Does anyone know what’s happening at Bird Bikes? Most of their range now appears that it’s not being sold anymore, including the Aeris AM which was relatively new model. And previously announced bikes like the gravel have not appeared, and same with the custom tuning service and demo days.
some hints at something new coming on the web site, but no details?
There's a few bits of info on the Bird owners FB group.
If I remember correctly, the gravel bike isn't happening in the end and with rest of it the general message was there's some restructuring/streamlining going on, more info next year and don't worry, it's not the end.
New AMs in 2026, sounds like a factory move and some updates with linkages. Ben said more info coming before Christmas all being well. Otherwise, as above just some streamlining
Yeah - Ben announced on the FB page that new models of the AM are due in 2026, with slightly revised linkages etc. think pre-orders will be up soon-ish.
They are also (going to be) Forbidden and Forestral dealers.
Ben was saying to me the other week that the factory that was booked to make the gravel frames changed the minimum quantities Bird could order, so Ben is trying to source other options. Hopefully that'll be sorted; I had a test ride on the prototype and it was great!
A lot of it looks like consolidating to survive in the short term. They have the problem that their brand was built on good geometry and decent value. Now everyone else has caught up with the geometry and there's a huge amount of discounting so they can't compete on value. My Aether 9 has been a brilliant bike, but it's nearly 4 years old and I don't need another one as it's solidly built.
As for their gravel bike I'm not sure I see the value in buying from a minor western brand when it's easy to go direct to the source. I don't trust China to make a lasting full suspension bike but they can make decent quality carbon road and gravel frames. There could be some value in geometry and tyre clearance but it's difficult to stand out.
When brands pull their entire range like this it's either exciting (total refresh) or worrying (financial trouble). The missing announced products is the red flag.
If the gravel bike and custom tuning service never launched, that suggests either supply chain collapse or cash flow problems. The vague "something new coming" on the website could be genuine or could be stalling while they figure things out. Check if their customer service is still responsive - that's usually the canary in the coal mine when bike companies are in trouble.
Hopefully all ok there, I was looking at getting a Bird of some sort (either a Forge or Aether 9) next year. Aether MX or 9 with a mullet flip chip would be interesting, if they're revamping the range and hopefully not closing up shop.
I ordered a service kit for my dropper the other week but it was damaged in transit. Spoke to someone on the phone last week and a replacement kit arrived a day or two later. I did think the range was a little confusing in recent years so hopefully it's just a case of streamlining.
I suspect that they are genuinely good people and instead of carrying on as if everything is ok in bikeworld, then screwing their suppliers, they are finding a way to a new model that works with todays market.
Hopefully they will survive. When Santa Cruz are dumping a load of stock at 50% off on Merlin it must be hard to make sales in that climate
To be fair most dealers have been offloading old Santa Cruz stock at those prices for several months
Which makes it harder still.
They are also (going to be) Forbidden and Forestral dealers.
Was it UK distributors actually? I'm sure Ben will pop along to clarify soon anyway.
I don't think their range is too confusing, but they could do with just updating the Aether 9 (even they must admit 430mm chainstays are a bit short now) and I expect they're just selling remaining stock of the Aether 7.
Shame they had to pull the plug on the gravel bike, but I must say it felt a bit generic for them. A more value-orientated aluminum frame with more overt MTB influence might be the way to go instead.
Shame they had to pull the plug on the gravel bike, but I must say it felt a bit generic for them. A more value-orientated aluminum frame with more overt MTB influence might be the way to go instead.
It did ride really well, and think it had clearance for 50mm tyres.
But, agree, £4k for a carbon frame and fancy electronic shifting takes it out of my price range really, and arguably away from Bird's original place in the market of being a budget / good value 'direct to consumer' option. But, gravel I guess is one of the growth markets, so maybe makes sense for them financially.
It's a shame that the Formula options have disappeared. It was a nice alternative to the every day alternatives. I always fancied doing a full Cura, Selva, Mod build.
Becoming the UK Forbidden distro is an interesting development. I hope I can get a Druid e-bike for a day at Hamsterley.
I’d totally forgotten about the gravel frame. Didn’t seem to sit in the range as well a something more like a Sonder Camino or Fustle Causeway type bike would
Shame about the gravel - as a gravel-curious mtber I was waiting for it and eventually gave up.
the bike I ended up with seemed to match (most of but not all of) the spec/design ethos of the bird - which seemed to meet my preferences/wishes.
the thread - and Ben's input - on the Bird gravel were a useful part of my buying/research.
Thanks for the replies everyone. I too hope it’s an indication of a revamped future rather than the negative alternative. We have a couple of Bird bikes in the shed, would hate to see them go away.
For what it's worth I've just had an Aether 7 delivered (well hopefully that's what's in the box :D) after calling up and speaking to Ben last week about the sale frames they have listed on their website. He was super helpful and had some full builds in stock at a good price which I went for, but was also due a fresh delivery of framesets (this week I believe) due to having such a good response to the sale. The bike was PDI'd and despatched in ~3 working days as although it was in stock they had a few builds/orders in the queue ahead of it.
Perhaps it's a little niche now but I really wanted a short-ish travel 27.5" trail bike and it ticks all the boxes so fingers crossed, the owners group on FB seems to be full of happy riders and they don't come up for sale second hand often which I always take as a good sign (admittedly there aren't millions of them about to filter through).
I wouldn't be surprised if the range does slim down a little, combined with distributing a couple of other brands that could be a good way to keep ticking along with how rocky the industry is at the minute.