In 2020, FusionFiber rims rolled into the MTB scene with the first wheels from Revel Bikes. The proprietary technology of CSS Composites, FusionFiber turned heads by offering a new method of creating composite bike components that claimed to be stronger, lighter, more cost-effective, better riding, 100% recyclable, and all made in the USA.
While Revel was the first brand to offer a FusionFiber wheelset, the technology soon made its way to other brands, including Chris King, Atomik, and Evil. CSS Composites also introduced their own house brand of wheels called Forge+Bond, which recently expanded into FusionFiber handlebars as well.
On the surface, everything seemed to be going well for the Gunnison, UT-based company. We even just had the opportunity to take a factory tour of the impressive facility less than two months ago.
So it came as even more of a surprise to us when we saw the news that CSS Composites was ceasing operations.
There is still no official public-facing announcement that CSS Composites has closed down. The news seems to have been first reported by the Radavist, who obtained a letter from a law firm representing CSS Composites that was sent to their OEM partners about the shutdown. We wanted to verify this letter for ourselves before posting, and we were able to obtain the same letter directly from one of the wheel brands that CSS Composites has partnered with.
The contents of the letter highlight a hidden risk of purchasing a product with a lifetime warranty – that warranty may only be valid for the lifetime of the company, not the product. According to the letter from Dorsey & Whitney LLP, any previously submitted or future requests for service, repair, or replacement will not be honored.
What about Forge+Bond?
While the news seems to be focused on CSS Composites, there is also a question mark surrounding their Forge+Bond wheel brand. The CSS Composites website has gone dark (and emails have bounced back as undeliverable), but the Forge+Bond site remains, along with the ability to purchase their wheels. There is no indication on the F+B website that the company is no longer in business, but the aforementioned letter makes it unclear whether or not the F+B wheels will continue to have any sort of product support or warranty.
It is possible that since the letter was sent out to partner wheel brands who purchase and use CSS Composites rims for their own wheel builds, CSS plans to keep Forge and Bond running until they sell through their remaining inventory. At the time of writing, multiple requests for comment to our contacts at CSS Composites and Forge+Bond have gone unanswered. It’s unclear if F+B products will continue to have any customer support or warranty coverage, but we’ll update this post if we hear back.
What Happened?
Ultimately, this is all speculation since we haven’t been able to discuss things directly with CSS Composites, but on the surface, it seems like another casualty of the bleak economic situation the bicycle industry finds itself. Anecdotally, it also seems like it could at least partially be due to a higher-than-expected warranty rate. For a carbon technology that was billed as stronger and more durable, we were surprised to hear from multiple brands that have sold wheels with FusionFiber rims that they had a challenging time with warranty issues, and one brand explicitly stated that they had a higher warranty rate with FusionFiber rims than their previous supplier from China.
To be fair, we’ve tested a number of FusionFiber wheels here at BikeRumor and never had an issue, and have generally liked the products. Regardless, high warranty rates coupled with intense competition in the wheel space, plus tough economic times, are a bad combination for a company trying to make cutting-edge products here in the USA.
