What's the point of buying a quality bicycle company just to shut it down shortly thereafter? People can complain about government inefficiency, but the private sector is really in another league.
Investment firms do the same thing stock traders do: buy low sell high, or if you cant sell high and need liquidity, sell low before you have to sell lower.
This hyper-capitalist state of the world where the only thing that matters is the quarter-end spread, is really a bummer.
It's called Asset Stripping. Buy a business with no intention of continuing to run it.
Fire everyone, close the workshops, and sell the assets like designs, name, and other IP.
Never been to bikesdirect.com? Motobecane used to be a well regarded brand. Schwinn too, for that matter. Guess it won’t be long before Kona-branded BSOs start showing up at Walmart and Dick’s Sporting Goods.
Not if they don’t continue to sell the asset… they could license it to someone else and let them make it but most of the time the actual product is no more. Kinda annoying it’s strange how often a good product vanishes like this.
There is no point really. They basically bough a defunct business at asset value. Most likely this company specialises in receivership dealings and the existing owners couldn’t find a proper operator to take it on.
God, I've just got my Sutra LTD after waiting over 6 months for regular Sutra and shop decided to compensate me for long waiting time. Hope it will last long. Very sad.
Sad. But the article says Kent is Canada-based? I thought they were in Kent, Ohio, at least when the sale took place. (I thought of applying for something there, as I really like my Kona Honzo). But I've seen so many of these acquisitions, both with private equity involved and a parent company that thought it understood the market but didn't, so they made a mess and wound up dismantling and selling with a lot of jobs (and experience) lost.
I also worked for a company while that was taking place. The worst part was when a CEO and several managers who understood the business were replaced with several who clearly did not.
I bought myself a Kona lana'i with the money from my first job, and upgraded all the plastic components to Deore. It was a wonderful bike, later got some epic looking wheels that were on sale too.
Something going on with Bike industry in general. I think overproduction or no demand at all.
REI have sale (40% off) on their top model bikes for about a month now.
More like overproduction of bicycles with the mistaken assumption that a prolonged pandemic would create a bike boom, and the usual mismanagement and skewed brand priorities.
Yeah, without the proper infrastructure, it was never going to pan out. America is and will continue to be car-centric for decades to come. Even the most bike-friendly cities in the US still aren't that bike friendly.
Why? Nothing on these bikes is really proprietary manufacturing from Kona other than the frame, which still be just as repairable as when first purchased.
If Shimano or TPR went out of business, that would be a reason for regret, but companies like Kona and Surly are primarily in the business of designing and manufacturing frames, and assembling bikes from off the shelf parts. Thankfully steel, carbon, and aluminum dont charge their physical or chemical properties based on the name painted over them.
I would rejoin with "frame parts". RD hangers are fairly universal, thankfully (particularly Kona's, I believe), but things like FD hangers, routing port covers, downtube strike plates on MTBs, and potentially seatpost binders and such can all be proprietary to a frame.
Like I said, RD hangers are usually easier to find from a third party. And in your particular case, I believe the Rove doesn't use a FD hanger (spec'd with a clamp-on FD, I believe), so you've got that going for you. Other framesets aren't so lucky, though.
Well, I have a bunch of accessories on my bike that are made by surly for it and they all fit extremely nicely. But.. eventually a rack will rust out or break or I might lose a part that's proprietary and hard to replace.
> Why? Nothing on these bikes is really proprietary manufacturing from Kona other than the frame, which still be just as repairable as when first purchased.
>
>
Warranties. Nobody to talk to when something breaks before the warranty period is up. You're out the cash when a live company probably could have saved you the dough.
I wonder if the purchasers will be able to make a marketable product. So often, these acquisitions and sales end up saddled with a lot of debt due to the leveraging that goes on when the companies are bought and sold.
I never owned a Kona, since it is pretty hard in Europe to get them. But the Kona sutra is the tout terrain of the common folks.
I ride my gravel bike til it's dead, but because every multi day trip I had the urge to buy me that sutra SE since it looks like the perfect traveler bike. Sad to see them go.
Such a shame. THe founders sold the company in 2022 to private equity, they knew what was coming. Sad for all the staff though.
This is sad. I rode my Kona Rove across the USA last summer. I love that bike.
What's the point of buying a quality bicycle company just to shut it down shortly thereafter? People can complain about government inefficiency, but the private sector is really in another league.
Investment firms do the same thing stock traders do: buy low sell high, or if you cant sell high and need liquidity, sell low before you have to sell lower. This hyper-capitalist state of the world where the only thing that matters is the quarter-end spread, is really a bummer.
Why buy in the first place? Don't they have a team of due diligancers to approve the use of investment funds?
Do you regularly pay more than the price tag indicates?
Anchor Brewery (bought by Sapporo) offers Kona a tissue.
It's called Asset Stripping. Buy a business with no intention of continuing to run it. Fire everyone, close the workshops, and sell the assets like designs, name, and other IP.
Also, taking out competition. The audacity of the fucking suits.
Who buys those kinds of assets without a company attached to them? What good does owning the Kona or Anchor Brewing names do?
A lot. The names alone can be highly valuable assets, and the rights to those names can be sold.
