Turner Bikes goes direct where dealers aren’t stocking

Good for Turner!

I have a DW Sultan. Perfect no. But nothing is.
And I know many don’t care, but one main reason i bought it after extensive test riding was the frames manufacturing in the USA. That is no excuse for a bad product, but thankfully Turner delivers a very good product that is actually price competitive to its foreign made competition.

SMART! Most small companies should do this! I walked into a local shop and the YETI’s were so high up on the rack and out of sight it was ridiculous. Not to mention only two there. The entire shop was stuffed with the Starbucks of bikes (Specialized). YT Industries has proven this model works. They can lower their cost to the consumer and give them a better final product with good value.

I live in Mexico and I own a Turner Flux 27.5 and I really enjoy riding it. Whenever Ive needed tech support from Turner, David himself has always been very helpful and his replies are almos immediate, so I hope him th best of luck with this move.

Turner is the best at customer service and support. I own 5 Turners and 2 Yeti’s. No comparison. The only mfg I can call and get someone on the phone is Turner.
Waiting for his new stuff to get announced at Sea Otter so I can order another one.

The problem with Turner’s is they are so solid and long lasting. Their designs are somewhat timeless and defy trends. So he suffers a bit because his customers don’t churn through bikes like the common mass marketers. He does offer a trade-in program for existing Turner owners to get a pretty significant discount for trading in their old Turner for a new one. Who else does that! Nobody.

Another Turner fan here. I’m on my second Turner now. I went to them after spending a lot of $ on a Specialized only to find it wasn’t made in the US (Specialized is 49% owned by an overseas sporting goods company). I honestly felt like a sucker that Specialized made so much money off of me that I started researching USA made brands. Turner popped out because of the journal bearings, square tubing on the rear tri and elevated chain stay. I thought they were very unique looking and then I started pricing out what it costs to build up one of their frames versus a comparable bike from Specialized etc. I found it to actually be cheaper to build my own mid level bike and I ended up with the parts I wanted. The DW link is probably the best for my riding conditions as well.

Wildly overpriced — I don’t think so. Not for the performance. I’ve built 3 of these working with my LBS to source many of the components and saved money over more off-the shelf options. Love the ride.

Good luck to them, as the big brands get more and more aggressive about floor space in ‘their’ shops, this is the way I can see most mid to small brands going. I always smirk at the irony of people who call Turner and similar brands overpriced, then go and buy a big name brand bike for five grand plus.

Makes total sense. Like Randy said about the Yetis, most shops won’t give up valuable real estate and cash to a small brand, ’cause they don’t really add much to the bottom line, can’t blame the dealers for not supporting niche’ brands. Big volume mid priced stuff are where money is made, not bikes that take days or weeks to sell with all the parts choices and spec changes. F’ that! Grab the Trek and hit the register. What cracks me up is the entitled attitude of dealers thinking that since they have a QBP account they should somehow be in on any bike or part sale in their area. When Canyon hits US soil and the mid sized bike companies are slaughtered and the ‘big 4′ bleed a bit, they will do whatever they want to compete, the little IBD had better have The Mechanic chops and the right attitude to another cardboard box being dragged in the door ’cause in a few years the game will be all new. Of course it was totally different just a ‘few’ years ago! The internet is for email right?

The best in the biz at customer support. Heck, DT answers the phone half the time.

And the Czar flat out kills it!

The “Made in the USA” movement is a sham. Ok, so your frame is made in the USA. Now can get outfit that thing with all American-made components there, chief? Didn’t think so. The trailhead jingoism has got to stop. Take your Ford F150 and tell me how many components are “made in ‘Merika!” Here’s the answer: Not as many as you think.

Take your Stars and Bars off your over-lifted truck and get with the times. It’s a global world. The only thing that’s truly American is a Sham-wow.

Where are those new Box Components drive train bits made? Could it soon be the case scenario where one could very well sham-wow there bike nearly tit to tat?

Jeff… I support people. People that make rad stuff. I don’t care what country they live in or happen to have been born in. In a world where we ship fruits and veggies across the globe why do we need a “durable good” to be made locally? That should be the other way around… buy a bike from overseas, but make sure all your food comes from a 100 mile radius.

The only “sham” is companies outsourcing stuff for cheap labor and keeping their costs the same. What is China’s labor rate? $4-5/hour right now? So why do I pay the same basic amount for a US made Turner than something produced there?

I’ll never understand the argument that because a bike isn’t 100% made in the US, I should not care if any of it is. I have friends in manufacturing. If they make a quality product, I’ll strongly consider buying it. If they make an inferior product I don’t like, I won’t buy it, but that is hard to say of Turner’s product.

Sam B – ? Why can’t rad things be made here along with our food? Its not like a one or another scenario.