# Cervelo company



## tocoldmn (Feb 18, 2007)

I have heard of more than a few bike shops dumping Cervelo. Is their product just to expensive or is Cervelo just difficult to deal with?


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## C6Rider (Nov 15, 2008)

Or is Cervelo dropping dealers?

I know the LBS that I bought my P2C from in June is no longer an authorized dealer, although they do continue to sell their bikes.


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## STARNUT (Jun 19, 2005)

they are droping dealers.

Most of the droped dealers are selling the evil S. Th evil S has a hard on for knocking Cervelo off the top o' the pile on the TT/Tri front. They did it to Scott and they'll try and do it to Cervelo. A certain guy with the initals M.S. stood up at an unname resort in an unnamed state that starts with a C and has a river named after and proclaimed, "this is the year we knock Cervelo off the top."

The evil S has a _huge_ market share in the US and forces/strong arsm dealers into selling a certain amount of product from the evil vs. other venders.

Further, Cervelo is making dealer commit to selling X amount of $. The shop can not support both and they do not reup with Cervelo and we have it looking like they are dropping Cervelo or the other way around. I think the Evil S dealers choose to stay on with the evil S because of their PPA stuff. The make good margin on bikes _*and*_ pumps, shoes, helemets, sunglasses, tubes, tires, water bottles, saddles, clothing, computers,................... etc, etc. That is a significant amount of business and margin contribution $. Cervelo only makes bikes.............................................. really really good ones.

There are some battles they can win; shoes against sidi, dmt, or who ever; the saddles have a huge following; and the helemets are as good or better than anything Bell Sports Group (Bell and Giro) makes. But bikes, well, it just ain't going to happen. They will never be able to capture as much of that biz as they want and going about it this way will bite them in the butt in the furture. Further, the Transition was a flop and the P4 is poised to hand a can-o-whoop-azz to any comers and the P3 is still faster than anthing else made. Hell, the S3 is faster than most companies "TT" frames.

I'm a _significant_ Cervelo dealer, both nationally and regioanlly and I can tell you, they are not difficult to work with and have stuff from our end wired. From warranty, to billing, to shipping, allocation, and CS is top notch. But, I do _a lot_ of biz with them and I sell a lot as well. 

For some frame of scope, about the only things I _do not_ sale are the evil S, Giant, Merckx, and Colnago. Other than that, of the "major" manufactures I stock it and sell. I, currently, have 20 road brands represented in the shop today. Which is down froma last years 23. I'm a happy non evil S dealer but do have an unhappy one, literally (as in, I can hit the front door with a tennis ball), across the street from me.

Starnut


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## C6Rider (Nov 15, 2008)

Thanks Starnut.

What you posted seems to be the case with my LBS, as it sells, or at least has a large proportion of the evil S on display.


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## STARNUT (Jun 19, 2005)

C6Rider said:


> Thanks Starnut.
> 
> What you posted seems to be the case with my LBS, as it sells, or at least has a large proportion of the evil S on display.



Really................... :lol:

I'm not surprised and you'll continue to see this happen with evil S dealers.

Starnut


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## padawan716 (Mar 22, 2008)

Hmmm, there's been one store locally that sells Cervelo, as well as Specialized, Giant, and some more exotic stuff like Kuota and Colnago, but just within the last few months my main LBS started selling Cervelo as well. I don't recall any other brands that overlap among those stores. The 3rd LBS is pretty much Trek only, with 3 or 4 Times on display.


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## California L33 (Jan 20, 2006)

If Starnut is right then I think Cervelo has made an awful mistake- S is so much bigger with so many more products why would a dealer drop S in favor of Cervelo? I could see it happening the other way around... Cervelo should be actively pursuing dealers because I've got 3 'local' bike shops within ten miles (plus a Performance), but my nearest Cervelo dealer is about 30 miles away. Two of the close ones sell Specialized. Two sell Trek. One sells Giants. What kind of bikes do you think I see around here? On the plus side, everyone comments on my Cervelo. (And on the 'that's curious' side I don't see many Giants [lots of Specialized and lots of Trek], though the dealer that sells them has mostly Giants on display).


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## Rick from Lafayette (Oct 1, 2008)

I happen to know of 2 shops that are being forced to drop Cervelo because Cervelo is demanding they have a $100,000 order for 2009. With this economy threatening to become even worse in 2009, I think Cervelo should ease off some so existing dealerships can keep the brand going.


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## kyler2001 (Sep 8, 2005)

California L33 said:


> If Starnut is right then I think Cervelo has made an awful mistake- S is so much bigger with so many more products why would a dealer drop S in favor of Cervelo? I could see it happening the other way around... Cervelo should be actively pursuing dealers because I've got 3 'local' bike shops within ten miles (plus a Performance), but my nearest Cervelo dealer is about 30 miles away. Two of the close ones sell Specialized. Two sell Trek. One sells Giants. What kind of bikes do you think I see around here? On the plus side, everyone comments on my Cervelo. (And on the 'that's curious' side I don't see many Giants [lots of Specialized and lots of Trek], though the dealer that sells them has mostly Giants on display).


I'm sure Cervelo would like to be carried in every shop, but I like the fact that Cervelo is much more unique/exclusive than the other brands mentioned and like you said, on the plus side, I enjoy the comments I get from others about my Cervelo. They don't focus on too many things (tubes, helmets, wheels, saddles, etc) but try and perfect what they're good at and that's making great frames. They're doing such a good focused job that they have much bigger companies worried. I think Cervelo has the perfect balance of representation right now. I'm more than happy to drive the extra 30 miles to find the best bike. Although I think the other brands mentioned make at least one decent model, here's a cheesy comparison anyway... If you live in a bigger city (in North America that is) there's probably plenty of Ford, Chevy and Dodge dealers near your house, but you'll have to drive a bit farther in order to find that "Porsche" dealer (yeah I know Porsche is German and not Canadian, but you get my point) 

In case somebody was lost and can't crack the code... 
Evil S= Specialized
S= Specialized
Cervelo= The best thing out there (IMHO anyway)


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## STARNUT (Jun 19, 2005)

The have a model of how they want the distribution done and thats what they are going to follow. They may make you to commit to $100,000 (thats not a lot when you look at it) but I can promise that if you walk in to a Cervelo dealer and ask for a bike (except the P4) they will probably have it in your size. I know I would; what size and model do you want, I have it. At least I'm about 90% sure I'd have it. Thats what they want. From a consumer's POV it's frustrating to walk into a dealer and have to wait, and order, and etc. Most guys that buy online for reasons other than price call "immediate gratification" the number 2 reason. "they have it in stock, I want it, here's my credit card, gim-me, gim-me"

Thats the way it should be. I'm not getting shopped on-line, by other dealers across the street, town, or in my case, across the state. I'm the dealer, and people want their stuff and I'll sell it. I don't have to worry about stock going old, or about someone online offering it at a discounted price. They have and will pull dealerships for that and the police it with and iron fist. The few that are having trouble committing to the smallest orders have larger problems than Cervelo. 

They'll never be in 2500 store fronts. They'll probably never be in 750 store fronts, and they don't want to be. I find it hard to understand what thats wrong and why asking a dealer to stock your product (that sells by the way) is wrong. Specialized does it to their dealers all the time.

Due to previous commitments, we've chosen not to take part in the recession. It's business as usual at the shop. Our pre-season orders were not up from last year but we're not a experiencing heavy downturn either and they surely are not down for this year.

Starnut


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## fire-ballz (May 17, 2008)

kyler2001 said:


> They don't focus on too many things (tubes, helmets, wheels, saddles, etc) but try and perfect what they're good at and that's making great frames.


this is why i am very attracted to the bikes they offer


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## tocoldmn (Feb 18, 2007)

the $100,000 inventory keeps cervelo out of small town america, period. it kind of sucks.


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## bikesarethenewblack (Dec 30, 2008)

I have heard the 100k minimum order, too. This is a mistake in as much as many people ride serious and live outside of major metro areas. Also, the "by appointment only" shops are starting to show good signs of being a a different kind of shop. Furthermore, these types of shops should work with clients, come up with a plan and then execute. A frame is part of this equation and so is waiting. I doubt in this scenario big S is going to get an foothold, Cervelo will. But at 100k they price themselves out.


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## STARNUT (Jun 19, 2005)

STARNUT said:


> They'll never be in 2500 store fronts. They'll probably never be in 750 store fronts, and they don't want to be. I find it hard to understand what thats wrong and why asking a dealer to stock your product (that sells by the way) is wrong.


I'll say it again, they don't want to be in small town America.

Lets get something else straight, in the big picture a $100,000 wholesale commitment over 12 months ain't a whole lot. If you doing over a $500,000 retail. Again, no one is saying the Evil S is bad for making their dealers sell all the other crap they make.

