Because we are bike racers and nothing is more offensive to our ear than the word "retail," I thought I would start a thread where we can post any great deals we've discovered. Whether that be online coupon codes, blow-out sales at your favorite local bike shop, or incredible ebay finds, I think we can all appreciate saving a little money.

I'm going to start this off very simply.

If you are riding near 125th and the Westside bike path...and you need some sugary, liquid refreshment, Fairway has a soda vending machine outside that dispenses name brand sodas, 12-oz cans, for fifty cents!

Some weeks ago I posted (on the Yahoo Group board) asking if anyone was interested in the Spooky Skeletor. Well, the folks at Spooky quoted team pricing at $765 for a frameset, $630 frame-only. The framesets come with an Edge/Enve 2.0 fork.

Retail pricing for the Skeletor frameset will be $1225, so it's a nice discount (for what's regarded a quality U.S. made aluminum frame --and a darn nice fork). Note that the new Skeletors will be fashioned with BB30 and --although I don't have the spec on the headtube, I think it's 1 and 1/8'' tapering to 1.5'' (please correct me if you know otherwise).

Team pricing is contingent upon receiving 8 orders and payment organized/handled by one-person.

Delivery is quite a ways off: expected late February and mid-March (and knowing small operators in this industry, that may slide).

Geometry chart here: http://spookybikes.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/skeletorgeochart.jpg?w=700

IMPORTANT: The latter specification is a concern for me, since I'm not an official representative of the club. I don't wish to ruffle any of our sponsors. Therefore, if there are 8 interested in this offer (that's a big "if", of course), then I will defer to the club sponsorship director and other officers as to whether to proceed or not. The Spooky deal is a nice one, but being true our sponsors is of greater importance. Although I think a club of Kissena's size can accommodate another bike arrangement, I don't know the full nature and expectations we have with other companies.

Thanks,
Norm

I must say I'm pretty excited about this. One quick question, though. Is there a date by which we would have to order the frames as a group in order to get team pricing, or do we have until they are released next spring to decide?

i am in

Okay, so I don't know what the deal is with the cross-posting, but I am in as well.

Update: Spooky would like order submissions to be in a little earlier than I had heard previously --the new request is middle of next week or so. Stragglers may be accepted, of course, but I'd rather not keep those folks waiting.

However, with 6 Kissenas expressing interest in the 2011 Skeletor, we're 2 shy of what's required to get a discount. Will 2 more riders jump in with us? So, if you're interested and have not yet let me know, you should do so asap. If we don't have 8 riders firmly onboard by tomorrow at 6pm, then I'm guessing we won't get the numbers we need.

You can contact me here: normanswygert at mac.com

Or, here: 917-578-0381

Cheers,
Norm

p.s. I'll still be deferring to Kissena officers on the go / no-go this pursuit of a team discount.

Just because no one else has jumped in this discussion...

Kissena has a 3 year long relationship with Van Dessel. We receive 35% discount on all their frames and full bikes. We can order anytime -- and yes, Edwin is sometimes really hard to reach.

But him and the rest of the Van Dessel CX team was just supper cool this season, allowing us test bikes, and to hang out in their tents -- often including free beer

Don't get me wrong... are Spooky awesome? You betcha! f'cking awesome.

is Van Dessel awesome? hell yeas.

can this Spooky deal put a small dent in the Kissena/Van Dessel relationship? Possible.

Then again, I am no longer in the board. So just one voice. No vote.

love,

Eloy

Thanks for commenting Eloy! One voice, yes, but a voice that rings true!

It doesn't look like we're going to get the interest required to get a discount from Spooky. So, the subject seems to be moot at this point (please don't take that to mean that I'll now pursue a deal with Moots! --though I think I know of one person who would surely jump on that).

-Norm

Van Dessel is an awesome sponsor...Neuvation too. I prefer to buy American manufactured products whenever I can. I don't want a discourse on the balance of trade, but I also don't want to see the problems and plights of Detroit moving East. Edwin at Van Dessel and John at Neuvation are very friendly people offering good products at a great price...but at what cost?
Yacks

http://thisistheendoftheworldasweknowit.com/archives/ground-zero-for-the-american-nightmare-unemployment-is-now-at-45-percent-in-detroit

Hrm, yeah, kinda bummed this isn't (or at least doesn't seem to be) working out. Aside from the fact that the Skeletor comes in purple, which rules, I too was enthused at the prospect of supporting a smaller American business. That being said, if we do get two more on board in time and the higher-ups are cool with it, awesome. If not, I guess I'll be getting a VD!

