Specialized products dumped by Performance

Callistus Valerius said:

Performance Bike is dumping all of their Specialized and Giant products.
http://www.cyclelicio.us/2005/08/performance-bikes-dumps-giant-and.html

That's interesting, even if four months old. While I've seen Giant
bikes at the Performance store in Carrboro, NC, the only Specialized
products I've ever seen there were shoes and accessories like water
bottles and helmets. If they had Specialized bikes there, I obviously
didn't notice them on display. Maybe it was a dealer-territory thing
though--there's an LBS, The Clean Machine, that's also a Specialized
dealer and is just a couple of blocks down the street from that
Performance store.

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legitimate replies.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Performance Bike is dumping all of their Specialized and Giant

products.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

http://www.cyclelicio.us/2005/08/performance-bikes-dumps-giant-and.html

That's interesting, even if four months old. While I've seen Giant
bikes at the Performance store in Carrboro, NC, the only Specialized
products I've ever seen there were shoes and accessories like water
bottles and helmets. If they had Specialized bikes there, I obviously
didn't notice them on display. Maybe it was a dealer-territory thing
though--there's an LBS, The Clean Machine, that's also a Specialized
dealer and is just a couple of blocks down the street from that
Performance store.

I heard many reasons, but what I heard is that Specialized wanted their
bikes promoted in the store, as the best bikes in there, with the most floor
space, etc. I didn't really notice until recently, when the Specialized
products weren't being replaced. Too bad, I like Specialized bikes, and
some of their products, but I don't blame the stores, I blame the
Specialized marketing dept.

Specialized is ruining their road bike line with the stupid elastomer
inserts and carbon stays. There isn't a decent Allez with rack mounts
anymore.

Callistus Valerius said:

Performance Bike is dumping all of their Specialized and Giant products.
http://www.cyclelicio.us/2005/08/performance-bikes-dumps-giant-and.html

Dumping Specialized and Giant for Pacific is like a mall tossing out
Macy's and Bloomingdale's to make way for Wal-Mart. People who want
Specialized will just go somewhere else.

This should be good news for the bike shops, though.
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Werehatrack said:

Callistus Valerius said:

Performance Bike is dumping all of their Specialized and Giant products.
http://www.cyclelicio.us/2005/08/performance-bikes-dumps-giant-and.html

Dumping Specialized and Giant for Pacific is like a mall tossing out
Macy's and Bloomingdale's to make way for Wal-Mart. People who want
Specialized will just go somewhere else.

This should be good news for the bike shops, though.

Wow, I really wonder who is doing the alienating. AFAIK Performance
dropped Jamis too. Now they are going to sell Schwinn, Mongoose, and
GT? I guess things weren't bad enough already when Performance started
carrying K2.

Maybe Snook realized most people just don't buy higher end complete
bikes, I dunno.

Quoted message said:

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Callistus Valerius said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Performance Bike is dumping all of their Specialized and Giant

products.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

http://www.cyclelicio.us/2005/08/performance-bikes-dumps-giant-and.html

That's interesting, even if four months old. While I've seen Giant
bikes at the Performance store in Carrboro, NC, the only Specialized
products I've ever seen there were shoes and accessories like water
bottles and helmets. If they had Specialized bikes there, I obviously
didn't notice them on display. Maybe it was a dealer-territory thing
though--there's an LBS, The Clean Machine, that's also a Specialized
dealer and is just a couple of blocks down the street from that
Performance store.

I heard many reasons, but what I heard is that Specialized wanted
their
bikes promoted in the store, as the best bikes in there, with the most
floor space, etc. I didn't really notice until recently, when the
Specialized products weren't being replaced. Too bad, I like
Specialized bikes, and some of their products, but I don't blame the
stores, I blame the Specialized marketing dept.

I think Specialized prefers to be sold retail-only, and Performance is
largely a mail-order company.

It does seem that stores who sell Specialized, sell Specialized
everything, right down to the smallest parts and accessories. So we're
stuck with those lousy Specialized inner tubes, with the valve stems that
pull out! I've been through at least a dozen of these in the
last several years, again and again because nothing else was available.
This lack of choice bothers me. Any dealer who puts their customers'
needs first and "just says no" to this is OK with me.

Next step -- getting bike shops to sell something other than Pearl Izumi
clothing. PI is fine (if a bit overpriced), but some choice would be nice.

Matt O.

Quoth Matt:

Quoted message said:

PI is fine (if a bit overpriced)....

Overpriced? My $50 Quest bibs have served me better than my $100+
Castelli bibs. And have you seen how much the Assos stuff costs? Over
$200 for bibshorts?!!!

D'ohBoy

Did I just log in through a wormhole?

I can't remember seeing a Specialized product in a Performance or a
Nashbar catalog in over ten years.

- -

Chris Zacho ~ "Your Friendly Neighborhood Wheelman"

"May you have the winds at your back,
And a really low gear for the hills!"

Chris'Z Corner
http://www.geocities.com/czcorner

I think it just goes to show that Performance, like Walmart ("The High
Cost of Low Prices"😉, is trying its very best to get EVERYTHING from
mainland China. Giant (Taiwan) and Specialized (Taiwan / America)
just don't cut it, i guess.

