Guerilla Gravity going out of business?

[frorider]

All signs pointing to Yes. Bummer.

[Name Redacted]

Hope not. I've really liked the two bikes that I've bought from them. Only carbon pressed bikes made in the US that I know of. Seemed to be a good selling point. Maybe they grew too fast lately.

[toast2266]

That's a huge bummer.

My understanding is that the "revved" stuff with the thermoplastic tech is actually an independent business under the same roof. I know they put in a lot of money and had some pretty big grants to develop the revved stuff. So I wonder if this is one of those things where the tech is profitable but the bikes are not, so maybe they'll continue making products for other applications.

[grabtindy]

I sure hope not, but been hearing these rumors for months now. Wish they weren't sold out of hardware spares, I'd hate to lose the ability to keep riding my Smash.

[Eluder]

I put something up in the pros coset thread last week, but probably sI hould have made a Pandemic Bike Boom Recoil thread.

All signs point to it being over for GG, at least as we know it.

This is in their website timeline and likely the fatal move...



It was eye-opening being at the OEM level from 2020-2022, very happy I jumped shipped last August. Bummed for all of those that are going to lose jobs or have lost jobs.

[Dumbest Known Time]

Ibis has a factory in Santa Cruz but to my knowledge they're only making their Exie XC frame there. And they still over a made in Vietnam version for that frame.

Bummer that GG threw in the towel. I can't imagine they'll be the last...

[Eluder]

Bummer that GG threw in the towel. I can't imagine they'll be the last...

As Waxman said in the Pros Closet thread I think some of the smaller companies falsely perceived an increase in market share because they sold any bike they could get salable. Rainy Day funds were ignored, and spending increased. I get it, everyone wants a piece of the dream and it sucks to miss out.

[bagtagley]

https://m.pinkbike.com/news/rob-wess...es-as-ceo.html

[CS]

Well shoot. No wonder I was able to get my bike for a such a good price.

[rideit]

I am pretty sure they are under orders to keep it zipped, but this is from Matt.

[NuclearNachos21]

really a bummer, wonder what company will be next. i can't imagine how smaller brands could handle the pandemic+overstock


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[t-the-east]

Doesn’t seem very zipped

[grinch]

Thats a shame. They had almost a perfect product.Tough go in the industry these days. Many more to follow id guess. With a little cash flow there'll probably be some outstaning deals this fall/winter

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[Andeh]

really a bummer, wonder what company will be next. i can't imagine how smaller brands could handle the pandemic+overstock


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Man, there's so many small brands out there that you never actually see on the trails anymore, they're always on sale at Jenson/Competitive Cyclist/WWC/etc. and you've got to wonder how they're in business. Some of these I've seen fewer of in the wild than I saw GGs other than mine.
Kona
Eminent
Alchemy
Intense
Niner
Salsa
Evil
Mondraker

[adrenalated]

Kona is a small brand?

[Andeh]

Kona is a small brand?

They are now, judging by the total lack of new bikes of theirs out there and their disappearance from professional racing. I've seen one new Kona in the last few years, and it's owned by a local teenage enduro racer who presumably got it on sale.

[smartyiak]

Kona is a small brand?

Well...now they're just another hedge fund brand waiting for an opening at Dick's.

A shame...as my Hei Hei is just a fantastic bike.

[rideit]

Curious thing about Kona here in JH, they opened up dealerships to about anyone, and most are not stocking any retail bikes. (Mostly rentals). There are at least four and possibly five in Teton County, wy, and two in Teton Valley, IIRC.

[toast2266]

Man, there's so many small brands out there that you never actually see on the trails anymore, they're always on sale at Jenson/Competitive Cyclist/WWC/etc. and you've got to wonder how they're in business. Some of these I've seen fewer of in the wild than I saw GGs other than mine.
Kona
Eminent
Alchemy
Intense
Niner
Salsa
Evil
Mondraker

Salsa's owned by QBP. I suspect they still do alright in various non-mountain biking segments. It's been 10 years since Salsa really seemed like they cared about traditional mountain bikes.

I'd bet Mondraker is still doing fine in Europe. Their North American presence always felt a bit tenuous.

Niner feels like they got a bit out of their depth when they started trying to make enduro-y bikes. But I bet they could scale back to their roots in hardtails and short travel things and survive.

