Performance Bike (ASE) Files Chapter 11

[rePhil]

https://www.bicycleretailer.com/industry-news/2018/11/15/ase-owner-performance-bicycle-and-asi-file-chapter-11?utm_source=Bicycle+Retailer+Newletters&utm_campaign=6265eb55f7-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_11_15_08_56&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_bbd0ac46d2-6265eb55f7-&fbclid=IwAR0FJOeNd2GAhc5oZktggFiTuTJIsL2LkVCQw4SQv SqJt5P3SdoIGogMCIA#.W-7RPy3Mwcm

[soulspinner]

Another one bites the dust...….

[cderalow]

will have to keep my eyes on the local store for when/if they start closing down.

I missed the opportunity to strengthen my workshop when the local REI moved by about 20 minutes (group in front of me bought out their workshop setup).

Could use the spares and tools :D

[AngryScientist]

interesting, and sad but probably inevitable.

nashbar used to be THE go-to place to get bike stuff mail order. in the last few years, i dont even bother going to that website, it seems there was a real decline in their inventory of available stuff, and the prices are all over the board.

there arent any around me home, but the few brick and mortar performance stores i've been in when travelling have never impressed me. most seem pretty run down and "worn out".

hopefully they'll be able to learn something, re-organize a bit and re emerge as a leaner, better run organization.

[dave thompson]

That’s too bad. I know one of our fellow Paceliners works for Performance, though I don’t know in what capacity.

[whateveronfire]

The store nearest me is one of the ones they're already doing a pseudo-clearance on. I stopped in the other day and got some Clif bars and socks. The manager said they were "trying to see if this would help sales." Clearly, it's going to be one of the ones closing.

The clearance signs were those from that third party vendor that does liquidation.

I wonder if they'll (the whole company) be able to emerge from this. I doubt it.

[merckx]

A couple of lifetimes ago, my Bike Warehouse and Palo Alto Cycles catalogues became dog-eared because they were exercised daily, if only to dream. Computer screens don't become dog-eared.

[jtakeda]

The Berkeley store had a clearance sale last weekend. Didn’t stop but was wondering what was up

[dbnm]

Wow. I'm surprised they did not announce this on December 26.

[rePhil]

A (very) long time ago, I sent a letter to Arni Nashbar suggesting he open a store in my area. I was shocked when he phoned me, and took the time to explain his perspective of the bike business to me. Ironically he knew the area well and was planning to move nearby. To this day I think he still lives here.

[MattTuck]

If they could have held out a little longer, maybe the rapha trend would have faded and Primal Wear make a comeback.

alas.

My only experience with Performance brick and mortar was when I was temporarily living in Seattle and had them box up two bikes for shipment back to the east coast. They did a nice job, turned it around quickly, and it was reasonable price.

bicycle retail is a tough nut to crack. it seems that the successful shop is the outlier more than the norm.

[thwart]

My guess is the British discount shops played a role here.

[dbnm]

I rarely bought from Performance because their pricing (on the same item) fluctuated more than the stock market. Drives me crazy.

[Clean39T]

I rarely bought from Performance because their pricing (on the same item) fluctuated more than the stock market. Drives me crazy.

I do find the Kohls, JC Penny, etc. pricing style frustrating - not that I ever shop there, but who wants to go into a store and know that if they pay full retail price, they are getting gouged just so the company can run constant and confusing sales at "30%" off.

That said, I need to get a return done sharpish it seems...

[bthornt]

They have a store in Jacksonville. I went in with a friend who was looking for a low end bike. The saleperson tried to sell her a bike with Shimano 105, and kept telling her that "its what the pros use."

[NewDFWrider]

Doing regular retail (versus high-end retail) just sucks. The barriers of entry are too low and suppliers like Shimano really hurt distributors by letting grey market stuff flow so easily.

I'd like to see retailers start emphasizing their knowledge about the product (it's bad when I know more than them, and I know little) and start highlighting the skills of their mechanics. As I said to explained to one mechanic/bike shop owner recently: I'm coming to you because I know you're not going to get a 17-year old to build up my bike and fix my problems.

