frogman

Received an email from both Nashbar and Performance Bikes today that indicated they are both now a subsidy of amaincycling.com. I am particularly pleased that Nashbar will be continuing. I always liked their webpage and the bike stuff they offered. It looks like both companies will still retain their individual webpages.
Here's the message Nashbar sent me:

https://www.nashbar.com/newsletter?h..._cid%3d2336033

Maelochs

I am not particularly pleased because it sounds as though they will become what Performance had become and Nashbar was becoming ... just more online stores.

I shopped those sites for deals---I cannot count how much money Nashbar got from me because of the "returned merchandise" and "Closeout" pages. I have a ton of Nashbar-branded gear because it is bland and was cheap---I don't have to advertise, I don't look like a clown (or rather, I look like an undercover clown) and the prices were excellent---or rather, reasonable in a business where ridiculous prices were and remain the norm.

Performance was turning into just another online retailer when it went broke ... and Nashbar was turning into Performance. If those trends continue .... well, I have a lifetime supply of a lot of stuff and will find sources for the rest.

travbikeman

Both are same sites, just the original logo's. I'm assuming that one day in the future, they will have only one name. I checked the site and frankly, not seeing any deals on anything that I can't get at the LBS or closer online shops. More of my biking money is returning to the LBS. I don't want those shops to go under like Performance Bikes.

I ended opting out, emailed them to delete my account and my personal information. The items I've purchased at Performance Bikes are no longer warranted, the new owners don't need my information.

Doctor Morbius

Meh. Nashbar hasn't been Nashbar in a long time. Let 'em die.

frogman

Good point. I am remembering the old Nashbar.

aclinjury

so, we celebrating a death of competition? but you bunch would be complaining about high prices and bad service right?
i'm sensing a lot of hypocrites

Maelochs

Not sure what you are sensing, but it is entirely within yourself, i can assure you.

Death of competition? Are you saying that if we don't get all excited that Nashbar and Performance will keep their sites open, there won't be any competition? Please explain Exactly how that works.

As for high prices and bad service ... not sure where you have experienced them. Too bad for you, But no one here mentioned either thing---except you.

Let me explain---since the obvious obviously isn't, to you.

Nashbar had a website famous for offering the same stuff as other sites, at normal prices, plus its own branded gear, of good quality, but generally not particularly flashy or stylish, at excellent prices. Nashbar also offered rebranded components, like Microshift shifters, some cranksets ... and even whole bikes, which were decent quality generic Chinese frames with decent components. Nashbar also had a generous return policy, and sold off its returns for a third to half off. They also sold a lot of closeout items---possibly buying up big lots of stuff from the bigger sites, which depended on having the Latest Styles from the Biggest Brands .... so people who wanted good gear at a better price, might have to wear last year's model, but it was still good gear. I have some Pearl Izumi bibs I got cheap about a decade ago which I still wear, and plenty of other good stuff---both brand-name and Nashbar---which i still wear. all of it was a year or two outdated, and all of it was just as good as the latest designs.

Nashbar was known as a place to get decent gear and good for a decent price---the site offered good value, if one didn't need the high-cachet decals and labels.

Performance was similar, with a little more emphasis on bigger brands maybe, but a lot of store brands which were, like Nasbar's stuff, of good quality and sold at a sensible price.

At some point the parent company of Performance bought Nashbar, or something like that---I don't pay too much attention to the corporate dealings. Then Performance started to go broke and was bought by ASI, which formed ASE, or vice versa .... again, i don't care, google it.

ASI or ASE started homgenizing the two sites, which meant most of what made Nashbar the first shopping stop for a lot of cyclists, went away. Also, Performance started raising its prices and phasing out store brands, trying to compete in the higher-profit pseudo-luxury, expensive label league with the established players. I guess the parent company took on a lot of debt when they bought Performance, and were no longer satisfied with lower profit margins---they wanted big bucks fast.

