better buy your Contis now?
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better buy your Contis now?
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Crap. Some of my favorite tires are Conti's. The article was unclear if this would have any impact on bike tires, but I imagine that has to be pretty niche stuff compared to auto tires.
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I just bought a new set of 700x23 Conti Ultra Gatorskins for my road bike. They were around $65 for the pair. They ride nice and should be good for awhile...
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fab. as much as i like conti tires, their NA distribution has been crap for the last two years at the shop I work at.
If conti decided to stop making bicycle tires it would make my job much easier than perpetually explaining gatorskins or contacts are out of stock AGAIN and AGAIN and AGAIN.
on the other hand, lets hope the economy doesn't make more manufacturers of bicycle equipment go out of business.... i want more choices in tires than kenda or chen shin rebranded crap.
If conti decided to stop making bicycle tires it would make my job much easier than perpetually explaining gatorskins or contacts are out of stock AGAIN and AGAIN and AGAIN.
on the other hand, lets hope the economy doesn't make more manufacturers of bicycle equipment go out of business.... i want more choices in tires than kenda or chen shin rebranded crap.
Last edited by Bekologist; 10-31-08 at 09:47 AM.
#5
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I have that specific fear, in fact. That if the world economy significantly contracts, niche hobbyist businesses (which I think it is fair to say most nicer bike equipment would fall into) will wither away and leave a skeleton of very utilitarian products available. Not that biking is a mere hobby in the world. But things like $39 Gatorskins (and the like) are hard to justify in a difficult economy.
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I recently had to buy a replacement GP4000 at REI because they had a few in the store when I needed one.
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Geesh, did anyone actually read that article? Nothing to panic over, though I guess panic is 'in' these days.
They are merely reporting that they recognize that we are in an economic slowdown and have adjusted their projections accordingly. Sales were up, net profit was down, partially due to an acquisition.
They are merely reporting that they recognize that we are in an economic slowdown and have adjusted their projections accordingly. Sales were up, net profit was down, partially due to an acquisition.
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Jesus Christ, you people act like we're facing Armageddon. It's an economic slowdown, not the end of mankind.
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As stated, don't panic. Continental makes hand-made tires for the TdF and Giro, is a dominant player in Road tires, and will just make adjustments in their product line to trim the inventory they don't sell that much of.
Their Black Chili is a boon for many performance-oriented road cyclists; not as much for the average cyclist that wants durability. Kenda seems to be overextending themselves in creating incentives for MTB tires, and it seems to have paid off for them, so Conti will have to re-invest in targeted marketing in this area or just let Kenda take it. I'm a huge Conti fan in both MTB and Road, with the sole exception of winter tires where Nokian seems to rule.
So, go ahead and panic if you like a tire noone else does, but it might force you into getting a better tire anyway...
Their Black Chili is a boon for many performance-oriented road cyclists; not as much for the average cyclist that wants durability. Kenda seems to be overextending themselves in creating incentives for MTB tires, and it seems to have paid off for them, so Conti will have to re-invest in targeted marketing in this area or just let Kenda take it. I'm a huge Conti fan in both MTB and Road, with the sole exception of winter tires where Nokian seems to rule.
So, go ahead and panic if you like a tire noone else does, but it might force you into getting a better tire anyway...
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Which reminds me .... do I buy a whole bunch of my $15/tire Conti Ultras (my second favorite, but most used, tires) and take them to Australia with me when I move ...... or do I not bother and just take my chances on tire brands there?
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#12
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if continental's bicycle division is an unprofitable one, the parent company might very well shutter production.
don't know how likely this is, but conti's north american distribution has been suck for the last 2 or three years now.... repeatedly out of stock, out of stock, out of stock.
michelin is using the same advanced rubber tech in their pro race 3s that conti pimps in their black chilis, bicyclists will still be able to get premium tires, lets hope Bib the road drunkard doesn't forget his roots....
if it comes time to parse the parent company, conti bike tire division could get very well shutter production, or get sold off to cheng shin or doral sports group, eh?
we, sitting in our relatively insular consumer bubble of western materialism, might not be able to see yet or admit to ourselves how far the ripples from the current economic earthquake are going to shake.
if i can buy a conti 4000 for under 75 bucks in 2010 i'll be surprised.... one of the BIG tire manufacturers raised prices twice in 2008 and have already announced a third round of price increases in less than 12 months...
don't know how likely this is, but conti's north american distribution has been suck for the last 2 or three years now.... repeatedly out of stock, out of stock, out of stock.
michelin is using the same advanced rubber tech in their pro race 3s that conti pimps in their black chilis, bicyclists will still be able to get premium tires, lets hope Bib the road drunkard doesn't forget his roots....
if it comes time to parse the parent company, conti bike tire division could get very well shutter production, or get sold off to cheng shin or doral sports group, eh?
we, sitting in our relatively insular consumer bubble of western materialism, might not be able to see yet or admit to ourselves how far the ripples from the current economic earthquake are going to shake.
if i can buy a conti 4000 for under 75 bucks in 2010 i'll be surprised.... one of the BIG tire manufacturers raised prices twice in 2008 and have already announced a third round of price increases in less than 12 months...