[cnighbor1]

The parent company of Performance Bike just filed for bankruptcy 104 stores
I wondered why I was getting emails from them with such big discounts
Is the day of the do it yourself male gone? If one buys say a rear derailleur one needs to know how to install it etc . Therefore stores
like performance have a hard time selling items like that
agree?

[dbnm]

https://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=230596

[benb]

The article makes it sound like it's the expansion into retail locations that is the issue?

So they grew up on mail order and online and put a lot of LBSes out of business and then decided to open their own bike shops right as all the online competitors started popping up. That was some real foresight by management. :rolleyes:

I forget where but the only time I've ever been in a Performance store was somewhere on vacation.. I don't know that we have any in my area of New England.. there are too many top quality local/privately owned shops with too much history I think.

Now the Trek/Specialized dealers.. they're kind of turning into something a lot like a Performance store, but there are still plenty of local dealers that are way way more interesting.

[William]

They have a store in Jacksonville. I went in with a friend who was looking for a low end bike. The saleperson tried to sell her a bike with Shimano 105, and kept telling her that "its what the pros use."

My response:
Well, I don't need to ride with what the pros use so just put that lowly Dura Ace on instead and lower the price.:)





William

[MikeD]

Well, that sucks. Add that to Art's Cyclery and Niagara Cycles that also went out of business. Wonder what's going on, it's not like the economy isn't good and people aren't buying bike stuff because of that?

Chapter 11 doesn't mean they are going out of business. Chapter 7 does mean that.

[William]

Both threads on this topic merged...




William

[fiamme red]

Well, that sucks. Add that to Art's Cyclery and Niagara Cycles that also went out of business. Wonder what's going on, it's not like the economy isn't good and people aren't buying bike stuff because of that?

Chapter 11 doesn't mean they are going out of business. Chapter 7 does mean that.I never had any trouble on any of the many orders I made from Performance or Nashbar.

On the other hand, I only ordered twice from Niagara Cycle. The second time, my order went very wrong, and customer service was unhelpful, to say the least.

[AngryScientist]

Well, that sucks. Add that to Art's Cyclery and Niagara Cycles that also went out of business. .

wow, i didnt know that.

i had ordered lots of stuff from arts over the years. that's a shame.

[ultraman6970]

Niagara was ok but started going south little by little.

As for performance, online I got a couple of things and all went ok, in the stores well... they never had what I needed so why to go there?

Many of us, we are in a niche so specific of parts and clothing (i do not have rapha stuff btw) that is hard to even find what we need at performance.

[kophinos]

I don't believe Art's went out of business, I believe they just ceased to do online sales. I could be wrong.

[MattTuck]

The article makes it sound like it's the expansion into retail locations that is the issue?



I interpreted it as, the distributor was doing ok, but performance was not doing ok, and owed the distributor so much money, and was such a big part of their business, that if performance folded, so would the distributor. So, the distributor said, well, let's just acquire performance and save ourselves from immediate failure.

[MikeD]

I don't believe Art's went out of business, I believe they just ceased to do online sales. I could be wrong.


Apparently the store will survive as an LBS.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[unterhausen]

Niagra would accumulate orders to QBP and then ship them to you when they got your part in. So they were very slow. I need something from QBP and I can get it from my LBS cheaper and more quickly than they ever were. Their model worked at one time, but it was doomed to fail.

I went into a performance shop once, it was lifeless, so I left fairly quickly. It blows me away that Trek and Spesh looked at that as what they wanted for their stores, just not worth going into a shop like that at all.

[Mark McM]

They have a store in Jacksonville. I went in with a friend who was looking for a low end bike. The saleperson tried to sell her a bike with Shimano 105, and kept telling her that "its what the pros use."

Totally OT, but I wouldn't be surprised to hear that's what some of the pro women's teams use. But that's because women's racing tends to be hugely underfunded, and they often have to use whatever they are given.

[ultraman6970]

Checking performance online and they have a nice discount the problem is that I'm not going to pay 700 bucks for a campagnolo crankset at all :) The rest of the stuff is ok to high priced IMO... who knows what is going to happen.

What performance needs to do is to fill up trucks with junk and show up in every bike swap meet just to sell all the stuff they are stuck with...

