What Brands Do You Like?
 

We have a new BMX shop, we opened in September. I have a lot of different brands that we sell. I will probably weed out a few of them over the next year. I know that some of the brands are loved by some and hated by others. What I want to know is which brands you like, which you don't and if you can, give me a short reason

A couple of examples-
I had a guy call for a headset. I told him I had a Stolen one. He said he wanted any other brand. Did not like Stolen. I asked why? And he didn't have a reason why.

Same for the guy that wouldn't even look at a DK I have. Again when I asked what he didn't like about them, he didn't have a reason either.


What we sell now- Eastern, Stolen, DK, SE, Redline, FBM, 2hip, Verde, Hofman, Intense, Kink, and Subrosa.

Are there any that we don't have that we should? Don't tell me Fit, or Haro, there are dealers that are not that far away that sells them.

Please don't comment on others posts. If someone likes a brand and you don't, don't say how stupid they are, just tell me what you like and don't like.

If you can, what about parts brands too. We like Animal, Odyssey, and The Shadow Conspiracy the most.

Thanks!

My son works inside sales at Volume Bikes, great frames and their parts division is calles Demolition. Give him a call and see if he can set you up. Ask for Matt at 714 690-6454. Volume is a rider owned company started by long time BMXer Brian Castillo.

Very cool question. I'm starting to take an interest in marketing. I'm thinking most kids can't give a reason for what they like or not. It's all about brand recognition / association. I've fallen for it too.
I guess my brands are from riders I looked up to when I was younger and they are still around.

Hoffman Bikes--Because the Strowler frame designed by the person who I feel is the best flatland rider in the history of bmx, Kevin Jones.
2-hip Bikes--Because I grew up a Ron Wilkerson fan from his Haro days.
Mirraco--Fan of Dave since his video part in Dorkin in York 2 in 1988.

Standard--4pc bars.
Odyssesy--Levers, brakes, wheels.
Profile--Cranks.
KHE--Freecoasters and tires.
ODI--Grips.
Animal--Pedals.
Shadow--Chains.

Eastern probably makes you the most money out of the BMX brands, because every little kid or every uneducated BMXer is an Eastern fanboy. Personally, I avoid Eastern parts at all costs. Stolen makes plenty of quality parts, I love their cranks. Somehow, DK got a bad name somewhere in the line, but I like most of their parts. Some people don't however because of the name. SE attracts the older guys whether it be a bike for themself or their kid. Redline is a good brand to carry because of it's big profile in racing. I LOVE FBM parts, but it's not a HUGE name in the BMX parts world. 2Hip makes some good parts and whatnot, but they're not so popular either. Verde isn't a big name yet, Hoffman is a household BMX name, even though their parts may not be the best anymore, Intense makes awesome racing stuff, and Kink is a big name and Subrosa is on the rise of quality bike parts.

The top brands in BMX parts right now I think are:
Odyssey
Profile
Shadow
Kink
Animal
Fit (sorry)
Fly Bike Co.
S&M
Sunday!
ODI
Subrosa
WeThePeople

Hope I helped a bit.

Eastern is going to make you a bunch of money, but as minichamp said, they tend to have bikes built with some of the poorest quality parts. Even their chromo stuff.

Thanks for the input.

Right now I would have to say Stolen is our best seller with Eastern coming in second. The average person that comes into the shop knows nothing about quality, just buy based on looks. I think that is why Stolen is doing so well, great colors this year (no I am not saying they are bad quality or good for that matter). We do get a few in here that know their stuff. They are the ones that hate one brand or another. I think most of the brands that have more then 5 or 6 models, like Eastern and Stolen, have a full range of quality. From the not so great Lowdown up to the Boss. Price pretty much tells the story.

I think what I will do in the future, subject to change, is carry the complete Stolen line, most of the Eastern and DK's with just a few of the others mixed in. If there is something that someone wants, we can always get it in quickly.

The SE and Redline bikes do get the most attention from anyone that is over 30. They say I had one of those when I was a kid. Most people under 30, don't even look at them.

Depending on how things work out with the local BMX track, we will keep the Intense and Redline for their racing bikes. We may add in a few of the DK's racers too.

i really love MirraCo bikes, i own a Blink and its great. the full ChroMo parts and Odyessy rims are just awesome for some one of my height and weight (im 6'4" 215 lbs of pure beast) the bike holds up for jumps and landings even with how big i am. the Black Label parts are nice too. i dont plan on replacing any thing on it unless a part breaks.

Well for me, my best brands is Schwinns. It's very comfortable to ride on and it's best on muddy road.

I am a big fan of volume, fit, and S&M. I am currently riding a older S&M dirtbike classic and have loved it enough to not get another bike for a couple years.

I sent them a message to see about selling them. They never answered me back.

