# RaceFace closing...



## Evo. (Feb 3, 2009)

Heard via Twitter from two sources... One, being Taylor Morland and the other is from Chris Armstrong (WhistlerMTB).

Links: 
http://twitter.com/#!/whistlermtb
http://twitter.com/#!/TylerMorland

Anyone have more info?


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## octanejake (Oct 11, 2010)

? whoa


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## b-kul (Sep 20, 2009)

damn. all my rf stuff was sweet.


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## Nick_M2R (Oct 18, 2008)

?? Hope its not true


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## REM (Jan 30, 2004)

It's true. I have it from and inside source. But not sure of the circumstances just yet.Things have been rough there for a while.


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## The Dude (Jan 19, 2004)

wow, that sucks.


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## Rob-Bob (Jun 11, 2004)

Damn. That sucks..I have liked everything I owned from that company.


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## toowacky (May 24, 2005)

...bummer


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## V.P. (Aug 26, 2007)

weird


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## bigpedaler (Jan 29, 2007)

Glad, at least, the stuff is so reliable... gives me time to figure out what I'm gonna replace it with when it all does finally die.


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## SHIVER ME TIMBERS (Jan 12, 2004)

sad...and I was going to order a front chain ring.....arrr


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## cbc (Apr 16, 2006)

I can't believe it. That's crazy news, and sad.

Clay


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## jasevr4 (Feb 23, 2005)

Crap news. Hoping the guys get back on their feet either with the same name or something else before long. They made some quality stuff.


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## eabos (Jun 11, 2005)

Damn. I really really like their stuff :sad:


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## Whafe (May 27, 2004)

I got a Twitter on it too, hard to believe really... Hope this can be sorted...

I mean, dam my SixC Carbon Cranks are stunning.... RF make great stuff


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## Evo. (Feb 3, 2009)

This post is from Ride Monkey...



John P. said:


> I wish the situation was as optimistic as Fraser paints it, but we've been told the company is going to be liquidated, and 90% of us are unemployed as of next week. They'll keep a few people on to assist with the liquidation.
> 
> My tenure with the company has been short, but it's been a fun ride. Thanks to all the great athletes, customers, and media folks I've had the opportunity to work with. Thanks also to the amazing group of coworkers I have out here. All of you make stuff like this hurt a lot less.
> 
> --JP


Sad news for sure.


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## T174M (Feb 9, 2008)

Yep, that would suck.My favorite company at this point, hope they can pull through somehow.


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## Whafe (May 27, 2004)

Too early I guess, but wonder if the company will be able to trade out of this situation.

This is pretty significant in an industry that we need to enjoy our apgraditis and addictions of bikes..


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## Nick_M2R (Oct 18, 2008)

That flat out sucks
Love every single one of my raceface parts, not one issue or problem
May have to stock up on some extra bits


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## big_slacker (Feb 16, 2004)

Wow, that really sucks. I've used their stuff on almost every bike I've had and they've always been quality. I'm surprised they're going out of business as usually good products + good price=success.


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## Whafe (May 27, 2004)

big_slacker said:


> usually good products + good price=success.


Agree, something has gone down, a serious loss to the mtb component selection availablt to us...

Price wise they were indeed competitive, and made in Canada.....

Guess more info will become available in the very near future...


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## flowtron (Nov 17, 2006)

Seriously sucks. Their product is so good right now. An awesome option to Sramano.


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## stumblemumble (Mar 31, 2006)

That does blow, I'm don't pretend to understand corporation business but wouldn't they be bought out? I could see any number of companies buying the RF name and product line. They have an excellent reputation...maybe E-thirteen/Hive/RF?


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## discodave (Jan 12, 2004)

YEA another made in N. America manufacture bites the dust. I bet by the end of the month some big name bike will buy the name and use them as their in house component company and build all the stuff in Asia. Bontrager-lite.


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## 317000 (Mar 2, 2007)

RF has been in the game from the beginning, is a house-hold name within the community, makes great products and has a large OEM base. 

Bad management?


