post fits the Kelly/Chester situation.

As for luck...........I do think that luck is important and I also feel that you make your own luck to a certain extent.

Dave

Dave

[Ginger]

I fell into the rabbit hole today.

The day is long past of people remaining in the same profession from child/apprentice to death. Just because a person's profession is a skill we admire doesn't mean they might not get tired of dealing with the job.

Perhaps it is just time to do something different. We have that freedom these days.

[bfd]

Curt states:

<All of the above is correct and I agree but one important element was left out. That element is luck. What has been outlined can be followed to the letter and still business' can fail. With that said, unless anyone knows anymore about Kelly and Chester's decision of stop making bikes let's stop with all of this speculation. We have no idea why they stopped and stopping doesn't necessarily mean failure. >

I agree that "luck" is an important factor AND that you can sometimes make your own luck.

Further, it appears there are some factors, other than "failure" as to why Kelly and MC are closing their shops:

MC's reasons are set out in his blog:

http://mattchester.livejournal.com/


Kelly's apparent reason was recent posted by someone on the ibob list:

"When I talked to Chris if was because of irreconcilable differences with a
business partner. It is unfortunate, he was really starting to do well at
his new location in Nevada City."

Someone else stated:

"As soon as I heard Chris Kelly was closing up I called to see if I
could get a 29er fork. He had a few left (465mm) and got me one of
them before it was committed. He said it was like a fire sale going
on there... everyone was wanting something. I didn't go into the
'why' details but he was very positive about the change and was
looking forward to spending time on his land and with his family.
Oh, the fork is great."

[stevep]

having started and operated 2 small bicycle related businesses and having sold both...
it can be relentless and difficult at times. and you have to face everything that shows up...as well pointed out by the builders above.
not easy. and after awhile all the shiite can get to you. time for a change.
hope he enjoys the new situation.

it is also notable that folks tend to show up back on the bike scene in some way or other..all in all its a pleasant business... and most of the people involved are a pleasure to know.

time for something different. but he will miss it and he might be back.