To put it into some frame, a shop that has $2,000,000 sales would have roughly $100,000 credit limit with one of the big 4 (Evil S, Cannondale, Giant, Trek). 

There is something else going on here; some dealers do not want to commit to having that much on hand and want to be able to order at will when they have an order. Thats bogus and you'll loose sales (as I mentioned above).

$100,00 ain't that big of deal for a smallish shop. Hell, thats not even enough to carry the entire line in all sizes.


Starnut


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## bikesarethenewblack (Dec 30, 2008)

Starmut, man, take a chill pill. This isn't Specialized versus Cervelo. But having a business plan that says you don't want to be in small town is just stupid. Sorry, but it is. You will, in fact, lose sales. Now are they setup to be in small towns and small shops - probably not given their requirements. But don't swallow the tripe and be so churlish to declare they don't want to be in small town. That's just silly.

I worked in a metro bike shop and I have worked in a small town bike shop. I have seen Specialized and Trek and Giant in both. I have only seen Cervelo in metro shops. Are they giving specialized a run for their money? you bet. Are they doing so nationally? not at all.

I know of several small shops that have averages sales much higher than metro shops. They do not do as many sales, but the average register transaction is much higher. This isn't a better scenario, just different - cause guess what, the retail bike shop is changing. Nevertheless, these smaller shops will do $300k in sales a year and employee two people. 100k floor to carry cervelo isn't going to happen, thus cervelo shuts themselves out - and so too does anyone else with such requirements. Still, I can think of a dozen shops in my area that do around a million and employee half a dozen people and no one of them carry cervelo - all of them carry specialized and/or trek. The result, Cervelo loses and everyone has to go online to make a purchase, but let's not kid ourselves and declare they don't want to be in small town. That's like saying they want to build their frames in China.


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## RobertBGfitter (Jan 10, 2008)

Cervelo Dealer from small town America here. I carry both Cervelo and Specialized here in Gulfport MS. Some may not think we are small town America,but you may remember a small storm named Katrina that pretty much leveled the coast. Yes its a big commitment but I first began dealing with Cervelo back in 1997 at a previous shop,the reason I carry both lines is IMHO Cervelo and Specialized do more R&D than any other company out there. Yes I do think its good that Cervelo is cutting out dealers not stepping up to the plate.Its important that retailers understand this.There is nothing Evil about Specialized,I went to both dealer events last year in Colorado, Cervelo and Specialized neither has any issues knowing I carry both lines.


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## M__E (Apr 21, 2006)

kyler2001 said:


> In case somebody was lost and can't crack the code...
> Evil S= Specialized
> S= Specialized
> Cervelo= The best thing out there (IMHO anyway)


Thank christ! I was going WTF is Evil S, surely that sounds like a bad B movie character..thanks for clearing that up, but why the secrecy at all? -the paranoia!!


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## akatsuki (Aug 12, 2005)

Cervelo should pair up with a "lower" brand to package with as an alternative to Specialized. Do Giant and Trek behave the same way?


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## Pizza_Royale (Feb 16, 2009)

bikesarethenewblack said:


> But having a business plan that says you don't want to be in small town is just stupid.


I don't know how much I buy this small town thing. Besides the large shops in Toronto where I live, I also know of 3 small bike shops that are official Cervelo dealers. One up north in Orillia, a town of 15,000, one in North Bay and one in Thunder Bay. The last one may be lucky to sell 15 Cervelo's a year, and we're probably talking the bottom of the catalog (duals, P1's, S1's).

So, are there different rules for Canadian dealers, because I highly doubt these are $100,000 minimum dealers?


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## jaydub_u (Mar 16, 2009)

Cervelo is in Smaller cities. I live in a large city. Capitol of the state in fact. But to get a cervelo I have to go 30 miles west or northeast to small cities to get a cervelo.


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## RobertBGfitter (Jan 10, 2008)

We are in fact the 2nd Largest city in the state of Mississippi, but size wise of course compared to larger metro cities we are smaller. I have been working with the guys from Cervelo since the mid-90's. Yes its sad that some may have to drive to find a Cervelo dealership. This is done IMO to maintain the quality of the product. Cervelo is a very tech oriented company and again IMO not every shop can satisfy the needs of the Cervelo owner.
Proud owner myself of a 7900 DA S2 with 2009 Zipp 404's. Sweet ride.


