Far south of $600 for a complete bike? Sounds too good to be true. Really. And maybe isn't what you meant? If it is what you meant, then I'd consider buying one on the theory that it would be at least as good as any $300 complete bike option I have. And I'd feel more comfortable with where it was made (presumably Taiwan and under satisfactory conditions). And it probably would have graphics I and my child could both like. And I expect it would actually look like a bike, with round tubes and normal-ish tires and no suspension. And it'd fit fenders and racks and bags. And it'd be lugged! :)
Far south of $600 for a frameset? I can *imagine* it being true. Taiwan-made, substantially less profit. Maybe? Surely the actual mass of frame tubing doesn't explain too much of the retail price of a bike. So that $400+ difference between a SimpleOne frameset's price and a kid's bike frameset's price would be mostly from a profit difference, right? Well...if it were an RBW product, sold soup-to-nuts with the enthusiasm and passion and involvement and dedication that Mr. Petersen and crew attach to the standard RBW bike line, then I could see spending that kind of money for a frameset and expecting not to be disappointed. If, however, it were something other than that (a new brand, a "Grant- designed" bike, a joint marketing venture, etc.), it'd take a *lot* of work (probably more work than has taken place in the universe to date) to convince me it'd have the same reliability, versatility, durability and comfort I'd expect from today's RBW bikes. And, for that kind of money, that's what I'd want my child to have: the full RBW package. The $300 complete bike is "good enough" and doesn't guarantee a downgrade if it ever needs replacing at your own expense. (Would you pay for the *second* $600 frameset?) Yours, Thomas Lynn Skean On Jun 23, 2:25 am, Brian Hanson <[email protected]> wrote: > Interesting that this topic came up. I was talking about this very thing > with Grant last week on a quick visit to HQ. He indicated that he has > thought through this quite a bit, and he said he felt he would have to keep > the price way down to avoid it being a bike that rich parents buy their kids > because they (the parents) want an exclusive bike. He mentioned a price > point far south of $600, BTW. Said it would have to be steel an lugged, but > it would be a challenge to design as he couldn't ride it, and he hasn't ever > done "kid bike design". > > I think it would be super cool, but I would really wonder if this would be > anything other than a non-profit exercise. I can see a market for nice kid > bikes - but perhaps for another startup bike maker? I think Riv may be > better off focusing on its core competencies. There seems to be more and > more folks into Grant's non-racing velosophy - why muddy the focus of his > small shop with a new audience. There may be more risk from a litigation > standpoint when kids are involved. > > Now that I've said that, I could see a Riv design that improved on the Big > Dummy and maybe created something that was tandem-able so kids could ride > along? Sort of a longer Bombadil with an extra seat? He has the diagatube > down... > > Brian > Seattle > > On Wed, Jun 22, 2011 at 8:31 PM, cyclotourist <[email protected]>wrote: > > > > > I hear ya' on the lack of kid bike options. If you don't know about them, > > Islabike in the UK is a great resource. Unfortunately, they don't have a NA > > distributor, so shipping is prohibitive from the UK. So email 'em and > > encourage them to get one post haste (that's the way they talk there, be > > sure to pepper your email with it)!!! > > >http://www.islabikes.co.uk/ > > > On Wed, Jun 22, 2011 at 3:43 PM, lukemcg <[email protected]> wrote: > > >> Personally, Riv offers enough current options for adults. Would love > >> to see Grant put his mind to qork on an age 9+ bike. It is really > >> awful to shop for kids bikes to find hydraulic, knobby tired mountain > >> bikes with too many gears. > > >> Too much emphasisnon the wrong things. > > >> Luke > > >> -- > >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > >> "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > >> To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > >> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > >> [email protected]. > >> For more options, visit this group at > >>http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en. > > > -- > > Cheers, > > David > > Redlands, CA > > > *...in terms of recreational cycling there are many riders who would > > probably benefit more from > > improving their taste than from improving their performance.* - RTMS > > > -- > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > > "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > > [email protected]. > > For more options, visit this group at > >http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.- Hide quoted text - > > - Show quoted text - -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