The changes alienated all the old and faithful Performance and Nashbar customers, while apparently not attracting any new customers, who probably viewed both sites more as budget sites.

When Performance finally went belly-up---mostly because of its large number of large brick-and-mortar stores on expensive property which couldn't pay the leases due to rising rents----a consortium including AMains bought the names. Now AMains is trying to get old Nashbar and Performance customers excited about the fact that the names will still be attached to websites.

However ... Just having websites with those URLs means nothing. To retain the old Nashbar and Performance customer base, AMains has to offer the shopping experiences which drew so many faithful customers to the original sites ... and there is no sign they plan to do that.

I can put Corvette badges on a Chevette---it is still a Chevette. The name isn't what matters.

So ... please explain Exactly where you see hypocrisy?

indyfabz

What a pleasant thread.

Subscribed.

mstateglfr 

celebrating the death of competition is different from not being interested in Nashbar if Nashbar isnt what it used to be.

if the Nashbar site ends up selling house branded frames and forks for great prices, house branded components and tape for grest prices, good jersey prices and selection, etc etc etc then I bet a lot of people will be happy.

if the Nashbar site ends up selling nothing unique that can't be sourced at dozens of other sites for the same price or less, then I bet there won't be a bunch of enthusiasm.

nashbar in the last 18 months was completely uninteresting. The selection of components, jerseys, tires, and frames, was limited compared to what it used to be and not at all unique.
For example, they would offer 3 brakes. Seriously- 3. 2 mtb hydraulic and some DuraAce direct mount caliper brakes. Awful selection.

looking back, it was pretty obvious what was inevitable due to the lack of house branded products being sold and the lack of worthwhile everyday inventory being sold.

if Nashbar is going to just be a site to sell stuff I can already get from a dozen other places for the same or better proces...is that competition actually beneficial or is it just crowding the marketplace?

greatscott

I've bought stuff over the years from Nashbar and Performance, both when they were a separate company and when they joined forces, and some of the stuff I bought was their branded stuff, but I have a habit of reading reviews, if the reviews were high and I need it I bought it, and everytime I did that I was never unhappy with what I got. Only once I had to send back to exchange something because the size wasn't sized properly and one of those (I can't recall which) promptly sent the correct size. I bought a bike computer off of them, and the unit failed 2 years after the factory warranty expired, I never sent it back for the lifetime warranty, I just felt funny about doing that. I think some of their house brand stuff was awful in the early years, but as time went by they improved on most of their stuff immensely and the reviews showed that. I never had any problems with them and probably ordered around a couple of thousand dollars worth of stuff over the years, so I was sad when they went out business, which I think that may have been partially due to that stupid lifetime warranty crap that I'm sure people abused and the company had to eat those losses, and some of the financial stress may have been due to low profit margins, so combine the low profit margins with the lifetime warranty and I think they got ate up. Granted I don't know the internal workings of the company so all that I said is just a guess, but it seems logical to me. I know Costco makes the strangest things happen too, while they don't offer a lifetime warranty people bring back all sorts of stuff they shouldn't and Costco ok's it, one lady brought back a cut Christmas tree AFTER Christmas was over crying that the tree didn't last long enough, Costco refunded her money? This sort of crap drives up the cost of the Costco membership prices and eventually it will drive up the cost of their products, which will mean then that Costco won't be able to offer any significant savings on products sometime down the road. Circuit City had a similar issue, bring back anything in any condition with the first 30 days and they're refund their money; ok, so one day I pulled into the parking lot to get something, I see a couple of guys dragging a pair of large and expensive speakers across the parking lot to the store, the speakers wooden cabinets were badly damaged on the bottom from the dragging, Circuit City refunded their money because they were inside the 30 day period!! Circuit City did refunds like that for damaged goods a lot, an employee once told me they sold a big screen TV during the basketball finals (which a lot of people "rented" these during sports events like that), the party got out of hand and someone threw a chair through the TV, they brought it back and go their money back! Of course those items returned that wasn't damaged were sold as open box stuff which was below sale price, which meant again Circuit City was losing money on that stuff. So all of this weird return policies that retail and internet stores offer to try to lure customers in can end up biting them in the financial ass, this is the reason that Best Buy went to a restocking fee and must be in new condition on their 30 day return policy to slow down the idiots returning stuff that they damaged or didn't want in the first place.