[54ny77]

not surprising.

i went to a local performance about a month ago to stock up on a few gels, bars, etc. (always a nice selection at decent prices) as well as a couple of tools, and the store looked threadbare. depressing, it sure seemed like something was up. big tables of clearance items.

back at its peak it was chock full of stuff (and it was a huge space) and had regular foot traffic every time i visited. it used to be a nashbar way back when.

the internet has just hammered retailers like that to no end.

[93KgBike]

http://www.rentistoodamnhigh.org/uploads/3/4/5/3/34531896/4250410_orig.jpg

Malls, mini-malls and strip malls just don't deliver the foot traffic anymore, anywhere. And perhaps the innovation-drives-replacement formula is not efficient for the bike biz. How can Trek 'brick' a brazed SLX frameset?

Although, if Giant bought all the steel tubing mfctrs...

How long until QBP gets stores? Just one big-ass-loan away, I'd bet

[Mark McM]

I don't believe Art's went out of business, I believe they just ceased to do online sales. I could be wrong.

As I understand it, the original owners of Art's Cyclery closed up the business, but a couple of the former employees bought the brick and mortar part of the operation, and are making a go of it as an LBS.

[Dino Suegiù]

I do not know anything about the economics, but this is sad to read also in the sense that I remember when I lived near a Performance shop, that store served a much more broad base of cyclists, from beginners to growing children to families, etc.) than the fancier, more focused, stores in the area did. That was nice to see, and that Performance was always pretty full and well-stocked. The staff was very nice, too.

Both types of stores were good, and useful in their own ways. I wonder where the clients Performance was serving will go now? The more upscale lbs didn't cater to them at all. Are there other similar brick and mortar stores, chains like that, around anymore after this?

[AngryScientist]

Are there other similar brick and mortar stores, chains like that, around anymore after this?

REI is an excellent place for the "common guy" cyclist to shop. their new house brand "Co-op" bikes are well thought out, have decent parts spec and reasonable cost. they stock pretty much anything a regular cyclist needs to ride and carry everything from balance bikes for a toddler to nice road and gravel bikes to fat bikes.

[Jaybee]

REI is an excellent place for the "common guy" cyclist to shop. their new house brand "Co-op" bikes are well thought out, have decent parts spec and reasonable cost. they stock pretty much anything a regular cyclist needs to ride and carry everything from balance bikes for a toddler to nice road and gravel bikes to fat bikes.

I second the REI notion. Less high-end shop snobbery, usually there is a pretty knowledgable person or two to point you in the right direction.

This is a niche that Performance used to fill, but I wonder if that was part of their poor performance. Once you sell somebody a nice $1200 Fuji to start their cycling career, their next bike is probably a $2500 Cervelo or Giant or Trek, i.e. something not sold at Performance. You can only go so far selling a crapload of tubes and the bottom end of serious-cyclist clothing.

REI 1) Sells some well known brands for that next step in bike acquisition 2) Markets cycling as part of a broader outdoor recreation lifestyle, so they aren't 100% dependent on the hardcore cyclist to keep their stores open.

[fignon's barber]

I thought Performance shut down in the mid 1990's.

[MagicHour]

I've ordered a lot of stuff from them over the years but lately they're just not the go to, maybe it was their selection? prices? wonky web site? I dunno. I miss the eclectic selection in the old Performance and Nashbar catalogs from the early 90s but maybe I'm just being nostalgic.

*On a side note just as I was writing this I caught a cold call from my Competitive Cyclist rep to see if there was anything I was looking for he could help me out on price for and to keep a heads up for Black Friday deals. Wow! that's pretty amazing personal touch customer service and maybe indicative of the kinds of services retailers need to do in this climate. I'm not even a high $$$ customer.

[54ny77]

Art's is outta biz????

Do you mean their mail order biz is no more but the shop is still there?

Well, that sucks. Add that to Art's Cyclery and Niagara Cycles that also went out of business. Wonder what's going on, it's not like the economy isn't good and people aren't buying bike stuff because of that?

Chapter 11 doesn't mean they are going out of business. Chapter 7 does mean that.

