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Saris drops Cycling Group from name, Cycleops, Powertap, and Bike Fixation now by Saris

Written by Zach Overholt Nov 01, 2017 3:27 p.m. ET

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Saris Cycling group has grown a lot in their 40 years of business. From building their first racks inside an old chicken coop, to becoming a U.S. manufacturing powerhouse, a lot has changed since Sara and Chris decided to combine their names to form Saris. Now, with a number of brands under the same roof, the company has decided to streamline things a bit and make a small but significant change.

Moving forward, Saris Cycling Group will simply be known as Saris – which is probably what many of you called the company anyways. More importantly, now Cycleops, Powertap, and the new kid, Bike Fixation will be presented by Saris. Bike Fixation also brings in all of the Saris parking products, like permanent bike racks, under their branding.

The move coincides with their latest product release, the Glide hitch rack which is their most advanced rack to date. It’s also a bit unconventional for the company as they are launching it through Kickstarter, with 13 days left on the campaign.

Check out sarisbrands.com for more.

Zach Overholt

5,630 articles

Zach Overholt is the Editor in Chief of Bikerumor. He has been writing about what’s new in the bicycle world for 12+ years. Prior to that, Zach spent many years in the back of a bicycle shop building and repairing nearly every type of bike, while figuring out how to (occasionally) ride them.

Based in Ohio, Zach is now slowly introducing a new generation to cycling and still trying to figure out how to fit the most rides into a busy schedule as a new dad.

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Crash Bandicoot

6 years ago

I wish them all the luck but I really think Saris is behind the 8-ball on the design and implementation of their products outside of the Smart Trainer realm (granted I plead ignorance on trainers as I live in a climate that permits me to ride 365 days a year). Their power meter line has one product that I would consider competitive (P1) in the current landscape and their bike racks are uglier and less functional when compared to the likes of Kuat etc. but at similar real world prices. I will say this, their customer service is top notch, I know this because I went through 6 C1 powermeters in just over a year (things leaked more water than the titanic).

myke2241

6 years ago

Reply to Crash Bandicoot

I disagree. I think they are doing just fine. They offer different options for pm and with expectation to the P1 which is a first generation product, their designs are dependable mature. I will also remind you first generation stages pm had major issues

Johnny

6 years ago

I think it’s strange a company like Saris would use Kickstarter. If they don’t believe in what they are doing to the point of backing it with their own money, maybe they shouldn’t do it. Am I missing something here?

Peter Herman

6 years ago

Reply to Johnny

Knog did a similar thing with the Oi! bike bell. Crowd-funding can let a company give a pretty hot deal to customers while leaving R&D funds available for other projects. I don’t think it’s a question of not believing in the product. It could be as simple as having more money tied up in other projects.

mudrock

6 years ago

I think Kickstarter is an ideal way for a company to test the market, even for an established company like Saris. They have an innovative design with this Glide, but they wanted to see if top tube mount racks still sell. Saris makes plenty of tray mount racks but they’re heavy, complex, and expensive.

Bikeguy717

6 years ago

Reply to mudrock

I’ll grant you the expensive…it seems like ALL of the tray style racks are nearly priced like roof racks. But Saris racks most definitely are NOT heavy or complex. Their tray racks approach being half the weight of many competitors products and they’re simple to get rolling out of the box, usually just two bolts to assemble. They’re not nearly as polished as other products when it comes to ease of installation, but not complex. While the designs and usability of other companies products are often more attractive, Saris racks are neither heavy or complex.