Crestline Bikes

[Redders473]

Sorry that you had these issues but I don’t think it’s realistic to compare Crestline to any of the brands you referred to (Specialized/Santa Cruz/YT/Canyon) as the scale of Crestline’s operations and annual revenue is not even remotely comparable to those long-standing major brands and their dealer network is still tiny due to their production volume - I think they may have produced less than 400 frames across their 2 product lines in the last 12 months.

Also, comparing them to Atherton is also not an apples-to-apples comparison; If you were in Washington State, I'm pretty sure Troydon would give you the shirt off his back if it would help. Atherton is based out Wales (not exactly next door to Surrey but closer than Bellingham, Washington), so yeah, they can do things like get someone a loaner bike. Plus, they have a frame that is not full carbon so it's repairable and their own factory to do the repairs in. All of this is possible because they are also way better funded than Crestline thanks to the nearly $4 million in funds that they have raised from Crowdfunding and VCs although the only own about 30% of the business now which could cause plenty of problems down the line when the board wants to cut costs.

While I get where you’re coming from -- you just want your bike…I honestly think what you wanted was a little unrealistic…the chance that your fully built bike would get over the pond and back in anything approaching decent shape is vanishingly small...I swear that every international shipper handles packages like Ace Ventura.

Shipping your frame back to the factory for a fix is a non-starter for more than just the likelihood of it being damage during transit. The biggest issue with your idea is that Crestline doesn't do their own manufacturing, they use VIP Composites out of Vietnam for their frame manufacturing (and probably assembly); they don't have a factory to ship things back to. From my experience, everything just goes back to Troydon's house in Washington.

As a business owner, I can tell you that Troydon exceeds my expectations for what an operation his size should be able to accomplish. For instance, I had an issue with the shock that I bought through him when I ordered my frameset. I sent an email about the issue and he called me back on my mobile within 10 mins and then shipped me a new shock the same day telling me to get him back the one that I had on the bike whenever I got around to swapping them.

While I would love for him to have a dealer network and the revenue and production capacity to do what you think he should be capable of, they're just not there yet. That said, Crestline delivers an outsized product and experience considering the size of the company.

Honestly, I'm kinda amazed that he even had a frame to send you since everything is and has been sold out for awhile and I'm pretty sure that he sent it with the upgraded Cascade link as way to offset the pain in the ass factor/cost of a rebuild.

As someone who makes their living from teaching companies how to improve their Customer Experience I can tell you that Troydon and crew do an excellent job with the resources they have.

In fact, it's pretty ambitious for a company of their size to be doing international business at all and I think what you're seeing is the limitations of what is possible for them to do given the lack of a larger international presence.

It sucks that you had an issue from what was basically a VIP quality control issue...I hope you've gotten the build done and have been able to go out for a ride and remember why you bought a Crestline in the

The world needs more of you dude thank you.

 

[Redders473]

I've seen the new builds guys and they are looking sick, few tweeks to specs from normal and it's ready for the newer bosch upgrades down the line and in 2025 there is a tweek coming to the motor which everyone will be buzzing for.

 

[RoJo]

Sorry that you had these issues but I don’t think it’s realistic to compare Crestline to any of the brands you referred to (Specialized/Santa Cruz/YT/Canyon) as the scale of Crestline’s operations and annual revenue is not even remotely comparable to those long-standing major brands and their dealer network is still tiny due to their production volume - I think they may have produced less than 400 frames across their 2 product lines in the last 12 months.

Also, comparing them to Atherton is also not an apples-to-apples comparison; If you were in Washington State, I'm pretty sure Troydon would give you the shirt off his back if it would help. Atherton is based out Wales (not exactly next door to Surrey but closer than Bellingham, Washington), so yeah, they can do things like get someone a loaner bike. Plus, they have a frame that is not full carbon so it's repairable and their own factory to do the repairs in. All of this is possible because they are also way better funded than Crestline thanks to the nearly $4 million in funds that they have raised from Crowdfunding and VCs although the only own about 30% of the business now which could cause plenty of problems down the line when the board wants to cut costs.

While I get where you’re coming from -- you just want your bike…I honestly think what you wanted was a little unrealistic…the chance that your fully built bike would get over the pond and back in anything approaching decent shape is vanishingly small...I swear that every international shipper handles packages like Ace Ventura.

Shipping your frame back to the factory for a fix is a non-starter for more than just the likelihood of it being damage during transit. The biggest issue with your idea is that Crestline doesn't do their own manufacturing, they use VIP Composites out of Vietnam for their frame manufacturing (and probably assembly); they don't have a factory to ship things back to. From my experience, everything just goes back to Troydon's house in Washington.

As a business owner, I can tell you that Troydon exceeds my expectations for what an operation his size should be able to accomplish. For instance, I had an issue with the shock that I bought through him when I ordered my frameset. I sent an email about the issue and he called me back on my mobile within 10 mins and then shipped me a new shock the same day telling me to get him back the one that I had on the bike whenever I got around to swapping them.

While I would love for him to have a dealer network and the revenue and production capacity to do what you think he should be capable of, they're just not there yet. That said, Crestline delivers an outsized product and experience considering the size of the company.

Honestly, I'm kinda amazed that he even had a frame to send you since everything is and has been sold out for awhile and I'm pretty sure that he sent it with the upgraded Cascade link as way to offset the pain in the ass factor/cost of a rebuild.

As someone who makes their living from teaching companies how to improve their Customer Experience I can tell you that Troydon and crew do an excellent job with the resources they have.

In fact, it's pretty ambitious for a company of their size to be doing international business at all and I think what you're seeing is the limitations of what is possible for them to do given the lack of a larger international presence.

It sucks that you had an issue from what was basically a VIP quality control issue...I hope you've gotten the build done and have been able to go out for a ride and remember why you bought a Crestline in the first place.

You raise some fair points but in this climate there are 3 things to consider when buying a bike: performance, price and risk.
Performance is 10/10: well done
Price is top end: fair enough, justified by performance
However, risk is also highest possible for any bike as a UK buyer, so there kind of needs to be a plan here. What if I couldn't actually do the work. No LBS was in the least bit interested in helping. I'm not dissing the product, just pointing out an opportunity.

 

[Arethustra]

Sucks that you weren't able to find an LBS that was willing to help...did you check Bike Bros in Guildford? Looks like they should be Bosch certified, and they do new bike assembly for e-bikes for 75 GBP -- My Sister-in-law is into bikes and lives in Camberley this and Spokes in Bagshot were recommendations

Personally, I found a Bosch-certified dealer near me and had them finish up my frameup build as I ran out of free time. They were very interested in the brand as they had seen it at Sea Otter but hadn't been able to spend any real time with one. They took on the work for time and materials and were so impressed after "test riding" mine that I believe they planned to reach out and see about becoming a dealer.

You're not wrong about risk...when you're dropping over 10K on a bike and it's a boutique brand, you take on risk. Case in point Pole. I'm pretty bullish on Crestline's future with Gwin aboard.