[weisan]

.Unsecured debts owed to trade suppliers include:

Active Cycle, China: $4.4 million
PT Insera, India: $3.3 million
Vista Outdoor: $1.77 million
Shanghai General Sports, China: $1.5 million
Mizuki International, Taiwan: $1.4 million
Todson: $548,000
Highway Two: $423,000
Marin: $409,000
Garmin: $290,000
Saris: $285,000
Elite: $264,000
Accell NA: $280,000
Aptos: $212,000
Louis Garneau: $204,000
Wahoo: $202,000
Pearl Izumi: $200,000
Lezyne: $198,000
Castelli: $196,000
Vittoria: $159,000
Fox: $149,000
Clif Bar: $131,000
Eliptigo: $200,000
EN-R-G Food: $82,000
J&B: $178,000
Marin Bikes: $71,000
Team Tibco: $35,000
PeopleForBikes: $22,000
PinkBike: $11,000

[Clean39T]

Went to Performance today to do a return and picked up a handful of things: ScratchLabs nutrition, some 1" threadless spacers, SupaCaz tape, couple tubes, and a quick-link. That's all I could find or justify.

A significant number of products were "not on sale" - Shimano, Stages, Wahoo, Marin, Garmin, etc. - maybe that changes before too long.

Nice people run the Performance shops here in Beaverton and Tualitin (Great PDX) - hope they get taken care of.

[pasadena]

ASI bought Performance Bikes and Nashbar two years ago.
Bad investment.
Dropping the chaff to try and maintain profitability.
Their other brands are doing solid business though.

[kevinvc]

I've bought a few small things over the years: gloves, tubes, levers, etc. My friend got a really nice deal on a Fuji a few years ago. It worked well for him since he has weird geometry and wanted to test ride before committing. He used his performance bucks or whatever they're called to get a GPS as well.

Customer service was good and their service department seemed good as well.

[mdeth1313]

"F" performance. Karma. About 12-13 years ago I returned a crankset that failed and I assumed they'd deal with it under warranty. Instead they shipped it back to me with a letter stating their "techs" determined I intentionally broke the crankset and they would no longer do business with me.

I contacted the person who wrote the letter and then emailed her pictures of the same failure from different forums. They stood by their "techs" and I filed a dispute through the credit card. I got my money back and then they "banned" me from purchasing through performance.

I never missed them.

[tbike4]

I went there today. It's about 3 miles away in a shopping center with plenty of foot traffic. That store will stay open says the man at the counter. The one up the freeway that is a stand alone store is much bigger and it will close. I go there if I am in the middle of a build and need a shifter cable right now or a spare tube for a ride.

When I flipped bikes 10 years ago I was a "Team" member and it paid off in redeemed points since I bought so many consumables. The flipping days are done.

[CunegoFan]

104 stores?? ***. How did that happen? Performance became less attractive when it opened a store in my state and began charging sales tax. A similar thing happened with Sierra Trading Post. I used both the same way: Browse stuff on clearance and occasionally find something worthwhile. Not so much anymore.

[peanutgallery]

Probably not a bad decision on their part

"F" performance. Karma. About 12-13 years ago I returned a crankset that failed and I assumed they'd deal with it under warranty. Instead they shipped it back to me with a letter stating their "techs" determined I intentionally broke the crankset and they would no longer do business with me.

I contacted the person who wrote the letter and then emailed her pictures of the same failure from different forums. They stood by their "techs" and I filed a dispute through the credit card. I got my money back and then they "banned" me from purchasing through performance.

I never missed them.

[peanutgallery]

Trek currently owns a similar number of stores

104 stores?? ***. How did that happen? Performance became less attractive when it opened a store in my state and began charging sales tax. A similar thing happened with Sierra Trading Post. I used both the same way: Browse stuff on clearance and occasionally find something worthwhile. Not so much anymore.

[Spaghetti Legs]

The PBS in my town is located in a down at the heels shopping center in the strip mall part of town. This town (Cville VA) has a thriving bike community and several bike shops and I’ve always wondered why they never relocated to one of the more popular shopping areas in town. I’m not much of a bike shop user but this one is my go to for in person purchase of gel packs and occasional clothing.

Anyway I’m going to keep a close eye on this, I need some bike racks and tools.

