Have you decompressed? Are you ready to charge forward again? Was the Revo just a moment of timed-race brilliance and you're going to recede back until the inspiration and enthusiasm again strikes?The Revo was an idea I had quite a few years back, but I never had any place to go with it. In fact I did mention it to 3T back when I was still at Cervelo, initially as a way to get a more aero basebar because of the more acute angle of the wing. But then you start to think about it from a comfort point of view and it makes even more sense. But you know how it goes in these companies, they are always busy and so sometimes good ideas fall by the wayside. So then when I was a shareholder rather than a customer, I could convince them to go back to this idea.
Dave, is 3T's U.S. operation going to be out of Orange County? 3T USA will indeed launch in Orange County, CA. We'll have a small office and warehousing to start and focus on the growing range of Orbis II rim brake wheels and Discus disc brake wheels. We've hired Kendall Young, an industry veteran who will focus on the OEM, both large and small and Clark Butcher of
Victory Bicycle Studio who will be the direct link for 3T Customer Service in the USA with a centrally located service center in
Memphis, TN.
I don't want to get way into your business, but as a bike business wonk I'm wondering how this might change distribution and warehousing. Can you tell me what Vittoria North American remains responsible for? And what they won't be responsible for? Vittoria North America is the U.S. distributor for the current range of 3T products.
Dave I think I kind of know how Gerard's mind tracks, but what category do you think has lagged in bike design?One of the things that has characterized the last couple years of product design is integration. For the past 35 years house brand components lagged behind their aftermarket options. Today brands like have introduced their own components that often introduce complexity and a lack of adjustability or limited scope of fit. We need to change that. I think you'll begin to see new ideas from 3T that are elegant solutions which simplify; not obfuscate bicycles components.
Who do you think is killing it in new product design? I really do admire what Carl Matson has done at Trek. I marvel at the one-man-show that is Nick Salazar at TriRig. Who is doing good work?We're entering an era of pioneering technology and fulfillment at the consumer level. The Canyon model of sales, the Wiggle-Chain Reaction merger, the ease of manufacturing with 3D printing, the collapse of default made-in-China sourcing; there are opportunities for new ideas.
Imagine if you could buy the programming code for a Wiggins-like hour record aerobar, modify the fit coordinates, add your frame and component interface preference, and hit print and have a one-off, perfectly tailored part for your Speed Concept, or IA, or Dimond? This is the future of product design with fulfillment akin to consumer expectations of today's retail landscape outside our industry.
There is certainly room for the traditional bar-stem-post. These components will always be the backbone of fitting and custom tailoring a consumer's bicycle.
Likewise there will always be a need for the IBD and including this fulfillment method in any strategy going forward but simply hoping this whole internet thing will go away is not going to serve the industry well.