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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53x12
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by 53x12

Was there enough demand for MF wheels where it would make sense for some competitor to buy them out? Was the MF 'failure' because of lack of demand, or was it more based on being poorly run? Enve seems to be doing well doing what they are doing, that I'm not sure it makes sense for them to get involved and take on a potential headache.


Johnny Rad wrote:
Might be MF themselves (!!!), which would reek of "shuttering the company" and not "coming back soon."



If you go to their website, it sure feels like they shuttered the company. Not sure if we will see them back again, especially as a made in America wheel. If the brand is brought back to life, will probably be made at some factory in Asia.
"Marginal gains are the only gains when all that's left to gain is in the margins."

by Weenie


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gitsome
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by gitsome

Yeah... not good. At least have the PR savvy to take that down and put something up, anything, that's just bad for mar ale.

Feels like Lew all over again, at least from my distant observer's pov.
My wallet is the lightest thing on my bike.

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53x12
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by 53x12

I wouldn't consider the MadFiber wheels for the price being listed on ebay. I'm waiting for the inventory blowout sale on chainlove. :lol:
"Marginal gains are the only gains when all that's left to gain is in the margins."

Johnny Rad
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by Johnny Rad

MF launched two new gens in the past year or so - both seemed to appear in rapid fire succession. The first of those two was the black removeable freehub body. The second was the new spoke layout.

When the first of those two launched (black removeable freehub), prices on the previous version absolutely tanked. I bought my MF set during that time. I recall at least one and maybe two sellers on eBay selling new in box MF sets (older, non-removeable freehub versions) at crazy crazy crazy low prices. I haven't seen those low prices again (but my crystal ball says get ready for it now). At the time I figured they were making room for the new version, but maybe they knew something and were getting out of the MF game all together. We may never know...

For what it's worth, I don't recall new in box MF prices of any older versions tanking again when the second of the two launched.

gitsome
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by gitsome

How do you like your MF wheels? Would you buy them again if they were ging out of business? Would you rec to someone if they go on sale to get them? Do they seem reliable to you? I know its kind of impossible to say, but what is your gt feeling on them? I imagine if anything ever happened its possible someone like parolee or enve might be able to repair them
My wallet is the lightest thing on my bike.

Johnny Rad
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by Johnny Rad

Not sure this is the thread for a review, but count me as a happy owner.
I haven't been let down by either my MF clincher wheels or their technical support at HQ.
I'm convinced it's a solid wheelset, but it's a giant bummer to see the warranty potentially evaporate.

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jmilliron
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by jmilliron

Really enjoyed the set of MF tubulars I demo'ed.

But, as I alluded to earlier, I'm sold on the whole wide rim thing. And we can have some gnarly cross winds here. Especially when doing road races out in the farm lands.
2013 Wilier Cento1 SR || 2009 Ridley Crossbow || 2011 Yeti AS-R 5 Carbon

gitsome
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by gitsome

Yeah, passed my my local bike shop the other day to check on a friend who works there who just set up her new race machine with MF and said she had to take them off due to winds, she just couldn't keep them straight and felt they'd knock her down, that same day I rode 6 hours on 404's with no probs whatsoever, but they weigh so much more...it really is amazing how well the new designs work. Its nice when (for a change) marketing hype and "new and improved" is not at all BS
My wallet is the lightest thing on my bike.

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53x12
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by 53x12

Was the regular price on the MadFiber wheels around $2900-3000 before all this went down? Not sure The Pros Closet selling them for $2300 is that great of a deal considering what is ongoing with MadFiber and lack of warranty and customer service support. I don't need another set of wheels now, but if I was in the market for a set of wheels I don't even think I would jump in at $2300. Probably need to drop significantly more before I took the gamble. Don't know about you guys.
"Marginal gains are the only gains when all that's left to gain is in the margins."

Johnny Rad
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by Johnny Rad

@53x12: Totally agreed on $2.3K not being a great deal right now. I think MSRP was ~$2,700-3K depending upon configuration and generation. If MF doesn't come back and/or there's no good news on the warranty front, it's not hard to imagine the pricing coming down as sellers find it more difficult to find buyers.

I bought my MF's because of their "price to weight" ratio while still offering aero benefits. Based on the same online reviews you've all seen, I trusted they were lighter than ZIPPs, but not as aero. It was a trade-off I was willing to make when I found a deal too good to pass up. Assuming I didn't already own a set ... I wouldn't pop on a set until the prices came down significantly to offset the distinct possibility of no warranty, crash repair prices, technical support, etc.

With respect to crosswinds, yup they sure can get pushed around just like many of the reviewers online have written. Some riders are just more sensitive to to it than others for whatever reasons, so know yourself before buying. I'm quite happy to ride them as an everyday wheel and crosswind performance won't be the reason I'd ever part with them one day.

>>>>>>>>>>>>

What are the most likely scenarios for MF?

1. Closed for good to only live on in our memories (aka M2Racer). If they didn't make enough profitable sales, this may be their only option.

2. Re-enter market with new strategy for existing, slightly different and/or new products WITH support for previous products (like a Phoenix rising from the ashes). To maintain whatever goodwill they've created, I think they'd have to continue supporting their current users in one form or another.

3. Re-enter market with new strategy focused on new products WITHOUT support for previous products (like the Lew wheels allegations). Ugh, let's not go here.

4. Closed for good, but license their name, technology, etc to another party WITH or WITHOUT support for previous products. Seems like a real long shot because I'd argue they don't have much brand to leverage and their skinny wheel technology is out of favor with the market. See option 1.

5. What else?! The good, the bad and the ugly...

jooo
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by jooo

I wonder if there is a situation where Wheel Fanatyk could try and revive the product under a different name?

mdeth1313
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by mdeth1313

$2300 is stupid. I think biketiresdirect was blowing them out awhile back for about $1500 (maybe less) if you were one of their "gold members", meaning at some point you spent more than $100 on an order.
Speedplay is the devil!

gitsome
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by gitsome

wow thats insane, 1500, Id be so tempted if I had it.
My wallet is the lightest thing on my bike.

by Weenie


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carbonLORD
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by carbonLORD

Why on Earth is anyone even remotely interested in this wheel? I wouldn't ride this wheel if it was given to me.

I remember a few years ago when a long time shop owner and friend showed them to me and my response was "They didn't learn from Spinergy?"

Now I'm reading about multiple delaminated wheels, ignored warranty claims, comments immediately removed from their FaceBook page but no one answering the phone or responding to emails, web site says Coming Summer 2013 and its almost winter and the list goes on.

With companies like Zipp being around for 2 decades and ENVE rolling strong I have to ask anyone considering this wheel, what are you thinking!?!?

Narrow wheel, less aero, cannot be trued, 2 major updates (including a new spoke pattern killing the price of the original version) before shutting down, selling the company followed by moving production to Taiwan ... Layers of potential issues in a short time frame.

Even if they were still in business, owned by their founders I fail to see how a narrow, dated, unserviceable wheel is interesting, plus they are just ugly.
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