how is Velo Orange doing it?

[eddief]

That guy, Chris Kulczycki, must be some dynamo entrepreneur. How'd he come up with a jewel-like silver seat post, with a super sensible clamp, with max set back, max aesthetics at $50? I know the price has to do with country of origin, but the rest is up to the dude. Guess you can tell I just got a new silver seat post.

Even better in real life:

http://www.velo-orange.com/vogrcrusepol.html

The photo, as viewed on my monitor, makes it look as if the finish might not be perfectly smooth. In real life it a polished mirror finish as fine as any DA post.

[T.J.]

^^ that post is useless without pics !

[maximus]

I really respect the guy(s) at velo orange. The transparency in product development, the passion...they just have a really good thing going on.

[Alan]

I am waiting to see their randonneur frame. For $750 it could be a great deal. I agree that they have the right bike DNA.

Alan

[Dustin]

I am waiting to see their randonneur frame. For $750 it could be a great deal. I agree that they have the right bike DNA.

Alan

It's more than that, I think. Rivendell has good bike DNA too, but their business DNA isn't at the same level, which explains why VO has come out with many times as many parts in only a few years. Of course, Chris K. probably came into it with more cash from his last business, so he doesn't seem to suffer from Riv's chronic undercapitalization.

Love both companies and buy from both, FWIW.

[54ny77]

having just bought some parts from them, i'll say that customer service is fantastic--by email as well as phone.

more power to 'em!

[Louis]

I really respect the guy(s) at velo orange. The transparency in product development, the passion...they just have a really good thing going on.

What's their official position on CF ? :p

[Ahneida Ride]

Passion and Perseverance!

My Kudo's to a great bike site/store. :beer:


Thanks Mike for offering quality products at affordable prices.

[dave thompson]

VO is a manufacturer, manufacturers rep, importer, distributor, wholesaler and retailer all rolled into one, controls most everything from start to finish. Runs a small, lean and efficient operation. Makes good money doing it too.

[rcnute]

Well-run, well-supplied, made in Taiwan, constant new product stream, aggressive pricing, increasing awareness/popularity of this kind of bike stuff.

[Kines]

probably save significant $$ by making one size only.
KN

[avalonracing]

I've never ordered from them but it is a nice site with great looking products. I'm glad small businesses like this can survive. If you need stuff like this, support this business!

[Kevan]

Couldn't wait to visit the brick and motar, and check out the toys when I was visiting Annapolis during Thanksgiving holiday. Modest in size, yet big at heart, is that bike shop. Chris and his gang do terrific service for their particular cycling nitch. Glad to count myself as a customer and fan.

[xjoex]

They are a great site. Chris K is a very sharp business man.

I posted a response to someones query about the quicker pro pump I bought from them and mentioned mine never really worked right and I did not think they were very good.

Chris emailed me and told me to send it back and he would send me a new one, this was at least a year after I purchased. Keep in mind I did not think it was defective or even contact him!

The new one worked great.

-Joe

[MerckxMad]

I just purchased a boat load of stuff from VO for my new Kogswell P/R; everything from saddle to bars to bottom bracket. All of the toys are well built and shiny. The prices are fair and shipping is fast. It's too bad that I didn't have the patience to wait for their new Rando frame. I sounds like it's going to be a well thought out frameset. VO is really a pleasure to deal with.

[oldpotatoe]

That guy, Chris Kulczycki, must be some dynamo entrepreneur. How'd he come up with a jewel-like silver seat post, with a super sensible clamp, with max set back, max aesthetics at $50? I know the price has to do with country of origin, but the rest is up to the dude. Guess you can tell I just got a new silver seat post.

Even better in real life:

http://www.velo-orange.com/vogrcrusepol.html

The photo, as viewed on my monitor, makes it look as if the finish might not be perfectly smooth. In real life it a polished mirror finish as fine as any DA post.

Good stuff but lots of it is the same stuff many bike shops carry. Maybe not in your area, and most bike shops don't have a big internet presence but Nitto, Surley, Sun, etc..lots of bike shops carry that stuff. Maybe one in Berkeley?

YellowJersey in Madison, Vecchio's in Boulder, probably others.

[eddief]

OK. I won't buy from VO. And will now scour my local bike shops for a silver seat post with a lot of setback.

[palincss]

It's too bad that I didn't have the patience to wait for their new Rando frame. I sounds like it's going to be a well thought out frameset.