[Dirtdiggler]

NE Ohio PBS is located on a busy strip mall and heavy traffic area. If the store was located in a stand alone building and near an area where you can bike there without crossing 5 lanes and avoid speeding vehicles, now that would be ideal.

[charliedid]

Trek currently owns a similar number of stores

You sure about that? I'd guess more like 40 unless they opened 100 stores in the past couple years.

I of course could be mistaken but that number seems high.

[glepore]

from what I've heard, a lot of Trek's acquisitions have been bailouts of dealers deeply in the hole to them (ie Bikeline in Pa). Opportunistic?

[peanutgallery]

Not sure of the exact number but pretty sure its crept up there. Low 20s just in Philadelphia/Baltimore/DC markets. Funny thing in Philadelphia, Spzd pulled the plug on several retailers in order to get into Bike Line who sold to Trek 6 months later. Spzd is desperate for dealers in the market but their current program is pretty stupid and a great way to accrue massive debt

As the world turns kinda stuff. Pay as you go and own your own building if you're an IBD

You sure about that? I'd guess more like 40 unless they opened 100 stores in the past couple years.

I of course could be mistaken but that number seems high.

[BobbyJones]

A silly question: Does anyone know if Performance is just a retailer or do they act as distributor also?

[peanutgallery]

No

But their debts are going to wreck a few

A silly question: Does anyone know if Performance is just a retailer or do they act as distributor also?

[mdeth1313]

Probably not a bad decision on their part

Yeah, they didn't need any of the money I've spent elsewhere.

[buddybikes]

Anyone on this thread remember the BI-EX (Bicycle Exchange) in heart of Cambridge MA. There was a separate line to get components, most everything was tied to a pegboard behind the counter. As a teenager getting into the sport around 1973 it was so cool to take a pilgramage there. I believe they loaned out tool stands/tools also.

[Keith A]

Does anyone know if their online store will remain open?

[oldpotatoe]

Does anyone know if their online store will remain open?

I don't know any of the inside info about Performance, but in this day and age..I'd be surprised if the online stuff is ALL they focus on..'bike retailer', when most of not all of what they sell is available online, is in trouble..Surprising, their troubles, considering they were one of the first successful 'catalog' stores..

[Keith A]

Peter -- Thanks for the reply.

[kramnnim]

http://www2.philly.com/philly/blogs/inq-phillydeals/patrick-cunnane-ase-bicycle-bike-madeline-dean-congress-chinat-asi-plans-asset-sales-store-closings-20181119.html

[peanutgallery]

Uh-oh. Down goes Fuji, stick a fork in them

T'was more to the story than closing 40% of their stores. Imagine that

http://www2.philly.com/philly/blogs/inq-phillydeals/patrick-cunnane-ase-bicycle-bike-madeline-dean-congress-chinat-asi-plans-asset-sales-store-closings-20181119.html

[Elefantino]

Rhymes with "duster duck."

https://www.bicycleretailer.com/industry-news/2019/01/22/gosh-awful-mess-—-head-wants-re-auction-ase-assets#.XEjzhC2ZPOQ

[Clean39T]

Rhymes with "duster duck."



https://www.bicycleretailer.com/industry-news/2019/01/22/gosh-awful-mess-—-head-wants-re-auction-ase-assets#.XEjzhC2ZPOQReminds me of recent ebay transactions [emoji1787]

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

[93KgBike]

These two posts are together a fascinating and amusing read. Thanks for the links.

What we need now is a little Hunter S. Thompson to brew it up. Too bad.

Rhymes with "duster duck."

https://www.bicycleretailer.com/industry-news/2019/01/22/gosh-awful-mess-—-head-wants-re-auction-ase-assets#.XEjzhC2ZPOQ

http://www2.philly.com/philly/blogs/inq-phillydeals/patrick-cunnane-ase-bicycle-bike-madeline-dean-congress-chinat-asi-plans-asset-sales-store-closings-20181119.html

[OperaLover]

Stopped in at my local PBS in Redmond, WA to pick through the bones. Scored some consumables, chains, tubular cement, Skratch, rr der pulleys, etc. "Saved' about $50 with the 40% off. Kind of sorry to see them go, but they killed a lot of cool LBS. They were good for the last minute items - cables, bars - or a bike for the kids. Cycling is big here in the Seattle area and this location is in a local strip mall with other small single location businesses so I don't imagine rent is too high. I bet they keep this location open if any survive the reorg.

