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only instead of bikes they're selling enduro trail scooters. totally mexico mate
scuttler
Member
@Nicko it needs quoting in its entirety. I can’t find the original thread but it’s frequently requoted in threads around 2010 attributable to Bigdummy who still occasionally posts. It soooo beautifully describes the situation and should be put on the next batch of Gnarpoon t-shirts…
It’s a bit like watching that video of the rolling rally car the other day, but in slow motion, and the car is full of ostriches, and every time it rolls another ostrich comes flying out, and as each ostrich hits the ground it starts whooshing like a catherine wheel, and all the orange penguins who are watching the crash come running out with brooms and try and put the ostriches out by hitting them with their brooms, but the brooms just catch fire and the penguins panic and stat rolling around on the ground surrounded by exploding ostriches as the car rolls on and on spewing out ever more ostriches.
– BigDummy (STW)
Perfect - I only remembered dribs and drabs of it
This has been pointed out elsewhere but it's worth a look if only for the prescient opening quote- LINK
Written by the same bloke that triggered the Pinkbike meltdown. It makes for pretty painful reading now.
"Underestimate them at your peril too. Jordan’s first job out of university was at McLaren and he’s worked with many of Britain’s engineering big hitters since then."
Yeah mate. Righto
Man-bun-agogo there...
I think the opening line sums it up completely:
“I think… we’re just too stupid to know when to stop”
Read more at https://dirtmountainbike.com/features/sick-cycles-mountain-bike-menagerie.html#IqRbLks1GGcoptxH.99
Underestimate them at your peril too. Jordan’s first job out of university was at McLaren and he’s worked with many of Britain’s engineering big hitters since then
In fairness he could have been a cleaner for all that tells you. Given his penchant for self aggrandisement I'd also not put it past him to have been the cleaner with "senior vp in charge of..." on his self made business cards.
Even if he was super engineer of the universe mind it doesn't matter. Just because you can do A doesn't mean you've a clue how to do B or run a business doing A. There's plenty of stories of hubris from people who assumed it did.
geek tragedy.
Not sure if intentional but thats brilliant dangerousbrain
I drive past that new Mclaren factory in Sheffield all the time. And the bloke on the end of my street has a Lamborghini.
Anyone want to buy a bike that doesn't exist yet? Commit to a pre-order and I'll tell you to F-off on Facebook as well if you like.
tjagain
"geek tragedy."
Not sure if intentional but thats brilliant dangerousbrain
Came to say the same thing. Filed away for future use.
Underestimate them at your peril too. Jordan’s first job out of university was at McLaren and he’s worked with many of Britain’s engineering big hitters since then
In fairness he could have been a cleaner for all that tells you. Given his penchant for self aggrandisement I’d also not put it past him to have been the cleaner with “senior vp in charge of…” on his self made business cards.
VP of Dust Particle Management innit!
Mate of mine was a driver for Williams.
Of one of the transporters...
Totally unrelated but "Have Blue" was the code name given to the original stealth bomber by the skunk works.
Anyone know how much Merino is knocking the frames out for?
Wayyy ahead of you 'grimep'.
Why is it that the more I read the tosh Jordan et al spew forth onto IG the more I think they watch Nathan Barley as if it was an instructional series rather than a comedic one?
I wouldn’t be surprised if one of the cretins at Sick described themself as a “self-facilitating bicycling node”.
Totally unrelated but “Have Blue” was the code name given to the original stealth bomber by the skunk works.
Also a scenario in The Laundry Files.
Totally unrelated but “Have Blue” was the code name given to the original stealth bomber by the skunk works
Not unrelated, I think Sick mentioned that in the original promo of it,
https://www.mbr.co.uk/news/bike_news/sick-bikes-have-blue-369289
when you build bikes no one ever sees, that's pretty stealthy tbf.
Takeaway points - Any new startup wanting to break into the industry
1. You can write any old shit press release the Journos are such useless teapots they will print it.
2. Sick have pretty much removed all public trust in anyone wanting to have a go.
Is their IG actually down now. They don't seem to have online presence anywhere at the moment.
still working for me, have you been blocked?
Tired of conventional? With its have Blue ti/carbon hybrid, Sick Bikes may have the answer.
And again a press release where Dumb & Dumber sold you the line it was carbotanium, it was in fact chinoshiteium straight out of a catalogue.