I have both a Kogswell P/R and a Johnny Coast-built Velo Orange Randonneur. They're both fine bikes, and they complement each other very well. If the production VO Randonneur is even 80% of the bike the hand-built VOR is, it'll be superb and very well worth a spot in your stable -- for that matter, in everybody's stable! The solution to your problem is simple: get one of each!

[palincss]

Good stuff but lots of it is the same stuff many bike shops carry. Maybe not in your area, and most bike shops don't have a big internet presence but Nitto, Surley, Sun, etc..lots of bike shops carry that stuff. Maybe one in Berkeley?

YellowJersey in Madison, Vecchio's in Boulder, probably others.

Indeed, Velo Orange wholesales to many local bike shops.

[oldpotatoe]

Indeed, Velo Orange wholesales to many local bike shops.

Pretty sure these bike shops get a lot of this stuff from the same places as VO. Not sure but Nitto, Sun, Surley, Honjo, MKS, Brooks, etc. are available from some common distributors.

Some of the items I am sure are imported directly by VO but most is pretty common fare, distributor wise.

[dave thompson]

Good stuff but lots of it is the same stuff many bike shops carry. Maybe not in your area, and most bike shops don't have a big internet presence but Nitto, Surley, Sun, etc..lots of bike shops carry that stuff. Maybe one in Berkeley?

YellowJersey in Madison, Vecchio's in Boulder, probably others.
...and a lot of shops don't carry Nitto, Surley, Sun, etc...it depends on the local market.Unless the consumer knows exactly what they are looking for, it will be a crapshoot whether or not the local shop can/will get the correct item. Velo Orange products are very well illustrated, very well explained, very well made and they make it very easy for the consumer to understand and buy their product. If a local shop wants to get off its collective duff and order the VO products in a timely fashion, they too can participate even though the consumer has done all the legwork and research.

[oldpotatoe]

...and a lot of shops don't carry Nitto, Surley, Sun, etc...it depends on the local market.Unless the consumer knows exactly what they are looking for, it will be a crapshoot whether or not the local shop can/will get the correct item. Velo Orange products are very well illustrated, very well explained, very well made and they make it very easy for the consumer to understand and buy their product. If a local shop wants to get off its collective duff and order the VO products in a timely fashion, they too can participate even though the consumer has done all the legwork and research.

Pretty common sentiment throughout many threads on this forum from a lot of posters is that 'most' are unhappy with their 'Local' bike shops. Too bad.

[dave thompson]

Pretty common sentiment throughout many threads on this forum from a lot of posters is that 'most' are unhappy with their 'Local' bike shops. Too bad.
Most, not all. More than a few shops employ enthusiastic young folks who render their own, not often carefully considered opinions in response to consumer questions/requests and don't really listen to us. I think that it's unfortunately the nature of the bicycle business that the consumer often knows more than the shop. Add to that the fact that many consumers have very particular needs and wants that aren't easily catered to by a main stream bike shop.

A very good example of the above is what has happened to me over the last few weeks. My wife wants a touring bike for Christmas. Only one shop, one, out of all the LBS in our area had a real touring bike of any description in stock. The rest would show me their catalogs and offer to order. The one shop's touring bike, in 'just my wife's size' had been sold and was on hold but the shop said another could be had well before Christmas. Ordered and in in just a few days. So far, so good. Now for the touring accouterments. No one, absolutely no one carries a half decent range of bags, panniers, racks, etc. for serious touring. Again, open the catalog and we'll order it. So to the internet, having to bypass the LBS because they don't/can't/won't carry something I wanted and needed. Not a knock against our LBS, but the lack of a 'touring' market here prohibits them from accommodating it easily but promotes the presence of niche e-stores, like I had to "visit". Which prompts me to give a big shout-out to thetouringstore.com which has a huge, broad supply of Ortlieb, Tubus and Lone Peak serious touring gear plus a very nice owner that spent a huge amount of time with me over the phone interpreting what my wife wanted/needed.

[oldpotatoe]

Most, not all. More than a few shops employ enthusiastic young folks who render their own, not often carefully considered opinions in response to consumer questions/requests and don't really listen to us. I think that it's unfortunately the nature of the bicycle business that the consumer often knows more than the shop. Add to that the fact that many consumers have very particular needs and wants that aren't easily catered to by a main stream bike shop.

