It's always fascinating to read the opinions of people who've never been a part of this process.
Designing a bike is a weird mix of predicting the future, understanding buyer trends and needs, and a whole crapton of R&D (ideally). Bike companies—especially product managers/designers/engineers are not out to make you need to buy a new bike every few years. No one wants the bike industry to function that way. But the fact is we can't really know what trends people will favor in 3 years and bikes take way longer to create and complete than other consumer goods. The Bill of Materials for a bike is BIG and complicated and that's just one facet of making a bike. Geometry is ever-changing, supply chain issues are constant, QC at factories is rarely straight forward, and yeah, unfortunately, companies DO have to lean on what they think consumers will buy, not necessarily what may be the best option.
I was stunned the first time I rode Hayes' updated Dominion brakes. I can't believe they're not on more bikes. They're amazing. But customers want Shimano or SRAM (I'll bite my tongue on this) when there really are other options that are just as good.
Give PMs a little bit of grace here. It's a hard freaking job and I honestly believe they're doing the best they can.
March 25, 2024, 12:12 p.m. - Lacy Kemp
It's always fascinating to read the opinions of people who've never been a part of this process. Designing a bike is a weird mix of predicting the future, understanding buyer trends and needs, and a whole crapton of R&D (ideally). Bike companies—especially product managers/designers/engineers are not out to make you need to buy a new bike every few years. No one wants the bike industry to function that way. But the fact is we can't really know what trends people will favor in 3 years and bikes take way longer to create and complete than other consumer goods. The Bill of Materials for a bike is BIG and complicated and that's just one facet of making a bike. Geometry is ever-changing, supply chain issues are constant, QC at factories is rarely straight forward, and yeah, unfortunately, companies DO have to lean on what they think consumers will buy, not necessarily what may be the best option. I was stunned the first time I rode Hayes' updated Dominion brakes. I can't believe they're not on more bikes. They're amazing. But customers want Shimano or SRAM (I'll bite my tongue on this) when there really are other options that are just as good. Give PMs a little bit of grace here. It's a hard freaking job and I honestly believe they're doing the best they can.