Maelochs

I went through the "new" sites ... they are the same site with different banners .... and sadly, they were just bike stuff websites .... no house brand stuff, $60-$70 jerseys, $8 socks, $25 gloves .... cheapest shoes were $80, and some "scratch and dent" stuff started at over $80. A few decent deals, I must say, but no closeout page ... that was their "Special Deals" page. Meh.

I will give them time. I am sure that it might take a year even for the business to decide what it wants to prioritize ... and of course the new owners aren't going to order up a bunch of house-brand items the first day the sites go live. Not sure how they hope to generate sales by being generic And expensive ..... but I am not a business person. We shall see.

Clyde1820

Perhaps more of a healthy disrespect (or, disregard) for mediocrity, rather.

Plenty of uniquely-designed products out there. Plenty of custom or semi-custom (aka boutique) shops that have some interesting designs. Plenty of "big" makers that have the typical stuff the market seems to want. But a lot of the older-school designs and comparatively smaller brands have found it tough to continue competing against the "big" players.

Myself, I appreciate the earlier Nashbar, earlier Rocky Mountain, Bob Jackson and Roberts Cycles (and similar custom makers). Love to see Rodriguez doing okay, still. Love to see the market allowing many higher-end, costlier rigs in the mix. Love it that the early 1980s vintage relaxed-geometry MTB rigs are gaining appreciation for what's been lost. Etc.

TimothyH

I've ordered from AMain cycling. They are legit and have a decent selection of small parts.

They are also a player in toys/hobby and especially the radio controlled planes, cars and trucks.

https://www.amainhobbies.com/

Their Silver Dollar Raceway is highly regarded among enthusiasts.



Whatever happens, it makes sense for them as they already have an online presence and decent logistics.

They are US based - Chico CA. I know that matters to some. Maybe they will compete with some of the cheap overseas Shimano vendors. Let's see.


-Tim-

TimothyH

AMain has a youtube channel with four "Inside AMain" video's for those who want to see what they are all about.

The video's are surprisingly interesting.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCy5...9_igTsIdhGSV0A

Check out from 3:20 forward in the video below to see their cycling store. Specialized, Pivot, etc. Like I said. They are legit, and they serve beer.



-Tim-

TimothyH

AMain has well respected house brands in the RC hobby space.

I hope they continue Axiom lights.


-Tim-

2cam16

I knew of AMain Hobbies but I didn't put two and two together. Good to know!

kcblair

As mentioned above, no Nashbar branded stuff. KB

nomadmax 

I agree, where's Arnie ?

Doctor Morbius

I loved the old Nashbar. I thought they really brought something to the table for the consumer. I also liked that at one time they were a family owned business instead of just a sliver of some giant faceless corporate conglomerate shrouded in lawyers.

Rajflyboy

Kedosto

Paul Barnard

I am building a bike. I need everything for a bare frame. I just surfed the "new" sites and didn't see anything that I needed to buy. No mention of shipping costs that I saw. Free shipping is common elsewhere. Worldwide Cyclery and Ebay are going to get my money.

nomadmax 

I see them every now and then, this one is reminiscent of a Nago Equilateral or a GT.

jefnvk

New owners are going to take some time to establish new supply lines and product offerings. These things dont happen overnight. Looks to me like they've just got a collection of random and leftover goods right now.

2cam16

Here you go. A frameset that I'm giving away:
IMG_6828 by 2cam16, on Flickr