A very good example of the above is what has happened to me over the last few weeks. My wife wants a touring bike for Christmas. Only one shop, one, out of all the LBS in our area had a real touring bike of any description in stock. The rest would show me their catalogs and offer to order. The one shop's touring bike, in 'just my wife's size' had been sold and was on hold but the shop said another could be had well before Christmas. Ordered and in in just a few days. So far, so good. Now for the touring accouterments. No one, absolutely no one carries a half decent range of bags, panniers, racks, etc. for serious touring. Again, open the catalog and we'll order it. So to the internet, having to bypass the LBS because they don't/can't/won't carry something I wanted and needed. Not a knock against our LBS, but the lack of a 'touring' market here prohibits them from accommodating it easily but promotes the presence of niche e-stores, like I had to "visit". Which prompts me to give a big shout-out to thetouringstore.com which has a huge, broad supply of Ortlieb, Tubus and Lone Peak serious touring gear plus a very nice owner that spent a huge amount of time with me over the phone interpreting what my wife wanted/needed.

Like I said, too bad. The bicycle business has been in trouble for decades and most bike shops, who try to be just like the one down the street, don't help at all.

As for 'don't/can't/won't carry something. Bicycle retail is tough. The lowest margin 'thing' in a bike shop is.....the bicycle. Margins are thin and unlike some other types of retail, most of what you see is owned by the biz owner. So, he has to decide what to spend his scarce dollars on.

BUT that doesn't excuse the idiots that seem to crew most bike shops. That's a whole 'nother problem, bicycle retail having no clear path nor system for long term employment. Bike shops are more like McDonalds than other retail places.

It's not really hard to identify your target market and aggresively pursuing that with knowledgeable staff...but that takes $.

[Ahneida Ride]

Perhaps we need VO groupos's.

Somehow, I doubt that would cost 3K.

[dave thompson]

Like I said, too bad. The bicycle business has been in trouble for decades and most bike shops, who try to be just like the one down the street, don't help at all.

As for 'don't/can't/won't carry something. Bicycle retail is tough. The lowest margin 'thing' in a bike shop is.....the bicycle. Margins are thin and unlike some other types of retail, most of what you see is owned by the biz owner. So, he has to decide what to spend his scarce dollars on.

BUT that doesn't excuse the idiots that seem to crew most bike shops. That's a whole 'nother problem, bicycle retail having no clear path nor system for long term employment. Bike shops are more like McDonalds than other retail places.

It's not really hard to identify your target market and aggresively pursuing that with knowledgeable staff...but that takes $.
I hear what you're saying and empathize. I was in the motorcycle business for 30-some years and we went through many of the same series of events that the bicycle business is experiencing now. Back in my day Gore hadn't invented the interweb yet, so with us it was the 'mail-order' houses.

[Vancouverdave]

They do wholesale to us LBS's, and with merchandise that most wholesalers don't even know about, let alone stock. How do they do business? Probably by going to the Taipei bike show and making the right deals with the right factories, same as every other designer/importer/marketer.

[mschol17]

I think VO does it mostly by offering factories' stock designs, except with a little extra polish, from Taiwan.

[palincss]

If you follow the VO blog, you can see that in some cases, it's existing designs with some modifications of tweaks, but in others, Chris goes after a new design. The VO racks are clearly new designs, and so too is the upcoming Randonneur frame. In some cases they're updates to classic designs, such as the handlebar bag, which clearly was based on the old TA bag. The Polyvalent frame was based on an existing design, but it went through several generations of prototypes and changes.

[Joellogicman]

The VO racks are clearly new designs, and so too is the upcoming Randonneur frame.

But they owe a lot to the French Constructeurs. Not a knock, as Chris himself readily concedes the inspiration.

[palincss]

But they owe a lot to the French Constructeurs. Not a knock, as Chris himself readily concedes the inspiration.


Certainly. The VO Randonneur's geometry is right out of the pages of The Golden Age of Handbuilt Bicycles too, and as I mentioned earlier, the handlebar bag is a further development of the old TA design -- just as the Acorn and the Berthoud bags are. I don't consider that a knock, not at all, quite the opposite. The Paul Racer and Neo Retro are further developments of old Mafac designs, too, and Peter Weigle finds inspiration in the work of the French Constructeurs. In all, that's some pretty good company, I think.