I had my heart set on anodized teal...

Ahhhhhhh, you guys are killing me. I want a Spooky bad, and am soon to have an extra Shimano 7800 groupset to throw on something...but just can't justify it. If only a cx bike could be added to the package...

Skeletor is not dead yet.

Mickey (the Spooky guy) wrote me tonight and said he will consider offering the discount with only 6.

If you are one of the six, write to me this weekend (normanswygert at mac.com) to confirm interest. If we have six confirming, I'll ask the board if it's OK. You can also contact Mickey (mickey@spookybikes.com) if you have questions about the frames or other spooky details.

Eloy noted that this may not be good for our relationship with Van Dessel. I would go for a Hellfaster, but my sentiments in the neighborhood of Yack's statement above. So I will be getting a Spooky, discount or no discount. If you would consider a Van Dessel, you should probably go with it. Edwin has a newly updated Hellafaster for 2011 (debuted at Interbike) --it's just not on his website yet, I assume because he's been too busy with cross. I don't know all the changes on the 2011 model, but I'm sure Edwin can give you the scoop.

-Norm

The new Hellafaster looks reaallly nice. The carbon Rivet frame is beautiful but last time I checked it cost more than 2x's the price of the Hellafaster. Also, carbon has a nasty habit of cracking when gravity and dense objects consolidate near it. The 2011 Hellafaster seems to have addressed my 3 complaints with the frame: 1. Paint Job (honestly the battleship grey made it look like a piece of soviet era military surplus) 2. Weight, the top tube seems much smaller and the down tube appears to be a new shaped design 3. Ride, again the smaller "squoval" top tube should help here.

http://www.bikerumor.com/2010/11/06/interbike-2010-van-dessel-part-2-road-track-and-cross/

The above observations are based on the photos I've seen.
The dig on Chinese goods has always been that they could manufacture anything...but had real trouble finishing products. The finish is clearly getting much better and with it...WORLD DOMINANCE in manufacturing.
I priced the Edge 2.0 fork that comes with the Spooky and it retails for $450...which makes the team deal on that frame incredible. Don't sell short the fork. When it comes to handling and ride characteristics, it is half the bike.
Ultimately frames don't make you faster...but shoe covers will.
yacks

Kissena wind vest champion systems size large $20
kissena bib roubaix fleece knickers 3/4 length size large $25
kissena bieme retro winter roubaix jersey l/s size large $10

or make me an offer ,city or brooklyn pick up

mark
347 865 6586

Mark, can i get that winter jersey?

I'm interested in the bib. I won't be able to pick up for a while, though, since I live in Jersey and have a lotta work to do for school these next 2 weeks.

gear is gone
thanks

I'm a little late to this discussion, but I thought I would throw in my two cents anyway...

As long as Spooky is not under the impression that---by offering 6 or 8 or however-many individuals who are on the same cycling club a discount--they will be a sponsor, or receive any sponsor benefits like website links or jersey logo placement, blog mentions, YouTube video testimonials, then I don't think there's anything technically wrong with someone on the club coordinating a deal for themselves and their friends. Because ultimately they are just a company, who makes some money by selling a handful of their frames to a bunch of guys. Nothing more, nothing less.

Now, that said...it would be nice if some of the energy that was spent on this Spooky deal was either directed/focused on building a stronger/better relationship with our current sponsors. To be honest, I don't know how good our deal with Van Dessel, but I do know that throughout the year there have been a few emails that make it really seem like we don't have much of any relationship with Van Dessel or anyone else.

It's all been so random. For a while people were sending emails back and forth about Brickwell and Cannondales...it literally took me months to figure that one out. And just in case you haven't figured that one out yet...Basically Brickwell is a bike shop and they carry Cannondales and they may or may not offer club member discounts on products and services.

And Neuvation sells bikes too...so do we have 3 bike sponsors?

I remember over 12 years ago I was on a team that was sponsored by Clif bar and we were approached by a sport drink company and we wanted to take on that sponsor, but Clif said we couldn't because they were, at the time, WORKING on producing a sport drink (only a few years ago, did I start to see the Clif beverage by the way...jeez).

So for a while it was a little confusing for me when I basically thought I might have access to 3 different "sponsor" bikes.

