NYCe Wheels closed its doors.
#26
Senior Member
#27
Widely Despised
arriving at work dripping in sweat. There's a lot to be said for that.
For me, being all sweaty is no problem, & I'd rather not spend the
money on a new technology of questionable durability & maintainability.
I'll wait until both the market & I become more aged.
And anyone who is married & wants to bike with one's spouse can see
the advantage of ebikes as an equalizer. A little cheating beats divorce.
#32
Banned
#33
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Me too. Ordered a S2L-X 2 weeks before they closed and they didn't notice that they were going to close shop soon. Lose all supporting and maintenance of this new bike. So disappointed.
#34
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Just so you know, the folks over at Brompton Junction Nyc have been wonderful. The mechanic (I sadly forget his name) helped me by making a few adjustments at no charge. Good folks.
#35
Banned
NYC residents..
Seen the 'For Lease' sign in the storefront window yet?
...
...
Last edited by fietsbob; 02-01-19 at 10:16 AM.
#36
LET'S ROLL
I live about 20 minutes away. I think they had the for rent sign on the 2nd day the shop closed.
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#37
Banned
So the NYC store front upped their rent beyond affordable and so they shut down reads like there is at least another seller or 2 in town..
Via Company Link, I looked up dealers in SFO, turned out they have 6.. the number may shrink over time..
Via Company Link, I looked up dealers in SFO, turned out they have 6.. the number may shrink over time..
#38
LET'S ROLL
But after Bike Habitat(3 or 4 NYC locations), NYCEWheels(midtown) and now Trophybikes(Philly) stopped
selling Bromptons - less and less places to go.
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#39
Banned
None here .. so I used 2 out of town, CM Wasson in Palo Alto was selling them alone , for decades, out of the Cal town that spawned the silicon valley Techies..
Now Portland (1) rest out of state ..
Now Portland (1) rest out of state ..
#40
Senior Member
I've encountered this with my Vespas. They have a history of Piaggio (Vespa's parent company) completely pulling out of the US market in the early '80's through an early 2000's re-appearance leaving Vespa aficionados (such as myself) to their own designs for service, parts and know-how.
Due to the state of today's PTW (Powered Two Wheelers-motorcycles etc) market nowadays, and scooters being an entirely tiny portion of that market (like Brompton to the overall bicycle market esp in the US) Vespa dealers are also falling fast leaving fewer, and fewer shops to rely on.
Sad state of affairs for those of us enjoying odd and off-the-beaten path machinery.
#41
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REI sells them now (Brompton). With those 154 locations, seem logical that some indie dealers would fall off.
#42
Senior Member
I might as well have been speaking Swahili....
So...just because REI “carries” them, doesnt mean they “carry” them.
Or service them.
Last edited by FolderBeholder; 02-02-19 at 07:55 PM.
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Members can order them as well as some accessories. No, it's not the same as having a knowledgeable indie shop person, I wasn't saying that at all. But if price matters (and clearly it does as online sales have shown) and members can get 10% back, I think it makes it a lot harder for indie brompton dealers to compete. Even in areas where REI doesn't stock on the floor. And they have an amazing return policy as well. REI stores that have bike service centers will service them as well - and, no, I don't take my bike to REI for service because I'm underwhelmed by their mechanics - but many people don't know what they don't know. Personally, I think Brompton's decision to go with REI/chains/coops screwed the little guys who have been the mainstay of their brand in the US.
#44
Senior Member
I am not sure if seeing a general trend in nyce-wheels closing it's doors would not be oversimplifying. I'd assume there are a lot of specific, individual reasons to it along with some general market trends. If I remember correctly, the founder and general manger of nyce-wheels (who also was it's main driver) died in an accident a while ago. This is definitively something that puts any small, owner-driven business in danger. AFAIK Peter, the nice guy we all know from the videos, took over the management position. From what I've read he did his very best but was a bit challenged with the new role. Second hand wisdom, so I cannot judge on that. Again AFAIK Peter left nyce-wheels not too long ago. This makes two key people being no longer at the company within a short timeframe. Which clearly leaves a lack and endangers the DNA and character of a company, especially a small one. I've no idea how it went on from there with nyce-wheels regarding ownership, general-management and business strategy.
