Time (Sport) Marches On -- The Future Of Time Sport

[RDY]

Interesting little note at the end of the comments section. Translated it says:

My little finger told me that the TIME pedals, their tools and their patents had been ceded to SRAM.

If the rumor is true, I hope that does not result in the junkification of Time pedals ... and cleats.

I also whether there are any key Time technical personnel who have been involved in both frames and pedals, and if so, what happens to them?

Too late for that.

XPro is a significantly more unreliable XPresso.

Cyclo are unusable and should have been recalled. We'll see to what extent the redesign due in March fixes things ...

[EvilEuro]

I think you guys ought to make a separate thread for your issues with Time pedals, especially now that the frame business has been sold but the pedal business remains under the auspices of Rossignol.

[BdaGhisallo]

I've used Time pedals since the original equipe back in the day but recently switched to speedplay as I wanted the combination of light float and customization of q-factor. This to me is a big weakness of Time pedals - there are only 2 options for Q factor and even the bigger one doesn't stop pedal rub for me. It could be an easy fix if they redesigned their cleat (and used metal plates on all the cleat bolts like Shimano for durability).

pedal.jpg

Have you tried Keywin pedals? Six different length axles and tunable float.

[RDY]

I think you guys ought to make a separate thread for your issues with Time pedals, especially now that the frame business has been sold but the pedal business remains under the auspices of Rossignol.

Though the headlines are that Time (bikes) have been sold, the small print says that the deal has been agreed, not that they've been sold. Given what happened last year, it's probably wise not to count any chickens. Anyway, the thread has been primarily about pedals because that's primarily what they do ... bikes have been pretty absent of late. Also, since Rossignol are apparently retaining that business, it'd be better to start a new thread about the new(ly hived off) bike company.

[HammerTime2]

A brief early history of Time.
VeloNews: Roland Cattin, founder of Time Sport, dies at 65

[HammerTime2]

Rossignol to keep pedals/shoes, or will that be sold to a different buyer?

Correct. Pedals and shoes will remain with Rossignol. Translated from the original article:

https://www.oicompass.com/corporate-and ... 23.article

Rossignol has retained Time’s business in bike pedals and cycling shoes for the moment, but according to sport-guide.com, it is expected to report further on this point within days.

I think articles on sport-guide.com are behind a paywall, but am not sure it is not possible to access them with a free registration.

[HammerTime2]

I believe this is the actual press release on the sale of Time's frame business to Cardinal Cycling group, which says it has been finalized. This appears to be a press release from Cardinal Cycling group. I have not found a press release on this from Rossignol.

https://www.3bikes.fr/2021/02/09/matos- ... ativsport/

Google translation:

MATOS - Cardinal Cycling Group buys Time bikes, with the distribution in France of Alternativsport
February 9, 2021

MATOS - Cardinal Cycling Group buys Time bikes, with the distribution in France of Alternativsport
February 9, 2021

Cardinal Cycling Group acquires the TIME SPORT bicycle business and signs an exclusive distribution agreement with Alternativsport, for France.

Source: C.P / Photo credits: Alternativsport

Cardinal Cycling Group has announced the acquisition of the bicycle business of Time Sport, with distribution of Alternativsport for France.

The Rossignol Group has finalized the sale of the TIME bicycle frames and its production site in carbon by casting and resin transfer (RTM) to Cardinal Cycling Group. The transaction includes all bikes and frames, the brand license, as well as intellectual property. TIME pedals and shoes activities are not included in this sale.

Cardinal Cycling Group is a Franco-American investment and management group oriented towards the cycling industry, led by Frenchman Martial Trigeaud, industrial engineer and former Elite bike rider, and American Tony Karklins, founder of Allied Cycle Works and former Managing Director of Orbea USA.

“Having grown up in France, cycling has always been part of my life. I have always had a strong passion for TIME because this brand, through its history, is a legacy of French cycling heritage throughout the world. I am honored to become its ambassador and to shape its future, ”said Martial Trigeaud, CEO of Cardinal Cycling Group.

“We are extremely proud and motivated by the arrival of TIME at Alternativsport. A brand with French DNA, where quality and performance will continue to delight many enthusiasts. There is a very strong synergy and complementarity with the other brands of components and accessories distributed by Alternativsport (Rotor, Profile Design, Supacaz, Lake, Repente, Spatzwear, Xplova, CyclingCéramic, Ism, Ridefarr, QmSport, Chimpanzee, Cingomma). Reseller partners are at the heart of our attention, everything will be done to continue to offer them the best. We are happy and eager to contribute to the development of TIME in France, ”said Frédéric Torres, owner of Alternativsport.

The first shipments will be set up this week and all orders related to TIME bikes and frames will be handled by Alternativsport in France. Alternativsport will be the exclusive distributor of TIME bikes and frames.

[EvilEuro]

Rossignol has retained Time’s business in bike pedals and cycling shoes for the moment, but according to sport-guide.com, it is expected to report further on this point within days.

I think articles on sport-guide.com are behind a paywall, but am not sure it is not possible to access them with a free registration.

Based on the wording there it will be interesting to see if Cardinal end up with the rights to the pedals at some point down the road. That's the only mention I've seen of it though. All other articles just mention that Rossignol is keeping the pedal and shoe products under their own portfolio.

Guess we'll find out more in the coming weeks.

[EvilEuro]

Looks like changes are afoot: http://timebicycles.com/

Nothing there yet other than a placeholder though.

[miltmaster3]

Sweet......


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[HammerTime2]

I don't know whether this is reliable information. Nevertheless, dated February 15:

https://radmarkt.de/nachrichten/rossign ... ling-group

...
Die Pedal-Produktionsstätte im französischen Nevers sowie die Time-Produktgruppen Pedale und Schuhe sind wie gesagt nicht vom Verkauf betroffen. Sie befinden sich weiterhin in Händen der Rossignol-Gruppe, sollen aber auch verkauft werden.
...

Google translation:

As already mentioned, the pedal production facility in Nevers, France, and the Time product groups pedals and shoes are not affected by sales. They are still in the hands of the Rossignol Group, but are also to be sold.

Perhaps a German speaker on the forum can provide a more nuanced translation of the key sentence in the event the Google translation is losing something.

[RDY]

Interesting. I'd have thought it'd fit the rest of their business. Maybe they don't have enough factory capacity to justify it. But if that's the case, then a buyer would be looking for new factories too, which would be pretty disruptive.

[CyclingGiraffe]

Interesting. I'd have thought it'd fit the rest of their business. Maybe they don't have enough factory capacity to justify it. But if that's the case, then a buyer would be looking for new factories too, which would be pretty disruptive.

New buyer would likely just buy the designs/IP, then have them made under contract in China or elsewhere there is low manufacturing costs/wages. That's my guess, as I don't think its rocket science to actually manufacture these pedals and cleats.

[RDY]

Interesting. I'd have thought it'd fit the rest of their business. Maybe they don't have enough factory capacity to justify it. But if that's the case, then a buyer would be looking for new factories too, which would be pretty disruptive.

New buyer would likely just buy the designs/IP, then have them made under contract in China or elsewhere there is low manufacturing costs/wages. That's my guess, as I don't think its rocket science to actually manufacture these pedals and cleats.

Probably going to take 6 months minimum if they don't want SNAFU ... and there's practically nothing in the supply chain atm re: pedals for existing stock. Perhaps they'd continue being made at the same facility for some time. I can easily see that going South if it's not handled well, though, and stuff being unobtainium or even worse quality than recent vintage Time pedals.

[Cycomanic]

I don't know whether this is reliable information. Nevertheless, dated February 15:

https://radmarkt.de/nachrichten/rossign ... ling-group

...
Die Pedal-Produktionsstätte im französischen Nevers sowie die Time-Produktgruppen Pedale und Schuhe sind wie gesagt nicht vom Verkauf betroffen. Sie befinden sich weiterhin in Händen der Rossignol-Gruppe, sollen aber auch verkauft werden.
...

Google translation:

As already mentioned, the pedal production facility in Nevers, France, and the Time product groups pedals and shoes are not affected by sales. They are still in the hands of the Rossignol Group, but are also to be sold.

Perhaps a German speaker on the forum can provide a more nuanced translation of the key sentence in the event the Google translation is losing something.

German speaker reporting in, the google translate is (surprisingly maybe) quite accurate, not much more nuance to be found. There is a bit of ambiguity in the full text in that they say that all IP, in particular all brand rights/trademarks is going to Cardinal, but below they say that the Time product groups pedals and shoes are not affected. This could mean one of two things, either the IP for the shoes are not included (i.e. in particular the trademark, time brand) or the Time brand is now fully owned by Cardinal and the pedals might have to change to a different name. I suspect the former and this was just sloppy writing.