I used to shop Nashbar regularly, but too many "specials" and all the same old stuff, I moved on. Plus, at this stage I don't need to accumulate too much more same old stuff. Plus, found better online retailers that were in the U.S. with good prices and the quality components I was interested in.

It will be interesting to see where Rapha ends up . . .

[Elefantino]

In case you hadn't seen this (https://www.bicycleretailer.com/industry-news/2019/02/02/tiger-group-wins-bid-buy-ase-assets#.XFcPHS2ZPOR).

Turn out the lights; the party's over.

[catchourbreath]

Amazing that Specialized finally "won" that whole roubaix situation. Too bad ASI brands got caught up in this mess, hopefully they come out of this as operating brands and the LBS's selling them aren't too screwed.

[shinomaster]

Anyone on this thread remember the BI-EX (Bicycle Exchange) in heart of Cambridge MA. There was a separate line to get components, most everything was tied to a pegboard behind the counter. As a teenager getting into the sport around 1973 it was so cool to take a pilgramage there. I believe they loaned out tool stands/tools also.

I went to the one at Harvard square circa 1990? I think there is a Ramen place in the same spot now.

[Spaghetti Legs]

I went by the local (now former) PBS on 1/31 and it was empty and locked up.

[peanutgallery]

What a train wreck. Big enough to take out a few of the buyers possibly...the company associated with J and B comes to mind as there is no way they are selling much these days

In case you hadn't seen this (https://www.bicycleretailer.com/industry-news/2019/02/02/tiger-group-wins-bid-buy-ase-assets#.XFcPHS2ZPOR).

Turn out the lights; the party's over.

[Elefantino]

They're paying $3 million for the property in Chapel Hill and in Philly.

It's worth more than that. It'll be a quick flip.

In the meantime, some of us have more time to ride now.

[tsarpepe]

And so, does anyone know what happened at the second hearing, scheduled for Friday, 2/1?

[ultraman6970]

the online store is still up, curiously enough, no campagnolo stuff, weird

[Elefantino]

And so, does anyone know what happened at the second hearing, scheduled for Friday, 2/1?
Yes. After much sturm und drang the judge allowed the Tiger/Ideal group and Head to make new, final bids. Head threw up its hands and walked away. So Tiger/Ideal got it.

the online store is still up, curiously enough, no campagnolo stuff, weird
The online store will remain up until likely Tuesday, when AMain completes its purchase. There is very little product remaining. AMain essentially bought two domains and the associated customer and email lists.

All the Campy stuff that wasn't grabbed in EPs was sent to the stores.

[ultraman6970]

Stores? dont understand the move...

[Elefantino]

Stores? dont understand the move...
Head wanted stores. AMain has a brick and mortar in Chico but doesn't want more.

Performance joins Pan Am, Toys R Us and HoJo's on memory lane.

[93KgBike]

The new owners of ASE/ASI are keeping Fuji, Kestrel, SE alive and plan to support Performance as an e-commerce store. But everyone associated with the brick/mortar business has been fired.

It's hard to imagine many of the shops converting to independent stores or builders given the overhead costs. My guess, there will be new Dollar General locations popping up in the near future.

[Keith A]

Head wanted stores. AMain has a brick and mortar in Chico but doesn't want more.

Performance joins Pan Am, Toys R Us and HoJo's on memory lane.Don't forget Sears, Kmart, Pic 'N' Save and Circuit City.

[MoparPorsche]

I hate to say this but for some strange reason "Last Dance" by Donna Summers.

[AngryScientist]

i assume most of us got the identical email from Nashbar and Performance...

To Our Valued Customers:


You may have noticed some changes to the Performance Bike website recently. We want to let you know what's up, and keep you in the loop about what you can expect from Performance Bike in the future.

We're excited to share with you that Performance Bike is joining the family of AMain Sports & Hobbies!

Since 2004, AMain Sports & Hobbies has been dedicated to serving the cycling & hobbies community worldwide with excellent customer service and extensive product selection. Now, it's time to bring all the AMain benefits to Performance Bike customers like you.

