Lambert borrowed money to develop proprietary components that, while innovative, did not perform well and often failed. For a summary, read Dale Brown's essay on the CR site Lambert bikes . Lambert was unable to repay the loans because the profits were being eaten up by warranty claims, sinking the company progressively deeper into debt, to the point were bankruptcy was imminent.

Bad news travels fast and by the time that Trusty/Yamaha took over, the bicycle's reputation was already tarnished. BICYCLING! magazine's review of the revised model certainly didn't help. The review mentioned past problems and a gave a less than glowing review, citing a flexy fork and pedal issues. Basically, it raised a red flag to everyone who might not already have been aware of the bicycle's history. Then Yamaha/Trusty issued the fork recall, which was the last straw in the public's mind. Under such circumstances, it's not surprising that sales were poor and the plug was pulled.