Specialized Retaliates Canceling 400 Paid Orders in Nor. Cal.

[PedalUma]

Mike's Bikes has been the largest retailer of Specialized bikes in North America. They were just purchased by a family owned company based in Amsterdam. Upon learning of this, however, Specialized abruptly terminated their relationship with Mike's. They later notified Mike's Bikes that they would also be canceling the orders of over 400 customers who had bought and paid for their bikes in advance. Leaving these customer's high and dry.

 

[theemartymac]

Are they subject to foreign ownership tariffs now?

 

[reed scott]

Mike's Bikes has been the largest retailer of Specialized bikes in North America. They were just purchased by a family owned company based in Amsterdam. Upon learning of this, however, Specialized abruptly terminated their relationship with Mike's. They later notified Mike's Bikes that they would also be canceling the orders of over 400 customers who had bought and paid for their bikes in advance. Leaving these customer's high and dry.

Wow. What up wit dat? No mercy. Evidently whoever purchased Mike's is a long time and hated enemy of whoever owns Specialized.

EDIT: And will 400 people get their money back? And from whom? Mike's, if you got the money from the new buyer .... put it somewhere they can't get at it. Not saying they should not pay back the people who pre-paid. They should. Their part of it anyway as I'm sure Specialized took at least half of it.

 

[theemartymac]

Haha, maybe, or maybe the recent purchase somehow violated an exclusive distribution contract somewhere?

 

[Art Deco]

Mike's Bikes has been the largest retailer of Specialized bikes in North America. They were just purchased by a family owned company based in Amsterdam. Upon learning of this, however, Specialized abruptly terminated their relationship with Mike's. They later notified Mike's Bikes that they would also be canceling the orders of over 400 customers who had bought and paid for their bikes in advance. Leaving these customer's high and dry.

I hope there is more to this story; I thought Mike's Bikes was once a member on here based in Detroit ? Neither he or Specialized seemed like a s#*t company that would take advantage of customers. Not a lawyer, nor do I play one on the internet, but this sounds really bad.

 

[PedalUma]

The holding company purchased a majority share. Decisions will still be made at Mike's HQ in Marin County, CA just North of San Francisco. Nothing happened with Santa Cruz Bikes when the Amsterdam Company purchased a majority share of them a couple of years ago. It is not like a raid. Just an infusion of money. It is buying into the future with the rise of electric bikes along with rising sea levels. Specialized wants total control of their retailers. Retailers are in a better position to stand up and not be dictated to. It is the 400 plus customers who are getting the raw deal, having their orders canceled by Specialized. Northern California is a huge market for bikes. These people will remember and hate Specialized. Other retailers will hesitate to pick up Specialized unless they show some humility and contrition by putting customers who paid first. I would be pissed. 400x$2500 average for a special order bike is a million bucks worth of bikes. See mikesbikes.com.

 

[Art Deco]

Searched and found ... "Mike's Ebikes got deleted...was a valuable resource " by @Browneye ... there are many more, but not the same Mike , I guess.

 

[PedalUma]

Searched and found ... "Mike's Ebikes got deleted...was a valuable resource " by @Browneye ... there are many more, but not the same Mike , I guess.

It is funny there is another Mikes Bikes without the hyphen. Here is more of the full story: https://www.bicycleretailer.com/ret...kes-bikes-sold-pon-group-owner-santa-cruz-and

 

[J.R.]

Searched and found ... "Mike's Ebikes got deleted...was a valuable resource " by @Browneye ... there are many more, but not the same Mike , I guess.

Mike's eBikes in Illinois is not part of, nor has any connection to Mike's Bikes.

 

[mschwett]

I mean... Mike's sold the chain/shops to a direct competitor of Specialized, after negotiations to sell the chain to Specialized were unsuccessful. They're acting a bit like it's a surprise that they got cut off, but they had to expect a response/adjustment to their relationship, which has been long and deep. There are two sides to every story and in business one never knows what the confidential discussions entailed.

I'm a customer of both, and I think they're both fairly upstanding companies as far as companies (which are ALWAYS primarily motivated by profit, as a matter of self-preservation) go. I'm not sure how I feel about Specialized getting closer to direct-to-consumer, but it makes sense to compete with Canyon and VanMoof and the like.

 

[mschwett]

EDIT: And will 400 people get their money back? And from whom? Mike's, if you got the money from the new buyer .... put it somewhere they can't get at it. Not saying they should not pay back the people who pre-paid. They should. Their part of it anyway as I'm sure Specialized took at least half of it.

They're giving full refunds to anyone who doesn't want a different bike. Both sides seem to be handling it fairly professionally, IMO.

I have a specialized bike on order, but not from Mike's from my LBS, and I'm secretly hoping this makes it arrives sooner!!! Mike's has always gotten a disproportionate share of Specialized bikes based on their very close relationship.

 

[PedalUma]

Specialized should have honored the existing 400+ orders. And cut it all off when after they were each and all fulfilled to customer satisfaction. While providing local alternatives for proprietary service. It puts customers in a bad jam. Many of these existing customers have 5-year service contracts with Mike's Bikes. Because of the close relationship, people out of state were buying Specialized from Mike's for the large selection. They would have a local Bay Area friend sign for bikes at "delivery" then have these bikes shipped out of state for free. Specialized will pressure your local dealer to force out options to increase margins and market share. Like gangsters. Wherever you are. It will backfire. People will rebel. I made a $150 bike eclectic this week that will run down and eat Specialized $9400 bikes. Open source firmware. $1200 parts are $65 and arrive in four days without a dealer, not 12-weeks. 95Nm, torque sensor, mid-drive. I use a clown horn on my bike when I pass someone kitted out on a Specialized eBike.