Kona's business model for the last 20 years (pretty much ever since their magic link disaster) has been to sit on their heels, don't make waves, and don't make big changes to the lineup. While that means their bikes haven't been all that interesting nor have they been flying off the shelves, I suspect it also means they didn't over extend themselves in the pandemic rush.

I still see Evils around. If having to warranty every single frame they produced for a year or two didn't crush the brand, I'm inclined to think that nothing else will either.

Intense has been on life support for years. Sooner or later, the moto guys that own it are gonna get bored and pull the plug. Although they did just get on the second step of the world cup podium, so at least there's that (go Dak!).

I think Alchemy gets some business from their made-in-the-U.S. semi custom road bike side of things. Roadies pay stupid money for stupid things, so maybe that's enough to keep them afloat.

I have no idea how Eminent is still in business. My guess is their ongoing existence can be chalked up solely to the deep pockets of the ownership. They can't have sold more than 7 or 8 of those butt ugly atrocities.

[stuckathuntermtn]

Damn, that fucking sucks. My Trail Pistola is amazing. Maybe I should order a bearing kit now for the future?

[wendigo]

Pistola Frame Bearings:
Main pivot: 6903 Max
Rocker pivot: 6901 Max
Seatstay to rocker: 6900
Seatstay to chainstay: 6901 SM Max

[waxman]

Salsa's owned by QBP. I suspect they still do alright in various non-mountain biking segments. It's been 10 years since Salsa really seemed like they cared about traditional mountain bikes.

I'd bet Mondraker is still doing fine in Europe. Their North American presence always felt a bit tenuous.

Niner feels like they got a bit out of their depth when they started trying to make enduro-y bikes. But I bet they could scale back to their roots in hardtails and short travel things and survive.

Kona's business model for the last 20 years (pretty much ever since their magic link disaster) has been to sit on their heels, don't make waves, and don't make big changes to the lineup. While that means their bikes haven't been all that interesting nor have they been flying off the shelves, I suspect it also means they didn't over extend themselves in the pandemic rush.

I still see Evils around. If having to warranty every single frame they produced for a year or two didn't crush the brand, I'm inclined to think that nothing else will either.

Intense has been on life support for years. Sooner or later, the moto guys that own it are gonna get bored and pull the plug. Although they did just get on the second step of the world cup podium, so at least there's that (go Dak!).

I think Alchemy gets some business from their made-in-the-U.S. semi custom road bike side of things. Roadies pay stupid money for stupid things, so maybe that's enough to keep them afloat.

I have no idea how Eminent is still in business. My guess is their ongoing existence can be chalked up solely to the deep pockets of the ownership. They can't have sold more than 7 or 8 of those butt ugly atrocities.

That's a pretty good summary. I would bet that in some regions there are brands that are prevalent (Kona maybe in western Canada?).

[VTskibum]

Bummer about GG. I’ve only ever seen three in person here on the east coast and one was Bagtagley’s. I see a decent number of Kona bikes around even though I can’t say I know any active dealers around me. The process series were reasonably cutting edge when they were released.


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[XXX-er]

I think popularity is somewhat area specific, localy in western Canada I see a lot of norco/ kona/ rocky

and a whole bunch of SC which is of course not western Canada

the north shore in Vangroovy was the birthplace of freeride

[Andeh]

The thing with a lot of those brands on that list is that they don't make their bikes themselves, like GG did. So presumably they bought at least their normal amount of frames & components from their Asian manufacturers during 2020/21/22 (if not more like everyone else), and now the market is totally flooded. Best case scenario, they ordered normal quantity so their oversupply and consequent loss isn't as big, but it's still a loss. I mean, I guess some of the loss will be passed on to whichever retail vendors they have, but they've still got to be sitting on a lot of inventory they haven't yet sold to vendors that they already paid the Asian manufacturers for.

I work for a large construction subcontractor, and while we're slow, we're keeping our guys busy maintaining equipment and building tools. So while cashflow is not great now, that money's at least going towards something that will be useful when things pick up again. With the case of a lot of these bike companies, they paid a bunch of money for inventory that's not selling now and will be worth even less a year from now. And on top of that, they still have to pay for all their overhead.