Boone Titanium--whut up?

[WadePatton]

Anybody dealt with Boone lately? I sent an inquiry a few months ago and got the simple response "not currently taking orders".

I like their stuff. I really like that it's made in GA--and a few years ago it was easy to get and reasonably priced.

Curious.

[uno-speedo]

Word is they moved (amongst other things) and are so far behind on production they are not taking orders. I have heard some people have been waiting over a year for products. Tis a shame. Such nice gear.

[dookie]

reasonably priced?

[markie]

reasonably priced?


Well the stuff lasts and lasts...

I didn't think the prices were bad for custom Ti, thou'.

Stuff is fetching a premium on the bay. I just got sniperbid on a cog.

[jt2gt]

I still have one of their Helix (I think that is what it was called) BBs in my mountain bike that I got in '92. Been in three different bikes over the years and still works great. I didn't even know they were still around.

JT

[Volant]

Let me dig through some old e-mails... From what I recall (and someone correct me if I'm off-base here), Bruce sold the cycling programs (the CNC code) to the guy who was running the cycling side of things for Bruce and the this guy was going to continue producing the parts under the Boone name. I think his name was Wade, but, that's fuzzy memory. Bruce decided to stick with jewelry.
My last conversation with 'Wade' was that he was trying to get caught-up and he thought he'd be able to 'quit his day job' to devote to doing bike parts.
I guess that's not the case.

[cadence90]

Let me dig through some old e-mails... From what I recall (and someone correct me if I'm off-base here), Bruce sold the cycling programs (the CNC code) to the guy who was running the cycling side of things for Bruce and the this guy was going to continue producing the parts under the Boone name. I think his name was Wade, but, that's fuzzy memory. Bruce decided to stick with jewelry.
My last conversation with 'Wade' was that he was trying to get caught-up and he thought he'd be able to 'quit his day job' to devote to doing bike parts.
I guess that's not the case.
I believe all that is essentially correct.

If Wade/Boone decide to permanently discontinue that would really be too bad, especially following the sad demise of Moonhead Machine.

[WadePatton]

Brett Brown was the guy making the stuff at one time. This Wade says...

Brett made my chainring and Bruce made my wedding band. One of which is useless now. :bike:

whoops, one letter off.

[J.Greene]

Brent made my chainring and Bruce made my wedding band. One of which is useless now. :bike:

I've never tried as I'm the most happy married guy on earth, but I am quite certain you can get more tail with a wedding band than without.

JG

[uno-speedo]

Its Brett. I found this in another forum.

Hey Dawgs! Several of you have inquired over the last couple of months about getting some of the Boone Ti bling. If you fit in this group, this message is for you. I just spoke to Brett Brown at Boone and this is the latest information.

Brett is still behind on past orders, especially the custom orders. So at this point he is not accepting any new orders either from me or on his website (the ordering page has been turned off for the moment).

The plan he described starts after the first of the year. The 3 major single speed products, cogs, spiderless chain rings, and the heavy duty chain rings, will be brought back online one at a time. No more custom and probably no more geared items (possibly ever).

Cogs will be rolled out first, because they are the easiest, starting at 16t and going to 21t over time. Then the spiderless chain rings, followed by the heavy duty chain rings. He hopes the cogs will be up in January 2008 but did not elaborate how long it will take before the others are up.

Behind the scenes the process for making different sized cogs and chain rings was less than efficient and it had a lot of undocumented nuances that only he knew. That says nothing to the complications of the custom work. What he is going to do is create a process that a standard machinist could follow successfully without sacrificing quality. Additionally there has been a scarcity of quality Ti. Not all Ti is created equal and it is suspected that the airframe industry (Airbus specifically) and the military is behind the drain.

That's everything he knows, it's all I know too, and now the Dawgs are easily the most informed group anywhere on this subject.

[WadePatton]

I've never tried as I'm the most happy married guy on earth, but I am quite certain you can get more tail with a wedding band than without.

JG
Oh yeah, I saw that episode. George Costanza and the band...not my style :D

[Brian Smith]

Bruce recently made an engagement ring for me in an incredibly short amount of time, with a modification to one of his existing designs, with a level of service that I really feel exceeded my expectations. Even if I were to order something else from him, I couldn't expect the same incredible level of service and value. I can't speak about Boone bicycle components, but since someone brought up his name, I've gotta say the good stuff that I know. Props.

[Volant]

Thanks, guys, Brett is the right name and my memory is failing me. At least I can still ride! (no brain, no pain)

[WadePatton]

Hey y'all blingy blingsters. I got an email from Brett's wife today saying basically what is posted above. They've moved the shop and acquired a new business and are way behind on orders and will get them filled before taking new orders.

Rings/cogs ARE being cut now and they might be caught up in a couple of months. And taking new orders. :cool:

WP