 

[mschwett]

... I use a clown horn on my bike when I pass someone kitted out on a Specialized eBike.

do you do the same when you drive past someone on an expensive bike too, if they're going slower than you? because anyone can ride fast with a big enough motor. not sure that's what specialized is going for. also not sure who the clown is in this scenario.

 

[Rincon]

I use a clown horn on my bike...

Why am I not surprised?

 

[ActionJackson]

I made a $150 bike eclectic this week that will run down and eat Specialized $9400 bikes. Open source firmware. $1200 parts are $65 and arrive in four days without a dealer, not 12-weeks. 95Nm, torque sensor, mid-drive. I use a clown horn on my bike when I pass someone kitted out on a Specialized eBike.

I have a classic upgraded Bianchi that’s dear to my heart that I’d like to convert like your Raleigh. 11 speed Shimano IGH. I live in Japan, but maybe you can share some of your recipe next year when my wife is ready to graduate from the folding bike!

 

[Art Deco]

The European "family" that bought all 12 Mike's Bikes locations is the Pon Group. They own Cervélo, Santa Cruz, Univega, Focus, Raleigh, Kalkhoff, Gazelle, Juliana Bicycles, and a few more. The so called family business is also the Dutch distributor of Volkswagen, Audi, SEAT, Škoda, Lamborghini, Bentley, Bugatti, Porsche, MAN, and Caterpillar. Their annual revenue is about €7 billion.

As you said above "Why am I not surprised?".

 

[PedalUma]

I have a classic upgraded Bianchi that’s dear to my heart that I’d like to convert like your Raleigh. 11 speed Shimano IGH. I live in Japan, but maybe you can share some of your recipe next year when my wife is ready to graduate from the folding bike!
View attachment 99638

This thread has run its course.
@VoltMan99 I am happy to help you with this bike. It is beautiful. I will mention a few items now and when you are ready you can contact me through Google Maps. Zoom to the area North of San Francisco and look for eBike Repair. The cables under the bottom bracket will be routed against the BB over it, not under. She will need a rear kickstand because the center stand is occupying the real estate of the secondary motor mount. These gel grips do not hold up, cream contour grips are available. She will want an extra-strong KMC half-link 'Wide' chain that is of similar durability to a Gates Carbon drive and will she will want to drop the rear cog to 16 or 18-Teeth for feel and speed. Because it is an Alfine-11 the battery will go on the downtube for weight distribution using a Topeak Alt-Position cage mount to drop the gravity down by another 32mm for lower balance. Again, it is a beautiful bike. I would like to see it with a cream colored rack with more refinement. Clown horn optional. I am honored you asked and hope this is helpful. It will outrun the $9400 bikes from stores while outlasting them.
Rack example: https://publicbikes.com/products/public-rear-rack?variant=12349793337407
Grips example: https://publicbikes.com/products/public-premium-ergo-gripshift-grips?_pos=1&_sid=398e47b47&_ss=r
Chain example: https://www.kmcchain.com/en/product/bicycle-chain-hl1lwide-single-speed

 

[ActionJackson]

This thread has run its course.
@VoltMan99 I am happy to help you with this bike. It is beautiful. I will mention a few items now and when you are ready you can contact me through Google Maps. Zoom to the area North of San Francisco and look for eBike Repair. The cables under the bottom bracket will be routed against the BB over it, not under. She will need a rear kickstand because the center stand is occupying the real estate of the secondary motor mount. These gel grips do not hold up, cream contour grips are available. She will want an extra-strong KMC half-link 'Wide' chain that is of similar durability to a Gates Carbon drive and will she will want to drop the rear cog to 16 or 18-Teeth for feel and speed. Because it is an Alfine-11 the battery will go on the downtube for weight distribution using a Topeak Alt-Position cage mount to drop the gravity down by another 32mm for lower balance. Again, it is a beautiful bike. I would like to see it with a cream colored rack with more refinement. Clown horn optional. I am honored you asked and hope this is helpful. It will outrun the $9400 bikes from stores while outlasting them.
Rack example: https://publicbikes.com/products/public-rear-rack?variant=12349793337407
Grips example: https://publicbikes.com/products/public-premium-ergo-gripshift-grips?_pos=1&_sid=398e47b47&_ss=r
Chain example: https://www.kmcchain.com/en/product/bicycle-chain-hl1lwide-single-speed

Wonderful! Thanks a lot - Love the ideas man! Like I said it’ll be next year but we’ll figure out how we can do this remotely and commercially. That rack fits great into the design very well. At one time I was thinking of painting the existing rack but it looks too boxy already - It was a spare part hanging around. I will take it in for service to have the oil changed in the Alfine in November - I will strip the rack at that time too. I suspected the kickstand would have to go , actually already had a classic mamachari Japanese stand design in mind:

It looks awkward but actually very useful because the bike doesn’t lean and allows for more density in parking. There are also lighter alloy ones which buff out nicely.

Look forward to doing this! Wife is just learning to ride again haha!

btw - “UMA” 馬 - means Horse in Japanese. PedalUma. ペダル馬.