lbgary

I tried to order some $16 dropouts from them today, was even willing to pay the $18 shipping charge to my same-state address, but couldn’t complete the order and no one answers their phone. I saw the notice about their November slowdown, but I’m not sure they’re even doing business anymore. Should I look elsewhere?

Cynikal 

They are going through a rough ownership transition currently. This is the last update from them on Facebook.

Nova Cycles has been doing business since the 70’s and takes great pride in that. Nova has been a reliable source of high quality products and customer support for many handmade frame builders. We know that in the small community of custom bike makers Nova is relied on by many as a supply source. Therefore, we are reaching out to share what has been happening in the life of Nova Cycles over the past year.
In February 2020, Nova Cycles was purchased from Lon Kennedy by an individual who, financially speaking, housed Nova under an existing but failing business. In October, Nova was swept up in a court takeover of the larger company, due to the financial situation. My husband Roland and I learned of the situation, and with a desire to support the craft of handmade bicycles, are working with the court to purchase Nova Cycles.
Roland and I have been riding for many years and have enjoyed everything from casual rides with friends to racing in local crits and triathlons. We have three young children who also love riding. For years we have enjoyed seeing the passion and creativity that goes into handmade and custom bikes and want to bring Nova Cycles back to the important role it has played these past decades.
While we are doing our best to secure the future of Nova Cycles, we cannot do it alone. We also need your help. We are asking for patience as we move through this process of taking over, rebuilding inventory, and updating Nova’s online presence. If all goes smoothly with the court process, we hope to be up and running in January, ready to fulfill your orders.

lbgary

Thank you for the info, that helps.

Cynikal 

The statement below is currently on their homepage. Sounding like good news.

Nova Cycles is projected to be up and running on January 12th 2021 with new ownership.

We are looking forward to serving your framebuilding needs!

unterhausen

That's nice. I was just thinking about how hard it is to rescue a business from a bad situation like this. Someone must have realized it's not worth much to anyone but builders

Cynikal 

New update today. Some good news.


Hello all - Just a quick update. We have successfully taken ownership of Nova!! We are so very excited. Unfortunately we are still battling the credit card authorization companies trying to get the ability to take orders through our site. Trust us when we say that we couldn't be trying harder to get up and running - we are as desperate as you. We ask for your continued patience and grace and hope that we will be ready to go in a few more days.

wvucyclist

Look forward to having another option again! I still had to go through 3 different vendors to get everything for my next build and I'm still short a few tubes. Could you give more background and origin story? I'm always interested in the business side of bikes and am curious to how one goes about to make the decision to buy a frame builder supplier.

unterhausen

I don't know why you would want to be a supplier, but thankfully people do.

Bluegenes

I think Nova is still having some issues. I ordered some parts from them Monday (Jan. 25), and as of today (Jan. 29) I still haven't heard anything from them.
I sincerely wish the new owner success, but this does have me worried.

Cynikal 

I ordered some parts last Sunday and went and picked them up on Tuesday. I met the new owners and they are great. I would give them a call. They were very responsive when I called to schedule a pickup. All that being said, their stock is low currently. They are in the process of restocking so keep checking back.

Bluegenes

I did e-mail them two days ago, but haven't heard anything back. Perhaps I should have called instead? At this point I think I'll cancel the order. Oh well....I still wish them luck.

unterhausen

Please call them and see what's up.

Cynikal 

I would just call. It will most likely get handled quickly. We are losing more of these resources every year. I try to support them when ever I can.

Bluegenes

Too late. I just got an e-mail from Nova saying my order was "declined". I live less than 100 miles from Portland, so I'll just place an order with Framebuilder Supply. I was trying to support the new owners of Nova, despite the much higher shipping costs, but sometimes good intentions don't always go as we'd like. Hopefully, things will better in the future.

unterhausen

Wonder what "declined" means, possibly a glitch in the credit card system?

They don't have much right now, and I'm not in the market for any tubes. Hopefully they will have disc blades in stock sometime in the next couple of months, Reynolds is the only source and they are low now too. I aske them about disc blades and they acted a little surprised that someone would want them. It was their most compelling product.

Cynikal 

I think they are still having issues with the inventory system. They were explaining that the new credit card system isn't playing nicely with it and they are sorting it out. It probably allows item to be ordered that aren't available. I'm guessing that's what happened.

Cynikal 

I also asked specifically about these and yes they will be restocking these. I'm also waiting for them for the build after this one.

Bluegenes

There's now a happy ending to my little story. I was finally contacted (by phone and e-mail) by Nova. My order is now on its way, in its entirety. As new owners, I'm sure they are simply experiencing learning and growing pains. They're trying, and that does count for a lot.

vintage cellar

I did an order for chainstays last week and everything worked perfectly - delivery was quite fast, although I am not that far from Sacramento.

I've been meaning to post that I had a very positive ordering experience. Lon is working hard to bring the business back and I think he is off to a good start.

There are fewer framebuilding suppliers than in the recent past and it is not a very profitable business. I urge people to give some business to Nova and help them
get back up and running.

Regards,
Michael F. in SF

dsaul

I placed an order on the website 2 days ago and haven't received any confirmation of the order yet. Fingers crossed.

unterhausen

They need to get their auto-response up to speed, we're all impatient nowadays.

dsaul

Just to update my post, I received my order about 5-6 days after ordering. There was never any communication to let me know that my order was received, but it was delivered in a timely manner.

unterhausen

That new tubing they have needs a little more explanation
https://www.cycle-frames.com/velo-spec-heat-treated/