Anyone heard of this company? A guy in our club has one. It's a very cool looking bike, but I can't find any information on this company, save for their own website.

All I could find is that this company is pretty new, but as far as any reviews on whether these are good bikes...nothing.

Culprit Bicycles

Taiwan factory brand?

Their history page is actually some kind of marketing plug or mission statement and really doesn't say anything about their history at all so who knows.

I have read several reviews and they were good. They offer a nice looking modern bike at a good price.
I never actually saw one .......New Road Bike Action did a small write up this month on a "gravler" $1500 nice. I 'd buy one in a heart beat.

A foaf was looking for a junior bike for his kid and stumbled upon Culprit. Seriously considered it until he saw the shipping charges: $300.

Yep, my findings were the same.

I'll have to see if I can find that article.

What's a "gravler?"

Yes, I noticed that. That's kinda crazy.

A comfort bike. gravel grinder road frame with disc brakes...Looked nice , good price.

Ah, okay. Which model were you looking at? I like the Croz Blade, but I don't believe it would be real comfortable on longer rides. My goal is to get up to about 50 miles this season.

I don't think these bikes are in this country yet.

The local distributor has gone out with our So Cal group on a few rides. He has been trying to push the bikes by offering deep discounts and by letting our riders test the bikes out on rides.

A couple of riders bought the bikes. The bikes look OK, but I have not taken one for a test ride. The prices are not bad, but personally I wouldn't buy one...it is just a matter of preference for me.

They are.

Here is a picture of one of our guys riding his Culprit in the Rock Store etape of this year's ATOC. This was a charity event prior to the actual ATOC.


https://picasaweb.google.com/103257031811754153861

OK the link did not quite direct you to the right pictures, but if you scroll down the photo album you will see pics of the Culprit.

They had a tent with some demo bikes setup at the top of the Rock Store climb during this year's Tour of California. I did not stop to browse or try any bikes, however. They DID appear to be alive and present in the country, though.

They must be selling direct, as there is no dealer network on their site.

Define "deep".

That appears to be their business model.

No idea, I was not interested in one so I didn't bother to ask.

I hope it's a pretty hefty discount. I'm sorta in the market for a tri bike, so that's what I looked at. For $2400, I'll get a Cervelo P2 for 2800 instead(Or something similar). Throw in the cost for a full fit(free with buying the Cervelo at the LBS-and this being my first tri bike, important), and the difference is probably pretty marginal.

They are. A guy in our club has one. I also just found out he's a "sales rep" for the company. I'm not sure what the deal is with this company. He did come out on a ride with us on this bike, and it is a very cool looking bike, but just because it looks cool doesn't mean it's a good bike.

I did find a magazine article, which someone mentioned earlier in the thread. The bike seemed to get a pretty decent review. Normally, magazines tend to be nit-picky, but I didn't read any negative comments about it.

Depending on what sorts of deals are made, and if these are decent bikes, I may spring for one, but as with any large expense, I want to see what I'm getting before pulling the trigger. If these "deep discounts" are something like $2,500 for a $5,500 bike, then maybe I'll give them a serious look. I don't really care what name is on the frame as long as it's a decent product.

If that's their plan and they want to do business in the US, they're going to need to figure out how to get the shipping costs down.

i think that the deep discounts may have applied only to demo bikes that the distributor already had in stock. If I recall correctly the guy who came to our club lives locally (in Ventura County) and his wife is Chinese and may be from Hong Kong. Look at the link I listed above and check the file for Moorpark Culprit Demo Day.

Like I said, I wasn't interested in the bikes so I really did not pay much (any) attention to any of the details.

you are right that they need to cut the shipping costs. Also, I agree with you in that I wouldn't spend any money on a bike unless I got a chance to ride it and feel it, especially an unknown bike from an unknown company.

The one thing that these bikes have going, besides price, is the fact that you can pick your own color scheme.

Good luck!

I do like the customizable options, but it's gonna take a little more convincing than that to get me to purchase.

I'm not sure how much of a value these bikes are, as I haven't priced out anything from the competitors with similar equipment.

I thought the bike world moved away from chainstay brakes for a reason. They do look nice, I'm just not about the price, and all these new aerobikes just don't appeal to me like "old school" tube frame bikes.

What would that reason be? I just saw a brand new Trek Madone 5.2 with a brake mounted at the chainstays.

I just remember in the mtb they stopped.

It doesn't seem like a good idea for mountain bikes...

Canyon bikes in Germany uses only the web (direct) for sales, and they seem quite successful (and are sponsors on the UCI tour - Movistar and Katusha). Unfortunately they do not have a dealer/distributor network set up on North America; I imagine that their business model for repair/warranty work (shipping to the factory) would make the costs too prohibitive for the buyer. One of the guys I ride with (currently l live in Hungary) bought one (very experienced rider) is quite happy with it, purchased with high end components and ended up less expensive than had he bought a Trek or Specialized with the same components.