psling wrote: Sneaked into the wrong bedroom Matt??

Not the first time... and probably not the.....

35% off in-stock Lupine lights and Lupine batteries

Just ordered a Piko RX2 SC
Now out-of-stock, so perhaps I had the last in-stock

http://gearmechhanger.com/

Sport pursuit doing up to 50% off r***a stuff. Almost makes them reasonably priced - picked up a classic jersey for the same dosh as my usual Torm shirts so will be interested to see how it compares.

Merlin claiming 40% off Salsa frames atm:

http://bikes.merlincycles.com/search?w= ... 31b21397fc

Edited for missing ‘off’ (not 40% frames...)

metalheart wrote:Merlin claiming 40% off Salsa frames atm:

http://bikes.merlincycles.com/search?w= ... 31b21397fc

Edited for missing ‘off’ (not 40% frames...)

Presumably, with Triton doing something similar Raleigh are throwing Salsa under the bus after doing very little with the brand since they've imported them?

Trying to ignore the beargrease carbon.....

Trying to ignore the beargrease carbon.....

I was doing fine until you brought it to my attention.... goddamn.

(Sorry, fat fingers and iPad don’t mix... )

I see Triton have a small Vaya frameset for £500 https://www.tritoncycles.co.uk/frames-f ... 017-p19397

Bearbonesnorm wrote:I see Triton have a small Vaya frameset for £500 https://www.tritoncycles.co.uk/frames-f ... 017-p19397

200 quid more at Merlin gets you a full bike! (although it has steel forks and the triton one carbon iirc!)

Planet X/On one have the Pickenflick full build with Apex 1 for a £1000.

Get thee behind me Satan!

johnnystorm wrote:
Presumably, with Triton doing something similar Raleigh are throwing Salsa under the bus after doing very little with the brand since they've imported them?

Not sure it is Raliegh throwing them under the bus. Any backstory on that please johnnystorm? i genuinely dont know what has happened there. Last time I spoke to the Raleigh Account manager he was raving about the brand

25% off smooth lube etc here with love25 code

https://www.cyclorise.com/store/c1/CYCL ... PAGE-INDEX

wriggles wrote:

johnnystorm wrote:
Presumably, with Triton doing something similar Raleigh are throwing Salsa under the bus after doing very little with the brand since they've imported them?

Not sure it is Raliegh throwing them under the bus. Any backstory on that please johnnystorm? i genuinely dont know what has happened there. Last time I spoke to the Raleigh Account manager he was raving about the brand

Utter speculation on my part! My not-so-LBS found Raleigh essentially ignoring them when they called up which might have influenced that speculation.

johnnystorm wrote:

wriggles wrote:

johnnystorm wrote:
Presumably, with Triton doing something similar Raleigh are throwing Salsa under the bus after doing very little with the brand since they've imported them?

Not sure it is Raliegh throwing them under the bus. Any backstory on that please johnnystorm? i genuinely dont know what has happened there. Last time I spoke to the Raleigh Account manager he was raving about the brand

Utter speculation on my part! My not-so-LBS found Raleigh essentially ignoring them when they called up which might have influenced that speculation.

I was speaking to a Raleigh rep last year about Salsa, he was utterly clueless about the brand and couldn’t understand the need for that niche market. He only took interest in them when I said I was racing my Salsa fat bike in Finland If that’s the reps attitude*, then I don’t have much hope...

*Obviously it wasn’t the salsa rep I was talking too

Salsa / Raleigh seems to be quite a story - the upshot is that many dealers wanting to sell Salsa are now dealing direct. Once the dust has settled, this may actually prove a good outcome for the man on the street ... or woman, obviously.

Funny isnt it. The Raleigh guys I met last year where massively enthusiastic about the brand.

Worth noting that the same thing happened when ISON were distributing Salsa about 5 years ago. Sudden decision to stop doing the brand and massive dumping of stock at silly prices

As i was discussing with Wriggles, seems daft really, bikepacking, gravel bikes, Plus bikes and previously fat bikes have all been or still "en vogue", you would think that well priced Surly and Salsa bikes would easier to sell, but it seems the fixed pricing and less than enthusiastic distributors are making a dent in their sales here.

As i was discussing with Wriggles, seems daft really, bikepacking, gravel bikes, Plus bikes and previously fat bikes have all been or still "en vogue", you would think that well priced Surly and Salsa bikes would easier to sell, but it seems the fixed pricing and less than enthusiastic distributors are making a dent in their sales here.

Aye, lovely as they may be, they ain't cheap. A Fargo frameset is nearly a grand, only after a considerable discount as seen above, do they start to appear more reasonable but even with 35% off, they're still £630.

Agreed. Good bikes but silly prices. I have a Fargo and its great at what it does, but way over priced at nearly £1k now. And the Ti is £2.4k (and only a 5 year warranty)!!
(Edit; just checked my 2015 Fargo was £630 2 years ago, and ok carbon forks, alternators etc etc, I thought that was a lot then!)

What i meant was they are the often the style of bike that is on-trend at the moment, with bikepacking, gravel bikes etc, they seem to not want to capitalise on this?

A few years ago 90% of fat bikes, Plus bikes or bikepacking specific bikes with mounts on forks etc would of been salsa/ surly at a rough guess, but all the big brands have over-taken them, how many people with cash in their pockets would of liked a Salsa Cutthroat but could never find one, or have clicked on a Fargo or similar on the few sites that sell them to see their size out of stock.

What i meant was they are the often the style of bike that is on-trend at the moment, with bikepacking, gravel bikes etc, they seem to not want to capitalise on this?

See what you mean. However, I imagine the 'adventure' market would only have made up a tiny percentage of Raleigh's turnover, so might have seemed like a lot of investment for what appear to be small gains? I reckon it's also a market you have to 'get' and properly understand if you want to capitalise on it?

Fair comment. Big part of Raleighs revenue comes from Wilkinsons wheels. High volume st low cost obvs.

wriggles wrote:Funny isnt it. The Raleigh guys I met last year where massively enthusiastic about the brand.

Worth noting that the same thing happened when ISON were distributing Salsa about 5 years ago. Sudden decision to stop doing the brand and massive dumping of stock at silly prices

I'm pretty sure the decision that Ison wouldn't import Salsa anymore wasn't made by Ison.

Which would be interesting considering that Ison are clearly on good terms with QBP, owners of Salsa, Surly, Whiskey, All-City, Dimension, Problem Solver.

My contact at a well known Nottingham based and Dutch owned distributor who specialises in mom'n'pop slatwall bread'n'butter products tells me that they're letting the brand go gently.
No drama's and no falling out, but gently putting it down and walking away as Ison may have before them. It was suggested, as has been previously mentioned, chances are good Salsa may go dealer direct - this may mean far less small parts making their way across the pond, stems, bars, etc.

Maybe there's just not enough margin for a distributor to make decent returns on. I doubt there's anything more sinister than that, much as I love a crap theory.
If I were to have a crap theory it'd be that management at Salsa are so lovely that the UK distributors just can't cope and are just too blinded by the light, accustomed as they are to the usual miserable gits of the UK cycle trade.

One of the biggest issues for a UK importer of Salsa is trying to get a hold of the bikes/frames in any reasonable timescale. It certainly wasn't unknown for UK/European bound stock to be diverted to the home (US) market, leaving UK/Euro shops high and dry. If I was importing, I'd not go near Salsa with a bargepole.