And as far as the relationship with Van Dessel? I didn't really appreciate that we had that kind of access to Edwin and his company. I mean, I raced a pretty complete cx season this year and had no idea that Eloy is kicking back drinking brews and riding bikes with Edwin and his team. All the mentions of Van Dessel seemed to be just a hint or a whisper. There have been these random and separate emails throughout the season it seems, saying..."how do you get in touch with Edwin, his website doesn't work? I want to buy a bike." And I'm like, oh...someone on the team is going to buy a bike from our sponsor.

I mean the spooky emails/forum posts have been among the most organized, easy to comprehend, "formal" announcement all season of any bike deal. And they're not even a sponsor.

And that's they way it was on my previous teams that were sponsored by Waterford and Trek. There was an email from one of the club officers, outlining what was available, how much and when orders were due. Then we got another email saying, "pick up is on these days."

And I'm not saying that that's the only/best way to manage this kind of relationship. Maybe it's better that anyone at anytime can try and get in touch with Edwin and purchase a bike. That does sound pretty cool. But at the same time, it lacks a kind of order and formality to the relationship that says, Van Dessel is our bike sponsor. And I wonder too. If we could, during the off season, or at one particular point during the season, coordinate a single larger bike/frame order, could we arrange something better than a 35% discount off retail pricing?

Even though I think it's personally kind of silly, but I do wonder if some people who have left the club, may think other teams are more like "real" teams in part, because they happen to be riding matching bikes?

Look, let me say too, that I could be wrong about some of this. I probably am. I could have missed key messages. I'm just reporting on my feelings here, not necessarily the facts of the matter. This email represents my impressions...nothing more, nothing less.

-Marc B.

Matching bikes! Did someone say matching bikes? I'm all in! You guys will have to order Polished Titanium frames though. Cheapest route looks like $1500 for a Lysnkey Cooper...oh yeah "matching"...then you will have to pony up $1900 for a full polish job on that $1500 frame = $3400...but hey, we will all match and that is H.O.T. !!!

We should push for Van D to paint up some blue and orange Hellafasters for us if we can get a set amount of folks on board. Baaaaallin.

Re Brickwell and Cannondale

When I was in the market for a CX bike earlier this year, I asked them about it. They told me that when Kissena and Brickwell hooked up, Cannondale had a deal with them that allowed them to give us Cannondale bikes at some decent amount off (I think it was 25% ) .
Then, right after we announced the Brickwell sponsorship and told the club about the Cannondale discount, Cannondale changed all of their discount / pricing deals and took this off the table.

Still, if you go to Brickwell, they will tell you they will work something out for you. I don't know what that equates to, but they are nice guys and a good shop, so if you are in the market, I think its worth connecting with them to see what "work something out" comes out to.

Hopefully this is not totally off topic, but could we have a sticky with the details of ALL of the 2011 sponsorship deals and how to access them.

Suggestions about storing/sharing Sponsorship data over here

Ian,

I agree...we need a clear posting/listing or something of all our deals.

-Marc

rhenning,

your link doesn't work...

Posted By: bertuccorhenning, your link doesn't work...

Oops, big fat fingers can't type. The link has been updated. Thanks Marc.

even the wind vest?

So I think the question for the group is whether to approach Edwin at Van Dessel for a single big order of Hellafaster/Rivet frames or built bikes for the 2011 season.

The current situation with Van Dessel is any member of Kissena can reach out to Edwin and order a bike or frame with a 35% discount. This is a great deal on some of the already best priced bikes in the industry. These are a great deal, but they're not in Kissena colors or painted with your name on it. This is more of a Bro Deal rather than a more traditional sponsorship relationship.

As somebody who has a team bike (NYVelocity team bike, but team bike nevertheless), I have to say it is kind of a pain to try to schedule and get everybody to pay for their bikes in one fell swoop, and then make sure they're all delivered to the right rider, built up and ready to ride. We did it through a bike shop and they did a HUGE amount of work to make it happen for us. I don't think we will do a Van Dessel deal through our shop relationship, but it is something we could investigate.

I think we should get Myles involved with this discussion. His experience and contacts are certainly going to be helpful as we start to shape the direction and focus of Kissena in 2011.

Just heard from a friend of mine in the bike biz and has been on the business end of teams and sponsorships for years and years. Higher end bikes don't have much of a profit margin and 35% off retail is basically wholesale price. Or the price that Edwin would sell his bikes to a shop.

Maybe you already knew that...but I thought I'd share just in case you didn't.