I'm blocked. Maybe I shouldn't have been rude to them.
I don't think it's ruined it for everyone, Kickstarter's a fairly novel way of getting a bike company off the ground though. I can only think of Last and the Fastforward that's been done that way, and they had a track record already just weren't sure if the world was ready for a long travel 29er hardtail (turns out, it was).
On-One spun out of planet x
DMR were associated with Upgrade/Kinesis?
Cotic was a loan/savings and help from Brant
Starling's were self built in the beginning
Singular?
Stanton?
The common theme there is there was either a bigger/older company in the background, or the owner put their hands in their pockets and started it with their own money. I'm sure if one of those companies said "we're doing a .....(insert semi plausible niche here)...... bike and it's on kickstarter as we don't know if there's a demand for it" then it could probably still work, just not for a couple of people no ones ever heard of.
I'll just leave this here:
https://nickhussey.work/blog-1#/addressing-vulpine-failure/
Better written (as in style, grammar etc - though a little "breathless" for my liking) but it still sounds like self-obsessed, self-justifying horse-flop.
Hey ho.
People. The internet. So much shit.
Maybe Sick Corp will do a successful kickstarter on the back of the stellar reputation of Sick Bicycles?
Some familiar names...
https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/11453634
Didn't singular do a kickstarter for a ti framed bike, even when they were established??
I recall an established brand did do that..
DrP
aye but vulpine went under cos they at least stole all the cash in the form of giant salaries
Singular did the Rooster via Kickstarter and that (in my personal experience) was a disaster. I think everyone got what they ordered in the end (I did) but it took a long, long time and was not a great experience.
@cheekymonkey I read that article and dug further and as you say self obsessed etc...
from somewhere else his model was set up on this ....Hussey told the administrators that the goal for the company from the outset had been to “build the brand as fast as possible, with an exit by trade sale after 5 years.”
They always said in business school have an exit strategy but that just seems overreaching!
Makes me wonder what Sick Bicycles exit strategy was
Makes me wonder what Sick Bicycles exit strategy was
Anyone know how much Merino is knocking the frames out for?
Haven’t people had enough of being fleeced?
Is it just me or are their wheels too far apart? Ain't gonna get that through the kissing gates on my usual off-road route.
DrP
Didn’t singular do a kickstarter for a ti framed bike, even when they were established??
I recall an established brand did do that..
As thisisnotaspoon said above, Last did it with the Fast Forward, and although things went a bit slower than hoped, it all worked out well. They had an issue with chainstays being welded incorrectly (butting at the wrong end), but kept people informed (there were even pictures) and delivered a great frame at the end of it all.
It did help that there was an established company with actual real bikes behind it, and they were very good with answering emails in the lead up with intellignet answers and numbers.
I contacted Sick with geometry questions about their kickstarter, they gave me two different reach measurements - seat up and seat down. At that point, i was out.
Makes me wonder what Sick Bicycles exit strategy was
I contacted Sick with geometry questions about their kickstarter, they gave me two different reach measurements – seat up and seat down
The bike sags more depending on how high your sat you see. You just don't like that they didn't conform to the rule man.
Hater.
Ain’t gonna get that through the kissing gates on my usual off-road route.
Real community bros huck the gates to flat, bro!
Real community bros huck the gates to flat, bro!
No Hucking of gates or fences, thats for the birds.
Real community bros huck the gates to flat, bro!
Only at The Golfie
Cotic was a loan/savings and help from Brant
Did not know that: even the most depressing threads have little nuggets of "huh, that's cool"
$320 + $110 "express shipping" apparently, if you want two frames, they can ship them in one box, so you only pay once.
More importantly, they said you can pick your colour 👍
this thread has been very emotional and I was going to ask about shipping multiple, paintless, frames but it's just two raw.
More importantly, they said you can pick your colour
And they'll put a different one in the box, just to give it that "punk" vibe.
$320 + $110 “express shipping” apparently, if you want two frames, they can ship them in one box, so you only pay once.
Obviously some will be paying for their second.
But why on Earth would you want anything with the name of the company on it.The user experience is now surely scrap value only.
No decals on some of them
We should all get one and then group ride up and down outside their tatt studio. Laughing.
No decals on some of them
Not sure if they have 'Sick' CNC'd chainstay bridges or that was just the Chinese ones?
