Thoughts on Cervelo Bikes
 

So I have a shop in New Hampshire we are considering carrying Cervelo next season. We have done some local research but because the brand has not really been introduced in this area people don't know much about it. So thats why I'm here seeking some riders thoughts on the Brand was is a fad that is now over or do people see this brand growing? Any thoughts on the brand good or bad would be appreciated. Thank you

My personal experience with Cervelo was that they were well designed and well-constructed bikes. My S2 was very light, extremely stiff, and aero.
I live in NYC, and there are plenty of people riding and racing on them.

I don't understand what information you hope to get from this post. Cervelo is a very well known manufacturer, one simple google search will drown you.

Fad? Growing? What relevance does this have to a bike purchase? Are you concerned about warranty support in the future or something?

Is this market research?

edit: ah...I misread the first sentence. In response to that:

No, I don't think they're a fad. They've been around a while, and sponsor a major team. No doubt if they were having any money troubles they would pull their sponsorship. Plus they were just bought by some giant company earlier this year, which surely has the money to keep them going forever.

people around here buy the crap out of them. Great bikes. If there aren't any other shops around that sell them, i would jump on that.

Warranty?

Very popular in the SF Bay Area, not just the bikes but the company itself. My LBS carries them and likes working with the company.

To the OP: I suggest you do a search for a couple of bike shops in your state that carry the brand. Contacting those business owners may be a good idea for you in order to have a shop owner to shop owner conversation about the brand and its profitability. A forum like this one will not offer you the kind of info you want. Heck, I m not even sure some of the posters in this thread have even understood what you are asking. Good luck.

I like my P2.

Cervelos seem to be at the cutting edge of aerodynamics. If you want an aero road bike ( and don't care about looks) the S5 generally wins the comparison tests.

The P5 is also supposed to be about as aero as it gets for a TT bike.

As for Cervelo's future, it will be interesting to see where the new ownership takes them. They may well become not as innovative as they have been. However, I wouldn't let that affect whether I bought one today.

While I can't answer the questions in a fashion that'd be useful for a shop owner, I absolutely love my R3 and would strongly recommend it to anyone that was in the market for a similar bike. If there's not any Cervelo dealers in your area, I'd strongly suspect that you'll gain some clientele that you wouldn't otherwise have.

I think you're right. :lol:

People, OP is trying to say that HE is considering opening a shop in NH to sell Cervelo's, and he's looking for opinions.

I think.

Cervelo makes good bikes. As a business owner though, that should be only one of your concerns. You'll need to make sure your area has the demographics and disposable/otherwise income level to support purchases. And other dealers in your state (as suggested in a previous post) are probably not gonna give you reliable info, since they view you as a potential competitor.

Good luck.

Do you sell carbon fiber road bikes now? Cervelo is one of the most popular carbon fiber brands, lagging only behind the "big three" (Trek, Specialized, Cannondale). In the time trial / triathlon segment, I think it actually has the biggest market share of all brands. It is definitely not a fad. I can't say if the brand is going to grow. It's possible that it will expand as carbon fiber bikes become more affordable in general. Right now, I think, big-brand carbon starts around $2000. Any downward movement should put more and more people on carbon instead of aluminum.

One thing to keep in mind is that buyers of carbon fiber bikes (including Cervelo) tend to be concerned about warranty on the frame. Cervelo offers lifetime warranty to the original buyer as long as it is purchased through an authorized distributor. All warranty repairs then go through the same distributor.

P.S. The link in your signature does not work.

As a dealer, I'd want to know about Pon, and what their plans are for Cervelo's future. http://www.bikeradar.com/news/articl...-cycles-33224/

BRAIN does an article every year comparing the major brands for all aspects, as they pertain to the LBS owner - things like ease of warranty, pricing, profitability, image, shipping quality, etc etc. Go through your back issues and find a few of these for the previous years and see if Cervelo is a company you'd like to work with.

Cervelo makes great bikes that are pretty popular. I guess I'd call them "higher end of mainstream" meaning they aren't exotic, but they don't really make "entry level" bikes (I think their cheapest bike this year is $2600, and their lineup is all carbon now, IIRC), and certainly not hybrids or commuter bikes. At least in the DC area, I think all the shops that carry them are higher end shops catering to more serious roadie types, as opposed to the more general bike shops that sell lots of hybrids and cheaper road bikes, but honestly I haven't visited any Cervelo dealers outside the area, so that may not hold true elsewhere.

I think they used to have a sub-$2000 TT bike (Cervelo P1), it may have been aluminum, but you're right, the cheapest I see right now on their site is 2600.

You might want to check this forum which has a brand section including Cervelo. http://forums.roadbikereview.com/

As a business owner I would be focused on my demographics. If Cervelo is known in the time trial/ triathlon segment how is your store tied to that market? Do you or your staff get involved in the local races? Isn't Keene a college town? How does that impact business? I saw that there is only one Cervelo dealer in NH but 5 or 6 in the Boston area. Might be better to talk to those shops for some insight as they might not consider you a competitor.

Tom

They seemed to have eliminated the bottom end of their line and dropped the prices of the mid-range. For instance, I think the R3 used to retail above $3k, but now it's $2600.

To some extent it IS a fad because it's currently riding a wave of popularity that just can't last. Waves of popularity NEVER last, consumers are too fickle, plus the younger generation always wants something different, sometimes just to be different. The impact of product quality often gets lost and disregarded by these factors that are arguably less important.

The question is: Where are we, at this moment, in the lifespan of this wave of Cervelo popularity? How much is left in the tank?

Nobody rides Cervelos anymore. They're too popular.


Kidding, of course and with apologies to Yogi Berra. Anyway, I think they make great bikes. Currently they only make CF road, track, and TT bikes and thus they appeal to racers and wannabe racers. If you think your local market is comprised of a sufficient number of those folks, then I think it would be a good investment. But only you can make that decision.

I may or may not qualify for that group (wannabe racers), but I bought my R3 because I'd decided that I wanted a CF road bike as my primary (only, for the time being) bike and didn't mind dropping some bucks to get something that I knew would stave off upgrade-itis and set me up for years to come. When I got on the Cervelo, it just felt right to me in a way that the Cannondales I had been test riding didn't. I'm very new (Fred alert), but I really just thought it was the best bike for me at this time. I don't know what the broader demographics of purchasers look like, but I don't think this is particularly unique.

My comment about warranty still holds. I don't know their warranty but I know some of these kinds of bikes only have a 3 year warranty and people that buy them THINK they are lifetime. Better to confront that issue upfront with a customer.

Thank you everyone this is exactly what I was looking for. As far as the demographic and local market I got the covered just looking at thoughts on the brand but the responses where perfect Thanks again

Based on your eBay store Cervelo seems like a decent fit.

As others have mentioned, as a business owner, checking out their back end would be the place to start.

Don't know if it's been mentioned but Cervelo is dedicated to the road...they started as a road bike/TT company and have stayed there. They put all their effort into making the lightest, fastest bikes possible for the road and it shows.