Vi har gleden av å presentere Open Bikes. Ett nytt merke på terrengfronten skapt av meneskene bak Cervelo. Vi hos Sørensen Sykler har i mange år samarbeidet godt med bl.a. Andy Kessler og Gerard Vroomen hos Cervelo. Dette, samt anbefalinger disse ildsjelene har fått fra andre med god kunnskap om det norske markedet, har gjort at vi, med enerett, har blitt valgt ut til å presentere Open bikes i Norge.
Etter å ha designet, konstuert og produsert de kanskje mest innovative landeveissyklene i verden, har Gerard Vroomen nå tatt for seg terrengsykkelen. Vi gleder oss, og ønsker deg velkommen til å bli med på teamet!
I dag kl 20, i forbindelese med det tradisjonelle Sea Otter MTB arrangementet i California, offentligjøres dette over hele verden. les mer, og følg med videre!
Faksimile fra Open bikes.
«Three words describe this new venture: bikes, open and
simple.
Bikes we live and breathe. Andy’s career spans from downhill
racer (back when helmets were optional!) to CEO of a
mountain & road bike company. Gerard’s career includes
co-founding Cervélo, where’s he’s done everything from
engineering and design to sales, supply chain and marketing.
Open means open to new ideas; from our customers,
retailers, vendors and ourselves. Open to show the intricacies
of our products but also our company. Open even to issue
shares to some of our customers.
If open is the goal, simple is the tool.
“Relentless simplicity” is our guiding principle. Reduce the
number of models and you simplify production, logistics,
customer decision making, the website, everything. Avoid
traditional advertising or sponsorships and free up precious
time. Transfer logistics to third parties and you can focus on
what matters most, which in our case means:
1 Designing better bikes, the first of which we introduce
soon.
2 Connecting with our customers.
And when you put it that way, is there really anything else to
do?
Welcome to open,
Andy
Gerard»
«Relentless simplicity
How does this guiding principle translate into everyday business? It’s the
mandatory test for everything we do, from product engineering to website
design to distribution strategy to communication with our customers. Sounds
easy, but keeping things simple is deceptively complicated!
It’s easy to add a little bit of complexity “just because it’s such a good idea”
or because “it’d be a shame to pass up this opportunity”. But at open, one of
us better have a very good reason before suggesting some added complexity
to the other. Of course it does happen, otherwise we would end up with
that simplest of companies – the one without any products, customers or
suppliers.
But we truly feel there is no need to over-complicate things – we just want
to make a great bike for you and us to ride, while making dealing with the
company enjoyable. To achieve that, we focus on:
–
–
–
–
Making just a few models.
Giving you all the information you need in a clear manner.
Being available to answer your questions.
Giving you a chance to really become a part of the success of this
company.
Working only with the best stores in each country, so you and we don’t
get frustrated.
No sponsorships, special discounts, traditional marketing or anything
else that creates unnecessary complications and isn’t really fun.
–
–
The first product
Our product goals were equally simple. We wanted to:
–
Develop a great hardtail frame that offers low maintenance, low weight,
high performance and some clever little details.
Make it available as a frame and with one standard build kit.
Every few months, offer a really special edition build in a small batch.
Follow us via our newsletter, Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Youtube to
receive launch notifications.
–
–
Connecting with you
The ultimate goal is to build this company with you as an integral part:
–
We hope to talk to you and receive feedback from you online (how else
are we going to design that great bike for YOU?)
We plan to visit every store at least once a year to meet with
customers worldwide face-to-face.
In the future we will even offer some of our customers the chance to
buy shares in the company.
–
–
Why?
Just what the world needs; another bike company. That was our first thought,
so we can imagine it’s yours too. But then our questions started bubbling up:
–
–
–
Where is that 900g 29er hardtail?
Where can customers be an integral part of a company’s success?
Who is introducing 21st century business processes into the bike
industry?
Where is the company that actually picks up the phone and is
interested to talk to you? They exist, but they are few and far apart.
–
For Gerard, there is also the engineering itch; looking at available hardtails,
it was unavoidable he would be unhappy with all of them and want to do
something himself. How big is the jump from the most successful frame
in Paris-Roubaix the past seven years to designing a successful hardtail?
Contrary to what you may expect, a hardtail actually sees LESS abuse,
thanks to the bigger tires, which take the edge out of the impact loads the
frame sees.
For Andy, he started out life in the bike industry as a mountain biker, so this
is a return to his roots. And after running other people’s bike companies for a
while, seeing improvements that he could not always implement, it was time
for Andy to turn all his ideas into reality.
Because that’s really the great thing about starting a new company; there is
no history we’re stuck with, no old legacy systems or obligations, nothing. We
can build this company from scratch exactly the way we think will work best,
without any restrictions.
Of course, that’s a major reason why new companies can succeed against
big conglomerates. New companies aren’t stuck in “we’ve always done it this
way” mode and don’t have to worry “if we do that, we may lose customers
somewhere else.”
