thehammerdog

I was reading a Euro Bike MAg and see manybrands not found here in the USA. Cube seems to be a leader on the other side of the pond. Whatprevents yjone from getting them here>
They wont even mail one over.

https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/S...rch=Bikes+Road

Machka 

Yes, of course there are many brands which are not commonly available in the US. How many Thorns or Marinonis does your local bicycle shop stock?

Fly over and get one.

K.Katso

Funny, I see a lot more Specialized, Trek, and Giant here than anything else. I'm not sure you are really missing anything.

Smokinbbl

I have a corratec dolomiti 105, I bought it while stationed over seas. I like it, has a nice light frame, and German engineering.

pbd

Personally, I'd love for Canyon to finally become available over here in the US.

Maybe one day.

pdxtex

only cube bike i ever saw had a neato powdercoated finish. it was cool. bumpy and tough like the a bedliner of a truck.

ColinL

+1. How about Boardman, as well?

thehammerdog

Who decides what bikes make it here? I have no clue if any or even worthy of my $$ but it seems that they have for more choice than we do here...
Ribbble, Vitus is now back in the game and Cube I betmany more...We have the big 3 and not much else....

julianfranco

Ultimately, each manufacturer decides where to distribute their bikes, and how/who they distribute them through. Be it through a distributor they set up for themselves or an authorized distributor. The challenge, and often times, the reason some choose to focus on specific regions is the expense in setting up distribution, the possible challenges with VAT, importing, and duties of selling into new regions.

This has to be balanced with the growth rate in their "home country, or countries", meaning areas into which distribution is already set.

I for one always like to see new brands. It's part of what makes this sport and industry so much fun to be a part of; the new and exciting.

Julian

Bob Dopolina 

I would expand on this a little.

A brand may want to enter a market but can't find the right distributor or perhaps even any distributor to do so and isn't able to set one up for themselves. This is a problem for many smaller brands. Setting these channels up in a foreign country, without local help, is not easy.

Specific to the US market the PLI is also a factor. When I worked with ALPINA helmets they decided not to sell into the US market for this very reason.

There are also sometimes capacity issues. Some brands don't have the capital or tooling to build enough bikes to cover every market and so focus on markets where they can sell product and be competitive.

In short, it's usually a combination of factors.

julianfranco

Well said! I knew I was leaving out a lot of information but posting between meetings or calls is always a challenge for me! Thanks for the expanding on that in a very good way!

Bob Dopolina 

I checked out your site. I like what you are doing. I think your model is the way of the future (now, really).

Good luck for 2012.

julianfranco

Thanks Bob! Good luck to you as well.

Grasschopper

To expand/clarify this. PLI is Product Liability Insurance for those who don't know and this is the specific reason that Canyon is not now and probably never will be available in the US through normal channels. There is another start up with some really cool design concepts...the founders post on WW and they said they looked into the PLI and due to its cost would never sell a bike in the US.

Machka 

I highly recommend travelling ... and stopping in at shops, etc. along the way.

Get a Round-The-World ticket and make it a "Get to know the bicycles around the world" themed trip.

Bob Dopolina 

Thanks.

I was going to post a Wiki link to PLI but got sidetracked by a lack of morning coffee.

coachboyd

True story. I have to keep pretty detailed receipts for an audit for my product liability insurance company. It's all based on gross sales numbers and on any product sold outside of the USA I get up to a 70% reduction in the rate. I can completely understand why a company based in Europe would avoid selling in the US, we have great lawyers here :-)