They won't let me become a dealer because of another shop 20 miles away sells them. I have had people asking about United and the bad news is that S&M is going to be the distributor for them too. I have heard about some brands offering a 10 mile radius, but 20 miles away is crazy.

my favorite bmx parts company is odyssey. the reasoning being that they have been around, but have a keen eye for design as well as strong rider ties as far as input. I also really dig the fact that they absorbed G-sport and have george working on a lot of stuff now.

as for bikes, I tend to prefer small, rider owned shops. my street bike is a solid, really happy with it. as someone who was into bmx in the 80's and 90's, seeing the bigger brands like GT and mongoose get dumb and stay dumb makes me want to stay away from bigger companies where $$ is the bottom line. I used to like DK a lot (I have a general lee 24) but so much of their stuff is from overseas now, it doesn't really do it for me. and thats not to say that overseas frames are bad, it's just not something i'd be looking for. I always thought eastern seemed kind of generic no real reason.. i guess just because of the number of them around.

How about Standard, and Supercross? Supercross's Envy seems to be becoming a pretty popular race frame. They also make a trails frame, though most people aren't familiar with it. I think Standard's about the only company left that still sells forks that actually match their bikes. (I'm so sick of seeing forks only available in black, white, and maybe some weird color)

Good Variety
 

I myself being from the old old school. Right there with the SE and Redline those names have been around for years. Almost sure there not american made. But for companies to last this long is a good sign. I would say you have a good variety. So I really dont see what the problem is with what you do carry.

Be prepared to have issues with Easterns... there was a period of time that every Eastern I put together/worked on had an issue that required a replacement part (bent forks, bad freewheels, etc.). I haven't worked on one in a while but I would assume that's still the case.

I recently cracked an Eastern, and the companies I'd recoomend would be Stranger, and OSS. Rich's direction is so much better than anything else in BMX right now. Even if your not into the weed and stuff you have to admit that atleast there's some actual thought behind it. Primo, Cardinal, Lotek, Federal, all through Tip Plus, but chances are they're already in the shop with S&M, Fit, and United?

Companies I'm into
Stranger-I'm down for the whole thing. Roxy Music, Cannabis, all the stuff on there feels as though its plucked from my brain FTW. Can't wait til their frame comes out.
Primo-They've been around forever, one of the pioneers IMO as far as "street" stuff goes.
Terrible One- Its Joe Rich, and it has the art direction of Michael Sieben, plus Reuben, and Garrett B, Tom D among other heavy hitters. American made at Solid, so you know its quality.
Eclat-They seem to be pretty legit if Sean Burns rides their stuff, I've heard nothing but good things.
Sunday-Their frames are legit. Its that crazy odyssey tubing. Sick team. Call up Full Factory, their a new Dist. so they probably wanna take on accounts.
Lotek-Rider owned by Rich H, of Stranger, and Fremont. Rider owned, for riders.
Orchid-Same as Lotek, ider owned by Derek Adams, of Little Devil, but that ended to focus on Orchid.

Those are brands that I feel are doing the right thing for BMX, not cookie cutter, their all pretty legit IMO. Orchid and Lotek are two very important things as they are the only 2 rider owned and operated footwear companies, meaning that they are the only 2 with 100% dedication to BMX. No skate, wake, snow, surf, lifestyle division BS with lots of other companies. Riders should support other riders.

I like Redline. If I could Id start a shop and only sell Redline, Id die happy

buried with a set of Chrome Plated Flight Cranks mounted on a Flight XXL, but hey....


Get

Redline, Tioga, Shimano, Suntour, Sugino, Kuwahara, Odyssey, Koolstop

Drop Keep

Eastern, Stolen, DK, SE, Redline, FBM, 2hip, Hoffman, Intense, Kink, and Subrosa.


My only fear, Tektro will start making frames...

What brands did you end up choosing?

That isn't very diverse. The brands that you said keep are mainly race stuff.

otho this thread is old.

Yeah, you can't really drop Eastern and Stolen and expect to still make money.

ya I like to race bmx and light bikes, I grew up on a 45 pound Vertigo riding 30 foot halfs, now I like to go fast, and not into plywood on a fridge.

all fun tho, I replaced Eastern/Stolen with Norco. Same .... different ....

I am keeping, Stolen, Eastern, DK, and Verde for sure. Not sure yet about SE, Subrosa, Hoffman, Blackeye, and Redline. Probably out are, FBM, Hoffman, and 2hip.

We have also picked up Sunday. We don't have any of their bikes yet though, due in June. We did get a couple of Blackeyes in, seem nice, but haven't decided yet. The ones we are eliminating are not really because of issues with the bikes or companies. Some are just from farther away and shipping is high. That wouldn't matter if they were popular, but when I can sale a bike easier and get it from a closer place, it makes more sense.

Redline has been a pain for me. I tried to push their bikes more by tacking them to the local track to display and possibly sell. The next day I got a phone call that I can not do that. Sounds crazy to me, but that is what they said. So starting this week, I am taking a load of DK's to see how they will do. At another track not that far away, SE's are real popular. I can't get anyone interested in them at all.

Pick up CULT, Stranger, Lotek, Primo, Odyssey, FIT. I'm willing to bet money that any of those brands will do extremely well.

Unless they started selling parts and bikes now, Lotek is a shoe/clothes company.