[weisan]

i been riding for 30+ years and I have never heard of AMain, goes to show you can still enjoy the sport of cycling without ever heard of Merckx, Armstrong or Lemond. :p

[MagicHour]

That was quick: https://www.performancebike.com/
I've used Amain for a couple small odds and ends with no issues, they seem to have a wide selection. Kinda a Niagara Cycling type vendor. I wish the new owners luck.

i assume most of us got the identical email from Nashbar and Performance...

[BagelMaster]

I’m curious to see what happens with the Fuji 2019 bikes. I’d imagine they didn’t just cease production, and I’ve seen some models for sale in the US and Europe. I really wanted to consider a 2019 Transonic when I first saw them in the dealer lookbook.

[CunegoFan]

Went to Performance's site and noticed they now carry Assos and Outdoor Research. I did not look extensively but everything seems to be retail price and what I was looking at is way cheaper at Backcountry.com.

[NYCfixie]

Went to Performance's site and noticed they now carry Assos and Outdoor Research. I did not look extensively but everything seems to be retail price and what I was looking at is way cheaper at Backcountry.com.

That is not going to keep the Nashbar customers coming back for more.

[Dirtdiggler]

I received an email this morning regarding Performance and seemed they are now owned by AMain Hobby.

https://www.performancebike.com/about-performance-bike/i415

[oldpotatoe]

That is not going to keep the Nashbar customers coming back for more.

Got this this AM
To Our Valued Customers:

You may have noticed some changes to the Nashbar website recently. We want to let you know what's up, and keep you in the loop about what you can expect from Nashbar in the future.

We're excited to share with you that Nashbar is joining the family of AMain Sports & Hobbies!

Since 2004, AMain Sports & Hobbies has been dedicated to serving the cycling & hobbies community worldwide with excellent customer service and extensive product selection. Now, it's time to bring all the AMain benefits to Nashbar customers like you.

More information about AMain Sports & Hobbies can be found at https://www.amaincycling.com

[Ed-B]

I wonder what kind of revenue projections were made when they decided to acquire these domains/companies?

With the breadth of the Internet and search engine capabilities it's pretty easy to find the best deal on just about anything now. The lowest price offering gets all the business, so when it comes to sales it's practically all or nothing.

Most of these companies do well when they can buy closeout and discontinued products cheaply and sell them at attractive prices, but current stock is so competitive that overhead has to be really low to generate sales and hit any kind of sustainable margin. And I would cite Rivendell and one of the companies feeling the pinch these days. Early on Grant offered a lot of traditional stuff that was closed-out and considered obsolete. That supply has dried up.

I'm really beginning to wonder if the bicycle market will have a much steeper decline with the loss of budget components from European and domestic suppliers. I think enthusiast like ourselves have kept a lot of things moving along because we could feed our hobby (addiction) with budget gear and bikes.

There's a lot of gear that will need to wear out before things pick up again.

[beaverstuff]

interesting, and sad but probably inevitable.

nashbar used to be THE go-to place to get bike stuff mail order. in the last few years, i dont even bother going to that website, it seems there was a real decline in their inventory of available stuff, and the prices are all over the board.

there arent any around me home, but the few brick and mortar performance stores i've been in when travelling have never impressed me. most seem pretty run down and "worn out".

hopefully they'll be able to learn something, re-organize a bit and re emerge as a leaner, better run organization.
I used to go the Nashbar, 'cause they had some nice parts at discount prices.
Not anymore. I go to CL and Ebay for parts I need; also need to be cautious.
Beaverstuff

[dddd]

I got the Email today from Performance, they are referring my "account" and data to Amaincycling and their online sales site.
They were informing me that I could opt out of having my data shifted to the new company/buyer.

[Red Tornado]

I got the Email today from Performance, they are referring my "account" and data to Amaincycling and their online sales site.
They were informing me that I could opt out of having my data shifted to the new company/buyer.
I received the same e-mail from Nashbar.

[dookie]

Not 5min from my house... https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190312/e0025331397c931778ed7559837a2cb9.jpg

[zap]

Not 5min from my house...

We need to organize a Paceline ride..........from the Breakaway Cafe. :banana: