Bowman cycles goes into liquidation

Back by popular demand, the general all-things Road forum!

Moderator: robbosmans

flying
Posts: 2861
Joined: Mon Dec 19, 2005 9:16 am

by flying

MrCurrieinahurry wrote:
Tue Jan 18, 2022 5:27 am
@flying I'm also thinking a standert would make a great build for the reason that I haven't ever seen one in UK and they tick all the boxes but I don't know anyone who rides one to give a review etc Image
Yes you don't see them often & that is partially because it seems they work on a very small supply
When their stock comes in it is gone almost instantly in the popular sizes.

They do look good though....but their prices have been climbing last few years too


Another possible would be the Trek Emonda ALR...still available as just a frameset in Rim Brake or disc
https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/bike ... lr/c/B212/

by Weenie


Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓    Broad Selection ✓    Worldwide Delivery ✓

www.starbike.com



ABogle
Posts: 111
Joined: Mon Jun 21, 2021 8:21 pm

by ABogle

Another option is the Condor Italia, its available in Disc or Rim. They are rather expensive with the disc version coming in at £1300 (rim is £200 cheaper). But it has a threaded BB, standard 27.2 seatpost etc. It's a bit heavier than the Bowman and more similar in weight to the Standert. I have never dealt with Condor nor have I spoken to anyone that owns one, but I do see them in disc & rim fairly often in London.

Singular
Posts: 537
Joined: Mon Jul 27, 2020 8:59 am

by Singular

ghostinthemachine wrote:
Tue Jan 18, 2022 5:11 pm
mgrl wrote:
Tue Jan 18, 2022 7:53 am
Quite possible that brexit is a factor
Almost a dead certainty, there are billion dollar corporations with entire legal/import/supply chain management departments tearing their hair out tryinf to deal with the fall out from that.

So a couple of guys in a lock up, at the bottom of the pecking order have little to no chance.
Especially when a factory capacity is cut by a huge factor and they are only taking 0.5% of the line capacity in the first place!
By all means, that is a contribution to Bowman's ill fate and beyond their control (just like the pandemic, just like shipping/logistics...) - but as is apparent I have my hobby horse, which is the criticism of them not taking care of what they had in their control. With less-than-expected volumes of frames there is even less reason to not check the goods properly and subsequently shipping out faulty products (which steals ton of time, money, energy and customer satisfaction).
flying wrote:
Tue Jan 18, 2022 11:31 pm
MrCurrieinahurry wrote:
Tue Jan 18, 2022 5:27 am
@flying I'm also thinking a standert would make a great build for the reason that I haven't ever seen one in UK and they tick all the boxes but I don't know anyone who rides one to give a review etc Image
Yes you don't see them often & that is partially because it seems they work on a very small supply
When their stock comes in it is gone almost instantly in the popular sizes.

They do look good though....but their prices have been climbing last few years too


Another possible would be the Trek Emonda ALR...still available as just a frameset in Rim Brake or disc
https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/bike ... lr/c/B212/
Yep, that was in my final round of decision too (especially when it was available in the purple flip which was revisiting 16yo me reading the Klein catalogue with clammy hands), but came short due to being a bit tall, having the Trek swoopiness (straight pipes save lives!) but also being T47 and DM.
ABogle wrote:
Wed Jan 19, 2022 6:34 am
Another option is the Condor Italia, its available in Disc or Rim. They are rather expensive with the disc version coming in at £1300 (rim is £200 cheaper). But it has a threaded BB, standard 27.2 seatpost etc. It's a bit heavier than the Bowman and more similar in weight to the Standert. I have never dealt with Condor nor have I spoken to anyone that owns one, but I do see them in disc & rim fairly often in London.
The Italia is a nice traditional English club racer and endurance bike, but the Italia RC (which is a bit more) is a really, really nice race bike and looks spectacular. IIRC the same manufacturer as the Kreissäge.

Mesi
Posts: 20
Joined: Wed Mar 10, 2021 9:01 am

by Mesi

By any chance, this might be the right place to ask...does anyone know, if there is a replacement rd-hanger for the Palace:R out there?
Bowman most likely will not ship anymore, even though I ordered and paid for it a while ago already.

Luckily I don't need one yet, but a spare would be helpful.

Thanks

DHG01
Posts: 719
Joined: Thu Sep 24, 2020 7:14 pm
Location: Madrid

by DHG01

Singular wrote:
Wed Jan 19, 2022 11:31 am


By all means, that is a contribution to Bowman's ill fate and beyond their control (just like the pandemic, just like shipping/logistics...) - but as is apparent I have my hobby horse, which is the criticism of them not taking care of what they had in their control. With less-than-expected volumes of frames there is even less reason to not check the goods properly and subsequently shipping out faulty products (which steals ton of time, money, energy and customer satisfaction).
Can't disagree with that, but they would still be in a similar situation- a pile of faulty frames (alongside delivered late and lower than expected volumes).

Partner of choice seems key flaw and would have doomed them one way or another. I really wonder how the got this one wrong. Again - perhaps has to do with price focus (did they choose lowest cost supplier? were they to aggressive in negotiating price?).

Singular
Posts: 537
Joined: Mon Jul 27, 2020 8:59 am

by Singular

DHG01 wrote:
Wed Jan 19, 2022 12:09 pm
Can't disagree with that, but they would still be in a similar situation- a pile of faulty frames (alongside delivered late and lower than expected volumes).

Partner of choice seems key flaw and would have doomed them one way or another. I really wonder how the got this one wrong. Again - perhaps has to do with price focus (did they choose lowest cost supplier? were they to aggressive in negotiating price?).
Yeah, but they wouldn't have been shipped back and forth to customers (with the cost and time associated) and there would have been a head start to negotiating compensation/correction from the manufacturer (for what it's worth). In any way, I'm not wishing that situation for anyone and certainly not for a sympathetic company as Bowman.

I want to believe the best in people and I do really, really hope that the these issues were honestly overlooked and that the reasoning wasn't "aw, crap, frames are so-so, let's send them and hope for the best...". In the dire straits they were apparently in, that would have been an understandable but not acceptable way of acting.
Mesi wrote:
Wed Jan 19, 2022 11:51 am
By any chance, this might be the right place to ask...does anyone know, if there is a replacement rd-hanger for the Palace:R out there?
Bowman most likely will not ship anymore, even though I ordered and paid for it a while ago already.

Luckily I don't need one yet, but a spare would be helpful.

Thanks
For the 3C, the advice from Bowman was to look for a Pilo D416 hanger as it would be compatible - but I cannot tell whether is is the same as the R.
Last edited by Singular on Wed Jan 19, 2022 12:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Broady
Posts: 678
Joined: Thu Jan 03, 2013 5:02 pm

by Broady

I got a replacement hanger off them a while back and it came labelled up as a BETD one so worth getting in touch with BETD if you need one.

Mesi
Posts: 20
Joined: Wed Mar 10, 2021 9:01 am

by Mesi

Unfortunately not. But Pilo was not on my radar yet, so thanks!

Mesi
Posts: 20
Joined: Wed Mar 10, 2021 9:01 am

by Mesi

Broady wrote:
Wed Jan 19, 2022 12:31 pm
I got a replacement hanger off them a while back and it came labelled up as a BETD one so worth getting in touch with BETD if you need one.
Already looked there as well as inquired about it. No dice...
That thing seems to be one of a kind

mag
Posts: 616
Joined: Thu Mar 16, 2017 12:23 pm

by mag

After Bowman shut down their website I started looking for a derailleur hanger for my Pilgrims Disc frame (in order to have some spare just in case) and it seems that the BETD 442 designed for some Boardman ADV and ADV-e frames might fit as it looks (almost) identical, therefore I'm going to ask them regarding the possible Pilgrims Disc frame compatibility.

So even though BETD don't list Bowman anywhere, some of their hangers might be actually suitable as Broady suggested.

Broady
Posts: 678
Joined: Thu Jan 03, 2013 5:02 pm

by Broady

I'll see if it has a part number on it when I get chance, BETD are usually good at numbering their hangers.

Mesi
Posts: 20
Joined: Wed Mar 10, 2021 9:01 am

by Mesi

Thanks man!
You do also have a Palace:R, yes?

mag
Posts: 616
Joined: Thu Mar 16, 2017 12:23 pm

by mag

I've got a reply from BETD stating that they made hangers for Bowman, but that they don't have any stock at all as they only made as many as Bowman ordered.

Mesi
Posts: 20
Joined: Wed Mar 10, 2021 9:01 am

by Mesi

I am already considering finding someone with a cnc mill to fabricate a little run of those things...

The modeling/drawing part is easy enough, since I earn my living that way anyways. Finding someone willing to make them at a reasonable price would be a different story though.

Broady
Posts: 678
Joined: Thu Jan 03, 2013 5:02 pm

by Broady

I'd imagine BETD would be happy to help if you were getting a reasonable quantity made, surely they have the original drawings too.

by Weenie


Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓    Broad Selection ✓    Worldwide Delivery ✓

www.starbike.com



Post Reply