Grant is a worrier, at least to judge by his posts starting way back pre-internet with "Peeking Through the Knothole." This is not a criticism, just an observation. I'm a worrier, and I know something of what he feels.
What caught my eye was the report, for the first time IIRC, that staff have been volunteering for big cutbacks in their working hours; I've not heard of this before; and this report did get me worried. I very much agree that "we will have lost something really special if we lose Rivendell." And I expect -- can't say from inside knowledge, but I suspect -- that a good part of Riv's financial pressures come from 2 things I wholeheartedly support: (1) they make and sell what they love, even if they don't make and sell what I, personallly, want; and (2) they pay their staff honestly. Very many of the "Great and Good" among our commercial and political leaders will eventually find themselves in lower bolgias of hell for, basically, pimping themselves to whatever clientele they wish to profit from to the neglect of honesty and integrity. Others said, "Just buy, don't complain" or words to that effect. Sure, but how many cables will it take to materially boost the company's bottom line? I for one just don't buy much of what Rivendell offers; they don't even carry the tubes I need, and after so many years of cycling I have stocked up on a great deal of the bits that I need -- this is just a matter of time. I don't want Rivendell clothing, Ortlieb panniers and Super C Slim and Junior and Nelson saddlebags work for me where Sackvilles won't (I've owned at least 7 Rivendell-marque saddlebags over the years), and they don't sell fixed cogs or Dingles or ENO hubs; and I bought my dynamo hubs and headlights before this announcement. Even cables: 3 of my bikes are fixed gears, and 2 of these have just one brake. I did order $100 of stuff recently including a $25 certificate, over and above the earlier $25 certificate that I haven't redeemed. I am seriously thinking that I might, just might -- long shot -- begin to start thinking about considering a plan for an eventual 4th custom; not sure they'd welcome the inquiry, but who knows -- $3500 versus say $1500, but I know I'd get better overall quality, if they could bear to accept my requirements. This would be a copy (**copy**) of my '99 and '03 customs, but with the changes needed to accommodate a 114 mm OL Sturmey Archer AM hub. As I said, just thinking out loud, but I've said it. To get to the point: I *absolutely do not think that this discussion need be a bad thing* **if** discutants take the small trouble to think before they post. What dismays and wearies me, on this and other lists, but even more so in general, is the readiness of people to take ideological offense where none need be taken. To put it vulgarly -- and I am talking generally; this list is a far lesser offender than many other threads I follow (or, don't follow because of the poor quality of the responses) too many posts are stupid, and stupid because thoughtless. Joe, I like you, but I am thinking of you in particular. Over and out. Patrick Moore On Tue, Feb 12, 2019 at 5:48 PM Jim Salinas <salinas...@gmail.com> wrote: > The bicycle industry has always been cyclical. Rivendells' sales > performance is off the same as the rest of the industry. Unfortunately, a > 10% drop in sales can lead to a 30% to 40% drop in profitability. The > reverse is also true...a 10% increase in sales can improve profitability by > the same amount. Hopefully, Rivendell can hang on long enough to ride the > next wave up. I continue to support them as much as possible. I have > tremendous respect for the company! We should all do what we can to help > them buy time...we will have lost something really special if we lose > Rivendell! > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