Take a 3-time bankrupted brand name like Schwinn - with no connection
to its past - and which now sells $100 MTB's at Walmart. Hey, if they
can sell to Walmart, what does that make Performance? Walmart's Ho?
I cannot remember a time in the past where ANY BRAND carried at
Walmart or XMart was sold by a mail order bicycle retailer, period.
This really is unprecedented.

- Don Gillies
San Diego, CA

In article <[email hidden]>,

Chris Zacho 'The Wheelman said:

Did I just log in through a wormhole?

I can't remember seeing a Specialized product in a Performance or a
Nashbar catalog in over ten years.

This only applies to Performance and Supergo retail stores.

On 8 Dec 2005 11:01:05 -0800, "damyth" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Maybe Snook realized most people just don't buy higher end complete
bikes, I dunno.

You may be on to something there. It's quite possible that they're
looking at the market as being most fertile in the area of the
first-time lbs shopper rather than the cycling enthusiast. That niche
is better served by having bikes that are less expensive than the
usual lbs lines, but which are a step up from the stuff at Mall-Wart
and the like. Pacific is quite capable of delivering bikes which have
midrange features at a low price point, and perhaps performance has
decided to concentrate on that. They may also be banking on the
current trend for retro gear in the US in multiple areas; having
cruisers that actually sport the Schwinn badge could be viewed as a
ready selling point to aging yuppies who are looking to rediscover
their old bike from long ago. Look at how successful the VW "New
Beetle" has been; from the reports I've been hearing, it's not all
that wonderful in fact (nor was its predecessor, in truth), but the
nostalgia factor has kept them rolling off the lots despite a fairly
inefficient design and lousy repair access.
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Well, I stopped by the lbs (not Performance) today on the way home from
work to pick up some brake parts, and noticed all Specialized stuff was
on clearance. I asked the owner what happened, and he said Specialized
[censored] him off (*long* story). He said if you subscribe to the
industry trade rags, apparently Specialized has been pissing off a lot
of dealers, dropping Specialized like rocks.

I guess Snook probably wasn't the only one fed up.

"Matt O'Toole" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

On Thu, 08 Dec 2005 12:22:35 +0000, Callistus Valerius wrote:

Quoted message said:

It does seem that stores who sell Specialized, sell Specialized
everything, right down to the smallest parts and accessories. So we're
stuck with those lousy Specialized inner tubes, with the valve stems that
pull out! I've been through at least a dozen of these in the
last several years, again and again because nothing else was available.
This lack of choice bothers me. Any dealer who puts their customers'
needs first and "just says no" to this is OK with me.

It's the same with Trek, I think. Trek dealers usually have mostly
Bontrager, Wrench Force and their other brands to go along with the bikes.
They just put a different name on the things, which Specialized doesn't.

Donald Gillies said:

I think it just goes to show that Performance, like Walmart ("The High
Cost of Low Prices"😉, is trying its very best to get EVERYTHING from
mainland China. Giant (Taiwan) and Specialized (Taiwan / America)
just don't cut it, i guess.

Take a 3-time bankrupted brand name like Schwinn - with no connection
to its past - and which now sells $100 MTB's at Walmart. Hey, if they
can sell to Walmart, what does that make Performance? Walmart's Ho?
I cannot remember a time in the past where ANY BRAND carried at
Walmart or XMart was sold by a mail order bicycle retailer, period.
This really is unprecedented.

Thank you for pointing out what everyone else has completely missed. It's
obvious that Specialized and Giant are going for small bike shops, where
they belong anyways. Performance seems to equal high volume and brand
disidentification.

--
Phil, Squid-in-Training

Werehatrack said:

Callistus Valerius said:

Performance Bike is dumping all of their Specialized and Giant
products.
http://www.cyclelicio.us/2005/08/performance-bikes-dumps-giant-and.html

Dumping Specialized and Giant for Pacific is like a mall tossing out
Macy's and Bloomingdale's to make way for Wal-Mart. People who want
Specialized will just go somewhere else.

This should be good news for the bike shops, though.

That was my thinking, too.

--
Phil, Squid-in-Training

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Well, I stopped by the lbs (not Performance) today on the way home from
work to pick up some brake parts, and noticed all Specialized stuff was
on clearance. I asked the owner what happened, and he said Specialized
[censored] him off (*long* story). He said if you subscribe to the
industry trade rags, apparently Specialized has been pissing off a lot
of dealers, dropping Specialized like rocks.

It's too bad because Specialized bikes are very nice for the price.
--------------
alex

specialized didn't send a catalog with 100 fascinating models this
year.
the minkow seats are pleasurable.

Quoted message said:

specialized didn't send a catalog with 100 fascinating models this
year.
the minkow seats are pleasurable.

Did you say "mink???"
--
Phil, Squid-in-Training

Phil said:

Quoted message said:

specialized didn't send a catalog with 100 fascinating models this
year.
the minkow seats are pleasurable.

Did you say "mink???"
--
Phil, Squid-in-Training

"Minkow" is the surname of the doctor credited with the Specialized
Body Geometry saddles. Some people refer to any such design as a
"Minkow wedge", although I've read that the idea was tried (and
abandoned) decades ago.