Open House 411 this Saturday

[Smiley]

So who went and were they raffling off any Catlike helmets :)

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . and CNYRider was there--and near nobody else as near as I can tell. We had a really good 30 mile ride up toward Corinth into the Adirondack foothills with about 15 people and Gavin from Serotta following us in the Sprinter van, and then a great time at the factory "owner's club" reception with burgers, hot dogs, plenty of beer and wine, home-made brownies, etc.

There was also a tent with a full selection of newly designed soft goods including the bibs and jerseys you might expect (not new designs, evidently NOS), socks, Serotta hoodies, baseball caps (both flex-fit and regular strap adjustment), water bottles, nylon tote bags, and a full display of Catlike helmets to try on. I have to say the Catlike helmets are pretty cool--incredibly light and with good retention systems once you get them adjusted correctly. Note that I have no idea at his time when or if they may re-open the online store. Maybe Pete knows . . .

I also met Stan and Bonnie Mavis, who just moved from Vancouver BC to Saratoga to work with the company in January. Stan has a distingiushed resume from the cycling industry including Pearl Izumi and Sugoi. They along with Ben and Marcie were incredibly gracious hosts and there was no shortage of opportunities to sit down with them and chat or get some input on your needs or wishes as customers. I also got to meet Ian and Mavis (that's her first name--no relation to Stan or Bonnie), who work for Backbone Media, the company's new PR partner. (http://www.backbonemedia.net/page.php) They have been in town several days getting to know their new clients and the products and they were posting Facebook updates about the event . . . http://www.facebook.com/SerottaSport?ref=ts

The open house day was held in conjunction with registration and early packet pick-up for the Team Billy charity ride, which was held today in Saratoga.

I'm at a loss to understand why more owners did not attend. Paraic told me they had publicized it through e-mails to all owner's club members, notice to all the dealers, and telling everyone they could. This was essentially all the events of the open house weekends they used to have. There were factory tours, a nice demonstration by Paraic of the SICI training and fit system, soft goods available, a bike check tent in conjunction with the Billy Ride where you could get your bike checked over, the group ride (with motorized sag) with refreshments afterward, and the picnic with all the goodies mentioned above.

It was strange to me that so few people attended, especially given things I have read here on the forum in the past complaining that Serotta doesn't have "owner's weekend" any more. This was it, folks. And it was free--all you had to do was show up. Sorry you couldn't make it, but more beer for the rest of us! . . . :rolleyes:

BBD

[Bruce K]

For me it was a matter of timing/schedule.

I just couldn't make this weekend work for a getaway.

Too many other things going on.

BK

[Johny]

It was strange to me that so few people attended, especially given things I have read here on the forum in the past complaining that Serotta doesn't have "owner's weekend" any more. This was it, folks. And it was free--all you had to do was show up. Sorry you couldn't make it, but more beer for the rest of us! . . . :rolleyes:

BBD

Not everyone lives 25 miles away from the factory. :)

Seriously, if Serotta people want this event to be more successful, they need to put in more efforts and plan this more carefully. Telling people to come less than 2 months in advance is not gonna work great...and early May in Upstate NY is still quite chilly for most people from other sunny places.

The question remains: What Serotta wants owner's event to be? Why? How? When?

I love Serotta (and own 5) and this message is only intended to improve this event.

John

[CNY rider]

I was there and had a great time.
I just couldn't keep up with Dave and the fast kids on the ride!

I got to meet Stan, the new head honcho there. I definitely got the sense that there is more of a vision taking shape for Owners Club weekends and other events. I think there is realization that the owners that love their bikes, and like being associated with this brand, would be up for a really great Owners Club weekend.

I also left there impressed once again with the passion and quest for perfection that goes into building Serotta bicycles.

[dekindy]

The ideal would be to make it a 3-day weekend event, publicized well in advance and maybe the same weekend every year, with provision for noncycling family member activities. Riding activities for morning or afternoon with family time and/or activities/excursions for the other part of the day.

I would love to attend for the obvious reasons and neither I or my family have seen that part of the country. However I would not want to take the time or expense for that type of trip without including my family. Maybe when my handicapped son eventually leaves home or has care that provides respite for us and my wife starts riding again, it might be possible to make it a cycling only trip. If my wife begins cycling seriously again, a factory fitting for a new frame might be an activity that we would want to do anyway.

[William]

For me it boiled down to just too short a notice to work it in with everything else going on in our family. I have discussed this with a couple other long time forum members who indicated the same reason.

Sounds like it was fun and I'm glad those who could attend had a great time.




William

[Pete Serotta]

I had to be in RALEIGH for that Saturday. (Daughter decided to make graduation event. - she originally was not for it was her Masters).

Sorry I missed it. PETE