Is Crust Bikes gone???
 

I went to Crust's webiste yesterday and their page simply had an image and "Thanks for the six years of support, it has been a ride. Closed until furhter notice."
I haven't seen or heard anything on instagram, radavist, etc. Any news? Is it COVID related or something more business based?

Smells like bait....

What smells like bait? And what would the bait be for?

Not surprised. Boutique bikes seems like a rough business. Many of us have been following Rivendell's ups and downs.

Yeah, but while Rivendell is generally very open about their business via the Blahg or weekly emails, I wouldn't say Crust shied-away from talking about their own. I feel like they would have made any kind of announcement or something. Plus they just relocated to Virgina, sponsored a rider among other recent developments. If they closed to progressive failings as a business, I don't know if they would have ventured down those paths. I don't own a small buisness though... maybe these things happen quickly.

I hate to see any business fold. It is surprising in 2020 that anything bike related is out of business. Most shops are sold out because demand is so high.

This was recently posted:
https://theradavist.com/2020/12/dona...olt-breakaway/

However the post made above is correct, that is what the website says.

Huh, thats surprising. The brand is interesting- not exactly value driven, but not a rip off. Heavy on image for sure.
They had some bars recently released that were well thought out.

Sucks if they are gone forever.
Hopefully it's just temporary.

Wow, I just got one of their special order nitto/crust stems. Sad if they are gone.

Odd brand - boutiquey looking niche markey stuff.

were these in production or one-off custom or semi custom bikes?

They were in production, but limited quantity given the size of their operation being 2-3 people. From a purely monetary value standpoint, yeah, you probably were paying a little more premium for the production costs that big brands would be able to absorb, but if you expand the value concept, they were fantastic. Crust was? is? a brand born from people who rode bikes all the time, loved them, and saw missing pieces from industry standards so they made bikes exactly how they would want them and they're not alone, many small makers are similar. That to me is invaluable. Those are the kind of bikes that I am willing to pay a little more for. I will pay more to support a business who designs and puts products out in the world because they are truly making it better, however minor that betterment is. Some big brands may have started that way, but it would be hard to make the case that they are operating from a standpoint more out of love for bikes than simply putting out new anything because they need to sell something.

In the end though businesses need to survive and frankly, you can do most things on most bikes. If you were buying based on monetary value any new bike isn't worth it. Buy something used, ride the bike for 20 years in 90% of situations. If you're buying a new bike, buy because you believe in the company.

Guessing COVD production problems...
 

Was sad to hear that...i’m sure in time Matt from Crust will fill us in. Don’t know much about their business model, but i know production in Asia has been problematic w COVD.
They designed great bikes for folks that ride.
Hope they come back!

Moved in 2019. May be hit by COVID.

https://richmondbizsense.com/2019/11...d-with-new-hq/

A moderator on The Radavist posted this comment in response to someone asking if they are closing. "John Watson Mod Röbby Sanfranciskö • 3 hours agoNah, just out of stock on everything and I'm sure the emails are too much to manage. Re-opening once they have more stock in 2021. Working on other stuff in the interim."

makes sense if they sold everything they have. Which has put some bike shops out of business.

Thanks Phughes for the update! Mind at ease. Still, why not just put that on the landing page of the website...?

It's gotta be 100x more difficult (esp. since March days) to keep backstock of pretty much anything good quality and long lasting. Esp. w solid marketing leading up to these days. Like a kick in the nuts I'm sure. :-/

I did a little deeper dive into the company after I made my comment earlier. I watched some of the videos that were on the Radavist that they did.

these are the type of bicycle guys that I like to hang out with. My local shop itself is ran by modern day hippie’s. Smart guys who could make a lot more money doing something else but they choose to stay in the cycling industry for love and passion.

i dig it and hope they can resurface

That's what I was thinking! "Out of stock, back next year" is not that hard to write.

https://theradavist.com/2020/12/what...h-crust-bikes/

They chose about the most absurd way to say 'we are out of stock and revamping our product catalog'.
Seriously, just post that you arenoutnof all products and will reopen with great product at a later date?

Oh well, I never bought from their image catalog and wasn't planning to, so how they run their business doesn't affect me. No reason for them to listen to me. Perjaps they could listen to their repeat customers saying the same thing though...

Hopefully people realize they are Crust bikes. I don't think they really took themselves super seriously and had a lot of fun. Why post the "we are just out of stock and coming back to serve you soon" The more punk/metal answer was what they wrote and on brand for them.

A few months ago I contacted them about their 1" steerer biplane fork for my MB-1. Crust was about the only shop still making it, and they expected to have it back in stock in November. Oh, well, guess it's either get one custom made or wait for one to show up on eBay. Small independent brands doing steel bikes must have a hard time finding a true niche. Anybody remember Gaansari, the quasi-Rivendell shop?

Not really. I have seen post's all over about them closing. that stuff gets shared peaks interest, increases demand, and generally will increase their market.

Its not the way I would do things but its not absurd just different, and that fits the brand.

They posted a video on their Instagram page showing someone kicking a ringing phone. They state they are closed until further notice. That's just how they are.

Hah! Russ from The Path Less Pedaled said it was 'the Crust mystique'.