Don't call it a comeback - Serotta

[wpod]

Interesting article others here may enjoy by Ben Serotta.

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by wpod

Interesting article others here may enjoy by Ben Serotta.

We’re not setting up a dealer network but we’re happy to have relationships with retailers or independent mechanics or independent fitters as long as that’s what the consumer wants.

No frame only...I guess a fit session with info to serotta..then the bike delivered to the shop? Who pays to have it assembled I wonder. Seems pretty obvious ben thinks these will 'sell themselves'..and no bike shop with a demo fleet is required..we'll see. More than a few direct models have not survived. Some have, a lot haven't.

BUT direct is where the margin is..as long as volume is sufficient..A lot of frame/bike makers have figured out exposure via bike shops is worth the reduced margin...I think 'serotta' as an attractive and sought after name, has sailed tho.

IMHO, of course.

[fiamme red]

Part of the reason we spec’d it as a complete bike rather than a frame only is because to me it’s important that a bike has a nice carbon handlebar and seatpost to help balance the smoothness of the bike.

Interesting. So would alloy bars and seatpost be too harsh for this bike?

[djg21]

Originally Posted by fiamme red

Interesting. So would alloy bars and seatpost be too harsh for this bike?

It strikes me that if you need to spec carbon bars and a carbon seatpost to make a bike comfortable, there’s an issue with the frame design. I’m sorry if I’m a cynic, but it seems that Serotta is simply plastering his name on the downtubes of production Taiwanese aluminum frames and selling them direct to consumer to keep the retail price down and his margins up. This could be a successful approach depending on the ultimate prices of the bikes and the value they present to consumers, but I wouldn’t be compelled to purchase one merely because it is a “Serotta.” I do wish Mr. Serotta luck with his new venture.

[Burnette]

Ben is right that direct sales is the way to go. Canyon is here and Trek and the rest have added staff to also go in that direction.

Where Ben will struggle is where all businesses do. With just a name and nothing else to really differentiate yourself, once you sell to those who are already in the bag, you are left bare in cut throat market where cost reigns supreme.

With direct sales a person sits at a computer and compares specs and price. The big brands have scale so regular price will be cheaper from day one with way better name recognition and a marketing arm to promote it. During sale off season they dump inventory too, so Ben's window is very narrow.

It's the three years rule. Anything he gets right now will be off of those who remember Serrota. Once those orders are filled the phone stops ringing and he has to compete with Cannondale, Trek, Specialized, Argon, BH, Bianchi, BMC, Calfee, Canyon, Cervelo, Cinelli, Crumpton, Colnago, De Rosa, Eddie Merckx, Felt, Firefly, Focus, Fuji, Giant, GT, Independent Fabrication, Jamis, Kirk Frameworks, Kona, Lightspeed, Lynsky, Marin, Moots, Motobecane, Orbea, Pinarello, Santacruz, Seven Cycles, SOMA Fab, Somec, Time, Tommaso, Waterford Precision Bicycles, Zanconato, Zukas Cycles...

[texbike]

I like this comment from Ben in the article:

"Bike choice is more complicated than it should be, and to a degree that it takes away from the purchasing experience".

I wonder if things like 10 different size options within a single bike line and a complex, custom-fitting methodology lead to making a bike purchase more complicated?

The article was well written and I do wish him luck. There are definitely advantages to the direct model, but that also puts Serotta into contention with a lot of other brands/options with nothing more to go on at the end of the day than your own marketing capabilities to differentiate yourself and create demand. I'm not sure that the Serotta name alone is enough to accomplish that at this point.

Texbike

[Imaking20]

This article read like a paid advertisement. Yawn.

[benb]

He always got it but it seems like just making a tall and short version of each size is a huge start.

E.x. 56S and 56L or whatever.

One for people with longer legs, one for people with shorter legs. People with long legs who want to get super low can get the S version and people with short legs who want the bars really high can get the L version and other people can get the one that matches most with their proportions.

Of course that totally clashes with the whole "Let's go from 5 sizes to 3 sizes to save even more money" thing with some of the compact frames.

[false_Aest]

Retire + take up PEDs. Serotta doesn't mean as much as it did and a bunch of false starts and unfortunate events haven't done a lot to increase the name's value.

[NHAero]

If I am looking for an aluminum frame, my two choices would be something made by Cannondale, where they use hydroforming to put the metal where it does the most work, similar to best designed carbon frames, or a pure custom from a great builder with lots of alloy experience - Mike Zancanato is an obvious choice. (There may be other competition to Cannondale, I've been impressed with my CAAD10 in the bang for buck dept).

I just don't see why I'd go to Serotta (stated without any vestige of animosity - I had a Concours which was lovely)

[false_Aest]

Hmm one interesting thing as I re-read the article:

He doesn't like the notion of have a bike specific to gravel and he doesn't seem to recognize that, for a good portion of the gravel/exploring crowd, it IS about "turning a ride into an excursion."

A semi-related anecdote:

I spoke to someone intimately involved in designing the Serotta forks (because we were considering having a new fork designed from the ground up) -- apparently Ben wasn't really into a fork that would fit tires larger than 25mm and it took a little bit of wrestling to convince him to get to 25 -- he wanted 23mm.

To me that seems pretty discipline specific.

[Mark McM]

Originally Posted by benb

He always got it but it seems like just making a tall and short version of each size is a huge start.

E.x. 56S and 56L or whatever.

One for people with longer legs, one for people with shorter legs. People with long legs who want to get super low can get the S version and people with short legs who want the bars really high can get the L version and other people can get the one that matches most with their proportions.

Of course that totally clashes with the whole "Let's go from 5 sizes to 3 sizes to save even more money" thing with some of the compact frames.

Looking at the geometry charts on the Serrota Design Studios web site, I can't see anything regarding frames being for "tall" or "short" riders. There is no information at all about frame Stack height, or head tube length, or anything else about how "tall" or "short" a frame is (i.e., how high or low the handlebars can be set). The geometry charts seem to have just about every other dimension except these. What's up with that?

[cmg]

There's a lot of completion if your looking for an aluminum bike. Bowman palace r comes to mind. Can be bought as a frameset, to be cobbled together by the owner as they see fit. way cheaper. I'm sure there are others and eBay. https://bowman-cycles.com/product/palace-r/ lots of luck.

[sandyrs]

This is neither productive nor directly relevant to the article but dear god those Duetti frames need a different paint job.

The geometry chart is also nearly useless.

[cadence90]

Originally Posted by fiamme red

Interesting. So would alloy bars and seatpost be too harsh for this bike?

I think that one could use alloy bars and posts on this bicycle, if one were really so insistent on going full-retro, but I believe that in that case one would have to use only the approved "ACP" (AlloyCockpitPeas) rather than the standard "CCP" (CarbonCockpitPeas) bearings for the headset and bottom bracket, in order to not void the warranty, etc., etc....


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