Then you have the local effects like the New York Brompton Junction. Judging from what happened in other cities a flagship-store rises the awareness for the brand on the one hand but takes away a lot of the new business from the smaller shops on the other. Nyce-wheels have been well-known as a Brompton-shop for ages, so I'd assume they probably have been affected in one way or another. Can't judge to which degree their business used to be dependent on selling Bromptons.
Another local effect are things like share bikes, Uber, electric mono-wheels, electric scooters etc. - all those things have impact on how people move within a city. And if they consider buying a folder or not.
And lastly you have the general trends: A general trend towards cycling (positive), a general trend towards folding bikes (positive), a general trend to buy on the internet (negative), a general trend towards electric bikes (problematic) and a rising range of folders on offer, especially electric ones from Asia for cheap money, that make it harder for a local shop to compete and to maintain it's strategy of selling quality and experience for a high(er) price. Along with that plays the Brompton-REI-deal as well.
In this situation the one thing a business cannot afford to do is to do nothing. It needs to change and to adapt and sounds a little bit like "grow or die" as the best bet to survive. And that's what they did: The grew (by renting a bigger shop) and then they died because they lost that bet. To tell exactly why they lost it would at least for me be impossible - far too little information, far too many possible reasons. And for the same reason I struggle to derivate a general trend from the closedown of nyce-wheels as a single event.
Then you have the local effects like the New York Brompton Junction. Judging from what happened in other cities a flagship-store rises the awareness for the brand on the one hand but takes away a lot of the new business from the smaller shops on the other. Nyce-wheels have been well-known as a Brompton-shop for ages, so I'd assume they probably have been affected in one way or another. Can't judge to which degree their business used to be dependent on selling Bromptons.
Another local effect are things like share bikes, Uber, electric mono-wheels, electric scooters etc. - all those things have impact on how people move within a city. And if they consider buying a folder or not.
And lastly you have the general trends: A general trend towards cycling (positive), a general trend towards folding bikes (positive), a general trend to buy on the internet (negative), a general trend towards electric bikes (problematic) and a rising range of folders on offer, especially electric ones from Asia for cheap money, that make it harder for a local shop to compete and to maintain it's strategy of selling quality and experience for a high(er) price. Along with that plays the Brompton-REI-deal as well.
In this situation the one thing a business cannot afford to do is to do nothing. It needs to change and to adapt and sounds a little bit like "grow or die" as the best bet to survive. And that's what they did: The grew (by renting a bigger shop) and then they died because they lost that bet. To tell exactly why they lost it would at least for me be impossible - far too little information, far too many possible reasons. And for the same reason I struggle to derivate a general trend from the closedown of nyce-wheels as a single event.
#46
Senior Member
#47
Member
Any one placed an order online after their store closed? Did you receive your order? I doubt they are still taking order but just want to double check. Thanks!
#48
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I don't know what it's like in the US but Brompton in the UK goes out of its way to protect local bike shops. You are restricted to buying your new Brompton from a local dealer and collecting it there I think. Therefore there is little discounting but very good customisation and support. As a tight fisted cheap ass always looking to save money it's slightly annoying but I can see why it makes sense for the brand and do like to browse bike shops even if I buy elsewhere.
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I guess what was so odd about it was that in person, they were REALLY customer oriented and friendly, so it was even more of a shock that this lack of communication happened.
#50
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I purchased 2 Brooks saddles on their website after the brick and mortar store closed, because they were half price. after a week of waiting for them to send a tracking number, I called, left multiple messages, and emailed several times to no answer. I finally had to make a claim through PayPal to cancel the order.