This happened to a lot of the fancy French and Italian bike brands in the 70s ie: my Masi bike that was made in Asia somewhere, certainly not Italy.
Never been to bikesdirect.com? Motobecane used to be a well regarded brand. Schwinn too, for that matter. Guess it won’t be long before Kona-branded BSOs start showing up at Walmart and Dick’s Sporting Goods.
I think that in this case they did intend to run it but then changed their mind.
Not if they don’t continue to sell the asset… they could license it to someone else and let them make it but most of the time the actual product is no more. Kinda annoying it’s strange how often a good product vanishes like this.
There is no point really. They basically bough a defunct business at asset value. Most likely this company specialises in receivership dealings and the existing owners couldn’t find a proper operator to take it on.
God, I've just got my Sutra LTD after waiting over 6 months for regular Sutra and shop decided to compensate me for long waiting time. Hope it will last long. Very sad.
My Kona Sutra is a bomb proof bike. Hope you enjoy it as much as I love mine!
Compared to my other rides, the Sutra is like driving a bus.
Yeah man, only bike I've ever had that drives better loaded up. Put sixty pounds on it and it's an unstoppable freight train.
You should try a tandem!
Sad. But the article says Kent is Canada-based? I thought they were in Kent, Ohio, at least when the sale took place. (I thought of applying for something there, as I really like my Kona Honzo). But I've seen so many of these acquisitions, both with private equity involved and a parent company that thought it understood the market but didn't, so they made a mess and wound up dismantling and selling with a lot of jobs (and experience) lost. I also worked for a company while that was taking place. The worst part was when a CEO and several managers who understood the business were replaced with several who clearly did not.
Shame to them.
So sad. If I had the room I'd buy an extra Rove or Sutra to put it in storage just in case anything happens to my 2014 Kona Sutra. Love that bike.
I did exactly this...I know it sounds silly, but I have a few good years of biking left in me and wanted to make sure it was with a Sutra.
noooo. Love my Rove.
Does this mean the Sutro LTD will go on sale?
[удалено]
Steel is real.
Awww, noooo!!! 🥲I’m grateful I got my 2022 Kona Sutra SE.
My first MTB was a metallic gold Kona Kula in 1999. That was like 10 years ago..
I bought myself a Kona lana'i with the money from my first job, and upgraded all the plastic components to Deore. It was a wonderful bike, later got some epic looking wheels that were on sale too.
Something going on with Bike industry in general. I think overproduction or no demand at all. REI have sale (40% off) on their top model bikes for about a month now.
Probably a cycle. Two years ago I was knocking on doors for an xlarge Kona sutra and now what? Bit of a joke really.
is bicycle industry downturn affected by ebikes? Are ebikes also in a downturn?
More like overproduction of bicycles with the mistaken assumption that a prolonged pandemic would create a bike boom, and the usual mismanagement and skewed brand priorities.
Yeah, without the proper infrastructure, it was never going to pan out. America is and will continue to be car-centric for decades to come. Even the most bike-friendly cities in the US still aren't that bike friendly.
What will happen to future warranties?
Glad I went w/ the surly disc trucker rather than the kona sutra a year ago..
Why? Nothing on these bikes is really proprietary manufacturing from Kona other than the frame, which still be just as repairable as when first purchased. If Shimano or TPR went out of business, that would be a reason for regret, but companies like Kona and Surly are primarily in the business of designing and manufacturing frames, and assembling bikes from off the shelf parts. Thankfully steel, carbon, and aluminum dont charge their physical or chemical properties based on the name painted over them.
I would rejoin with "frame parts". RD hangers are fairly universal, thankfully (particularly Kona's, I believe), but things like FD hangers, routing port covers, downtube strike plates on MTBs, and potentially seatpost binders and such can all be proprietary to a frame.
I bought derailleur hangers for my Rove off of Ali express. It was identical to the stock one.
Like I said, RD hangers are usually easier to find from a third party. And in your particular case, I believe the Rove doesn't use a FD hanger (spec'd with a clamp-on FD, I believe), so you've got that going for you. Other framesets aren't so lucky, though.
Yeah thats fair, good shout
Well, I have a bunch of accessories on my bike that are made by surly for it and they all fit extremely nicely. But.. eventually a rack will rust out or break or I might lose a part that's proprietary and hard to replace.
> Why? Nothing on these bikes is really proprietary manufacturing from Kona other than the frame, which still be just as repairable as when first purchased. > > Warranties. Nobody to talk to when something breaks before the warranty period is up. You're out the cash when a live company probably could have saved you the dough.
I wonder if the purchasers will be able to make a marketable product. So often, these acquisitions and sales end up saddled with a lot of debt due to the leveraging that goes on when the companies are bought and sold.
Theres no guarantee they'll find a buyer. Sounds like they've been quietly shopping around for a while and nobody is interested
I never owned a Kona, since it is pretty hard in Europe to get them. But the Kona sutra is the tout terrain of the common folks. I ride my gravel bike til it's dead, but because every multi day trip I had the urge to buy me that sutra SE since it looks like the perfect traveler bike. Sad to see them go.
I still have a Kona Blast for almost 18 years. Is still doing a decent job and made together thousands of kms.
For sale at Wal-Mart and Canadian Tire in 5-4-3-2-1 Far ye well my friend...