MadFiber, Serotta and Blue Now Owned by Divine Cycling

Questions about bike hire abroad and everything light bike related. No off-topic chat please

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elviento
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by elviento

Well, I guess the falcon will stay sane for the time being then... Several issues remained unresolved hence the low value in the final bids.

1. IP law is fundamentally complex and hard to enforce (talk to Pinarello about the $400 Dogmas)... There are already several similar designs out there and I am not seeing anybody filing a suit against those anytime soon.
2. The auction included only part of the tooling which is a very expensive part of the business. Apparently they still owed money on the molds (making me feel a lot better today)...
3. The manufacturing technique meant the spokes have to be bonded to the rim side walls first for tension, and then glued to the rim bed... the gluing right at the brake tracks meant disaster. We sat down w/ 2 of the best carbon factories by any standards and concluded major improvements were needed. Maybe a super complex 3D full wheel mold (sort of like what Cipollini does w/ frames)?
4. The aero bug... weren't any real way to fix it. I wonder how LW's Fernweg is doing these days?

The design is definitely viable w/ some capital injection and more pragmatic management. But Devine screwed them all... makes pretty good case study of how M&A destroys value in a corp fin course.

HammerTime2 wrote: - so much for Mad Falcon wheels.
Fast falcons: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3mTPEuFcWk" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
www.falcobike.com
Facebook: falcobikeglobal

by Weenie


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HammerTime2
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by HammerTime2

Other than the aero properties, isn't it the case that the tubular Mad Fibers really didn't have many problems or warranty claims, and perhaps the clinchers, with anecdotal reports of many warranty claims, may have been the company's undoing, and what got the company to the point of needing to be acquired (rescued) by Divine Cycling Group? Perhaps the new IP owner can resurrect the tubulars, while leaving the clinchers on indefinite postponement.

NealH
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Joined: Sat May 12, 2007 3:40 am
Location: Ormond Be, FL

by NealH

The reports of delimitation with the clinchers were not anecdotal, they were factual. A rather poorly engineered wheel and I can only surmise it was due to a rush to get them on the market. The tubulars do not seem to have issues other than noise and maybe also-ran aero properties. Nice looking wheels, but I would not want them. Certainly not now.

Johnny Rad
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Joined: Fri Feb 17, 2006 6:22 am
Location: Zion

by Johnny Rad

Back from the dead ... thought the one or two people still riding MF's might care

Delamination in the house. Clincher rear wheel in my case. Right where the two carbon fairings come together and where the "spokes" emanate from the rim.

Just happened today with no prior warning. I was greeted to a random pop, popping noise before mile 1 this morning. Major buzzkill.

I expect MF's industry-leading, "no questions asked" warranty will come to my rescue. Ha! I think I'll put the front wheel on the FS forum here before trying my luck on Fleabay, but it's hard to know what to do with the jacked-up rear. Maybe two shirt / jacket hangers?! I did that to a Reynolds Attack wheel a few years ago after turning it into a taco (no fault of the wheelset; pilot error).

Gotta run ... I'm looking for a new set of wheels ASAP. I'm not ready to turn road season into MTB season quite yet.

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HammerTime2
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by HammerTime2

thatdkid wrote:Interesting to here. But in this day and age, it is good to see small companies "working together". Instead of just getting lumped in with some big corporation. Only time will tell if this works or it doesn't.
Time told :smartass:

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