Absoluteblack debuts lower cost Black Series components for Chain Reaction Cycles

I like their products but they were priced out of my range before. Im glad they are selling via online distributors to get the price down.

Thanks chainreaction and absolute black!

it seems just fine
now if they could do dual rings.

As a shop owner, I dare say I will no longer stock the AB products. Making a special, cheaper product for the online market is just a kick in the guts.

J, agreed. We need to start compiling a list of companies like AB who do this stuff. One small shop won’t make a difference, a thousand small shops….might. I already spend time promoting products from vendors like Wolf who treat our shop like 1st class conduits, when they first appeared I sold a ton of their rings just from world of mouth. Most of our team rides them…which leads to lots of discussion at the starting line. What wins on Sunday sells on Monday.

don

They make some good stuff, but their three-gear cassette replacement “block” taking the big cog up to 40t was just junk, and the way they handled things was SO poor that they will never see another cent from me.

I bought two of the orginals, and to get my refund, I had to pay about 30% of the purchase price to ship them back across the ocean.

Buying on line saves you money in the short term and seems like a good deal. At the same time you are sending tax revenue out of your local community (ie raising your local taxes) and sending jobs out of your local community. So if you are unhappy about your local taxes, and can’t find a job, look in the mirror; your buying habits are a big part of the cause!

Going to chime in as well in the grumpy shop employee crowd. It is becoming painfully apparent that this industry needs to figure the eff out what they want. Either we go to a purely online sales system and kill the IBD completely, or we stop the undercutting online sales. It’s getting dangerously close to not being able to support both.

Well that makes my chain ring decision easy, it’s not going to be cheap CRC junk.

Really hoping, AB, can sell them to LBS, at a price point where the LBS, can be excited to sell this XT, Ultegra, Force level item at a price, that makes it a win for everyone. Don’t put the LBS in this position.

@ Tharbesnow

Parts sales are very important to a LBS, with considerably better margins than complete bike sales (which seem to shrink year on year). Service is important too, but is far from the hugely profitable enterprise some think it to be.

I certainly don’t view online buyers as “the enemy”, if you view the situation from a purely economic point of view, it’s understandable that cyclists who do their own wrenching will go where the parts are cheapest, which is fine I guess, as long as they accept that if problems arise they are going to have to figure things out for themselves. When you start to consider how your purchasing decisions affect the community you live in, things become less straightforward, it’s worth asking yourself, “where is my money going” and using your deductions and your conscience to make the best choices.

Parts manufacturers who only sell through bricks and mortar stores “get it”, their quality product backed by quality service and decades of accumulated knowledge, it’s a great system, and worth a few dollars more in my opinion.

If more shops would focus on GREAT customer service, hiring a great staff that was knowledgeable, friendly, and cared more about taking care of the customer than worrying about what online venders sell, and dealt with vendors that made doing business easy (warranty, ordering, good inventory, quick shipment, etc vs online or no online sales) they probably wouldn’t be so angry and grumpy all the time and would have a successful business. The internet isn’t going to kill the IBD grumpy owners and employees will. If you’re full of p*ss and vinegar you’re probably going to attract a similar customer base.

Mike, lifetime shop guy

That wasn’t a cynical comment about MEC, Race Face (the original company, not the current “reborn” iteration) made the decision to sell direct to MEC, cutting Cycles Lambert (up until then their sole Canadian distributor) out of the supply chain, Lambert retaliated by ending their distribution of Race Face product, and by the time QBP picked up RF distribution huge damage had been done to their business and reputation, this along with inferior “budget” product lines (sound familiar) ultimately led to the company’s bankruptcy.

I’m sorry if MEC is the best bike shop in your town, usually paying minimum wage doesn’t attract long-term or passionate staff, but “knowledgeable and honest” is relative I suppose.

@Mike

It’s great that you are a “lifetime shop guy”, you’re probably a superb wrench, that doesn’t really relate to your ability to understand the pressures of running a small business in 2015.

Chain Reaction, Pro Bike Kit, Wiggle and others commonly sell components at or just very slightly above independent retailer’s wholesale cost, The buy up overbought OEM parts, discontinued model numbers or out of territory stock and pile it high in warehouses where staff payed minimum wage walk the lonely racks picking product and boxing it to mail to customers they will never meet.

Why can’t IBDs buy product cheap from these online retailers and pass those savings to their customers? Because we sign agreements with manufacturers and distributors that we will not de-value their products by selling them with deep discounts. we’re even forbidden to liquidate dead or dated stock online ourselves. Somehow though the big online retailers have plenty of stock that they can sell at prices no independent can compete with.

I’m proud to say that none of the staff at the store I work at (both as a wrench and a senior sales staff member) are grumpy, unfriendly or “full of p*ss and vinegar”. They simply wouldn’t have been hired or lasted here if they displayed any of those traits. We value customer service and our good reputation above anything else, and we never take for granted that the customers will keep coming no matter what – we work hard to keep them coming, that’s good business, and it’s worth supporting.

@Tharbesnow

Do you know the definition of a cynic? Oscar Wilde said that it was “a man who knows the price of everything but the value of nothing”. Do you see the relevance of that in regard to this matter?

@Charlie I can wrench but my time is much better spent managing my store. I worked my way up from the bottom and fully understands the pressures of running a small business and making sure my staff gets paid every week and that my clients receive great service and have a great experience.

The local shops can be ok, but i have paid full retail at shops for both bikes and skis ($6000 serotta), and the LBS screwed up the build. My crank arms fell off, my spokes were mal-adjusted, and the brakes were amateur at best. It was like the newest guy in the shop got to put together my bike. I figured the new guy gets to put together the 500 dollar bike until he knows what he is doing. I have had similar poor set ups in ski shops.

Sorry to say, brick and mortar stores don’t offer as much as you think because not that many people are tradesmen in their chosen craft for years. It is often some kid that is doing the work.

I am handy and started building all my bikes myself and mounting my ski bindings myself. I know it is done right, i save a bunch of money (because i buy online), and i enjoy doing the work.

If you have no inclination, you better go to the LBS, but if you are handy, the internet opened up a great world.