There no way I'd want anything Sick in my ownership but Marino would be fine.
Is anyone on this thread owed anything ?
Or is it all just pointing and laughing ?
I'll set my stance out now, just to clear things up.
1) I'm owed nothing by Sick! or any part of that Company or it's Directors or Employees
2) I'm not in the target market for any of their products/services or media outputs
3) I support any (ANY) business that holds it's customers and supporters FIRST and FOREMOST with Accurate and Informative information.
4) I have an ingrained dislike for Companies that set out to coerce a group of people into buying goods that do not exist, even when that organisation states that they are.
5) When Companies do that, it's Fraud. It's simple and Law supports it.
6) When i comment on here about Sick! those thoughts are my own and I stand by every point or statement I have made for/against them. I am simply pointing out that Companies that proclaim to sell goods or services that they do not have to sell is Fraudulent.
7) Had Sick! gone down the Kickstarter route for ALL their frames and products I would have absolutely supported their rather random efforts. Kickstarter is a platform where the products and services offered are regulated and supported by remediation should anything go awry in the customer providing funds for said products or services.
8) I simply, and honestly, believe in the small Guy. Not just Companies, but the voiceless that have paid for something that will not appear and seemingly been fobbed off by said Company and it's marketing bollocks.
9) All I'm trying to provoke here is those that have been fobbed off to form some sort of FB Group or IG Group that counters what Sick! are promoting, by letting those other potential customers know what issues have been raised and give balance to a one sided story sold to the masses by a Company that is promoting one thing, by asking for money from others to fund it.
10) I'm happy that the Mags have outed and finally gotten round to building a story about the Company and its issues. That says to me that the industry is finally looking out for itself and it's customers rather than smoke and mirrors and misinformation broadcasts.
11) If Sick! want to contact me about the points I've raised on here, then they are free to message me in the normal way here and I'm happy that I stand by every word I've written.
12) If the small Guy does nothing to get some remediation for the funds they've sent for goods they've not received then that in some way encourages others to sit back and not act upon a simple transaction. I believe that's not right and not fair.
IMO
So...
Did people get their emails today?
$320 + $110 “express shipping” apparently, if you want two frames, they can ship them in one box, so you only pay once.
More importantly, they said you can pick your colour 👍
Just buy a BFE, or a Stanton, or a DMR, or...(insert British steel hardtail)
It'll be better anyway 🙂
everything that BB said (though i was interested in one of the projects), apart from...
7) Had Sick! gone down the Kickstarter route for ALL their frames and products I would have absolutely supported their rather random efforts. Kickstarter is a platform where the products and services offered are regulated and supported by remediation should anything go awry in the customer providing funds for said products or services.
With crowdfunding, you are pretty much on your own if it goes south. kickstarter is a little better than indiegogo IMO, as KS insist the project gets fully funded, but thats about it. (I've backed a few things on kickstarter, never been burned, but got pretty nervous on one.)
.
So about £350 + what ever import tax and duty etc.
How much were Sick! knocking them out for?
£750 for the wulf at full rrp I think, might be wrong, could have been less
A staggering amount of people still trying to defend them on their Instagram
No problems, they'll all chip in to help their bros.
Interesting that the website shows several 'dead stock' frames for immediate delivery.....
[img] 
[/img]
Yeah, reckon that’s what they were trying to flog quick to get the funds to pay Marino.
Shame not enough folk chipped in.
wwaswas
Subscriber
this thread has been very emotional and I was going to ask about shipping multiple, paintless, frames but it’s just two raw.
😀
Shamelessly stolen from pinkbike...
Wondering whether it worth buying a frame from Marino and mothballing it? We'll all look back at this and laugh at some point......yes?
It does make me chuckle that they can't even sue him for selling bikes with their name on it..... as they were too rad to even protect their brand name.
Did people get their emails today?
Are Marino any good ? I had an idea a few weeks ago about a budget custom hardtail frame but there were a few threads on here which made me think I wouldn’t chance it .
😂😂😂
That is bloody brilliant.
Damn, beaten too it!
Class 🙂
Torn over my favourite line, possibly "Maybe I should order a Canyon, but no-one will know I'm an individual" or "Maybe I should try trail running."
Thank you for waiting.