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## ronbo613 (Jan 19, 2009)

I bought my Soloist Team from a small ski-snowboard-bike-outdoor gear shop in New England. Got a fantastic deal on a killer bike. The dealer told me they were dropping Cervelos, that's why I got such a deal.
I can see a bike company wanting dealers to have bikes in stock; for the "impulse buy". If a dealer doesn't have the bike in stock, why should I order it through him when I can do the same thing online?


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## AzThornton (Apr 15, 2009)

This is an interesting thread. I started looking for a new road bike here in Phx. I went to 9 bike shops and the vast majority of bikes were specialized and trek. I was amazed that so few other brands are available in a major city like Phx. I saw only a handful of other brands with little or no size selection. I did not see a single Cervelo even at the listed Cervelo dealer. I have nothing against lbs' but I have become more of an online shopper because of the lack of stock. I would say that I am pretty much a 99% mail order shopper for bike stuff now. My point is that bike manufacturers need to work together to make sure that they are doing what they can to keep people walking in the door of the local shops. They have lost my bike purchase and now all of my accessory and misc. business because I simply have no reason to go into a shop. I used to go in to see the latest stuff but now since all I can look at is Tarmac, Madone, and maybe a Roubiax I just look online. 
I should say that I have nothing against Specialized or Trek I own an epic and my wife has a fuel and they are both great bikes, I just like to have choices when I shop.


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## Guest (Apr 19, 2009)

AzThornton said:


> This is an interesting thread. I started looking for a new road bike here in Phx. I went to 9 bike shops and the vast majority of bikes were specialized and trek. I was amazed that so few other brands are available in a major city like Phx. I saw only a handful of other brands with little or no size selection. I did not see a single Cervelo even at the listed Cervelo dealer. I have nothing against lbs' but I have become more of an online shopper because of the lack of stock. I would say that I am pretty much a 99% mail order shopper for bike stuff now. My point is that bike manufacturers need to work together to make sure that they are doing what they can to keep people walking in the door of the local shops. They have lost my bike purchase and now all of my accessory and misc. business because I simply have no reason to go into a shop. I used to go in to see the latest stuff but now since all I can look at is Tarmac, Madone, and maybe a Roubiax I just look online.
> I should say that I have nothing against Specialized or Trek I own an epic and my wife has a fuel and they are both great bikes, I just like to have choices when I shop.


Interesting comments.

I was saying this to someone the other day. I used to enjoy just going into bike shops to look around, now-a-days I find fewer and fewer and bike shops that have anything "different", they all look and fel pretty much the same with the same products, supplied by either Trek or Specialized.

I spend a fair amount of time in the PHX area and used to enjoy poking around shops there - I now find I go down for a few days and never set foot in a shop, because I know exactly what they have, nothing different from all the other shops, and nothing different than I can see in the shops at home.

Pretty sad state of affairs, the old LBS as a place to "hang out" is pretty much gone.


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## FondriestFan (May 19, 2005)

toomanybikes said:


> Interesting comments.
> 
> I was saying this to someone the other day. I used to enjoy just going into bike shops to look around, now-a-days I find fewer and fewer and bike shops that have anything "different", they all look and fel pretty much the same with the same products, supplied by either Trek or Specialized.
> 
> ...


I guess I'm pretty happy that my lbs doesn't carry Trek or Specialized. They don't carry Cervelo either. Honestly, after talking to several friends who are or were employees at Specialized, I won't give them a dime of my business. Nothing against their bikes though. I hear their road stuff is really nice. The mtb stuff...not so much.


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## mtbbmet (Apr 2, 2005)

Pizza_Royale said:


> So, are there different rules for Canadian dealers, because I highly doubt these are $100,000 minimum dealers?


Nope, Canadian dealers also have a $100,000 min. Here's how you get around it.
Book your min order knowing full well that Cervelo will not be able to deliver, get your first shipment of about 30-40% of you order, then cancel the remainder after it is 3 months late. They have serious issues meeting orders in a timely manner. 
That's how the local dealer does it anyway.


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## C6Rider (Nov 15, 2008)

I went back to my LBS where I bought my Cervelo P2C. They are no longer authorized dealers. I asked the manager what happened, and he said that last year they ordered 60 bikes, but this year Cervelo wanted twice that. Having that many Cervelo bikes in this store (which sells many Specialized road and mountain) did not seem to make financial sense for my LBS. Sad but true.


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