I wanted to make sure I had a robust system in place before sending this email.If you have experienced a problem with your frame order we are sorry, we've reached a bit of a stalemate with our supplier, and, whilst we are working to resolve it, and, I'm fairly sure we will, I want to assure you that we have contingency. None of those plans involve scrapping Sick, and never have.
If you have ordered a deadstock frame or your frame is already in the UK, you can ignore this and your order is being processed.
Tickets
If you have a delayed frame, or, you are awaiting a refund, please email frame.orders@sickbicycle.co with your order number. Let me know what action you would like me to take, You will receive a ticket number, and confirmation, of action and I will be personally dealing with these. I feel having just myself tasked with this will allow better ownership and faster resolution.
We will continue to negotiate with our vendor and secure a delivery date if this is not possible, we have 150 frames produced in Taiwan awaiting paint and decals, and shipping to UK. we are happy to offer a swap for a like for like or better frame in 27.5 or 29. If you would like to know your choices please ask.
Paypal
If you have raised a ticket in Paypal resolution centre or a chargeback, you do not need to take any action unless you wish to change to a replacement frame. You will receive your refund inline with the issuers time policy. If we can do anything to speed that up, we will.
Management Change
Although its been on the cards for a while, I've taken the decision to step down from my position, we've already begun the process of looking for the right person to handle a rapidly growing company. I will remain in the company, but the time has come to hand over.
Everything Else
There is a lot of controversy, hearsay and conjecture on the internet. I would rather focus on solving these problems than getting tied up in endless arguments and debates. Our company has always been a public face, you know all of the staff by name, there are no shady investors or shell corporations, no puppet master pulling the strings. We are personally accountable. There are certain places on forums on the internet that we have never been welcome, nothing has changed.
That our company is held under such scrutiny by the press, is a little surprising. But that's something to do with our open business, its hard to make a story out of a faceless corporation.
I was happy to take the press when the going was good, I must accept it in the bad.
These are growing pains, and they ARE painful, they are humiliating. But they are certainly not the end.
I know a lot of you guys have been with me from the start. You've seen the hours we've put in.
And despite everything, it's still been worth it. We wont be the first company that got stars in their eyes and stretched too far too fast. But hopefully we'll stop making such stupid mistakes and fix the problems we have.
We'll make it right, it'll take time, but we'll make it right.
Jordan.
so jordan has quit?
how do they get frames from marino if he's already sold them. BRING ME MORE POPCORN!!!!!!
There are certain places on forums on the internet that we have never been welcome
Is he talking about here? Why? Are we not nice?
Well the mail reads well... if they can back up some of that they'll be a lot further on getting peoples support.
I guess a supplier not sending stuff because you've not paid them and don't have the money is a sort of stalemate. Maybe if they'd used the money they paid to get 150/300/600 frames from Taiwan to pay Marino they'd have the frames already. Rumours are that Theresa May is joinig them to run the company.
from day dot they slagged off everyone on here and PB. what do they want now? a tops off wobbly cuddle?
so jordan has quit?
I believe it's called an almighty FLOUNCE replaced by a robust system of washing your hands and running off Cameron had disguised himself well however.
Our company has always been a public face
Did he mean Farce?
These are growing pains, and they ARE painful, they are humiliating. But they are certainly not the end.
I defer to "your customers will decide if it's the end not you sunshine"
My absolute favourite one and only thing I do like about the guy however, is that he still continues the masquerade that he is as big hitter as the chairman off Shell or BP.
Stepping down from my position
More pot noodle than Caviar fella.
A good email.
Imagine if he'd been that responsive to customers in the past.
I really hope for the sake of those they owe stuff to that they can pull this out of the fire. And if they can do it they deserve support.
Hell, I'll even go down to see them and let Jordan take the first swing.
(gah, trouble grabbing image URLs… never mind)
Apart from a new email address, what has changed?
They've been talking about stepping down for a while. If its a manager, rather than an investor, how are they going to pay them?
Jordan saying he'll deal with the refunds personally, Who was responsible for doing them before?
Whats in place to stop the same thing as has happened with Marino happening with the 150 frames?
Personally accountable? To whom? They won't answer questions from industry journalists, unless they like/write them, they block people on insta who say things or ask questions they don't like, they are a limited company. who are they accountable to?
fair play if they get everyone refunded (theres a dozen or so on PB demanding it) so ill reserve judgement until they all get their money back, but for now is same email, different day