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## Normbilt (Jan 17, 2004)

Someone will have to Snatch them up.
My Favorite Grips and most defiantly Cranks


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## Pedal Shop (Dec 14, 2006)

l think the quality took a big hit when they started having everything made in Taiwan -- back when it was still made in Canada, the stuff was the shizix!!! some company will buy em up, they'll be back under a new owner or maybe a new name. it's the cycle of life (pun intended).


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## Pedal Shop (Dec 14, 2006)

l think the quality took a big hit when they started having everything made in Taiwan -- back when it was still made in Canada, the stuff was the shizix!!! some company will buy em up, they'll be back under a new owner or maybe a new name. it's the cycle of life (pun intended).

a while back, l stopped stocking most moving parts (BB's, cranks, headsets, etc) because l was having too many issues with quality control. then l pretty much stopped selling them when they ticked me off for the last time --

l got a bottom bracket for someone --

l start with the install --- for the life of me l can get one of the cups to thread into the frame --- WTF? l chase the frame to make sure the threads are nice a clean, they were. l try again, still nothing... l take a closer look at the BB and the thing is threaded in the wrong direction. technically, they printed the lettering on the wrong cup. --- in short, it was like l had two left side cups -- one was marked "right".


l contacted RF, sent them photos (see below) about it and they insisted l send the whole bottom bracket back to Canada in order to get a replacement. what? really?

you can see pure as day in the photo it ain't right -- and you want me to return it before you send me another -- screw that. Done with RF.


as you can see in the photo -- the one on the right is marked "Tighten <----" look at the threads --- they're facing the wrong direction.


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## kenbentit (Jan 2, 2003)

Damn. This is NOT what I expected to hear. RF has always been such a cool company with great stuff...


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## ruppguts (Sep 7, 2007)

Odd considering they signed Aaron chase like tree weeks ago. News bit on pinkbike says they're done. (insert pinkbike jab here).


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## asw7576 (Feb 21, 2011)

big_slacker said:


> Wow, that really sucks. I've used their stuff on almost every bike I've had and they've always been quality. I'm surprised they're going out of business as usually good products + good price=success.


That's right, good products + good price = success, .......... , in reality, its different.

This is sad news


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## delirian (Jan 1, 2009)

i kow they had alot of problems early on at the begining of last season with the big nut that pushed the crank arm on and held it in place, , somthing about them being doubble threaded, so when you tried to instal it stripped the threads, my mate tristan at bearback biking stripped 3 trying to fit his new crank, and i heard most of the bike shops in whistler had similar experiance, also dont think race face make anything in canada, it's all done through taiwan,


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## BryanS. (Feb 23, 2004)

The SixC cranks and many (all?) of their high end rings are made in Canada. There may be other parts but those I know.


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## Varaxis (Mar 16, 2010)

It's a little early for April Fools, or is the April Fools joke the one where they are being brought back and this is true? I see it on all sorts of big news sites. It's a bit sudden.

I liked their armor. I have the Flank and the old Roach style arm guards. I was going to get their Atlas gloves too.


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## UEDan (Apr 11, 2010)

big_slacker said:


> good products + good price=success.


Good Products = Parts never break
Parts never break = no new sales.


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## Varaxis (Mar 16, 2010)

UEDan said:


> Good Products = Parts never break
> Parts never break = no new sales.


Are you being sarcastic or do you really believe that bull and do you believe it applies to RF? Either way, it's a pointless post.

Some insight here, mostly from the comments:

http://www.pinkbike.com/news/Race-Face-Closes-the-Doors.html

http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?p=3605638#post3605638

http://bb.nsmb.com/showthread.php?t=140447


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## Lelandjt (Feb 22, 2008)

Hmm..... They were super successful making aluminum square taper and ISIS cranks and a limited catalog of bars, stems, seatposts. Then they started making 2 piece cranks with a questionable interface, carbon parts, and an ever-expanding number of components in multiple price levels. Maybe they spread themselves too thin, rather than focusing on what they do best?

Something weird definitely happened to cause such a sudden end rather than the usual downsizing, shopping the name out, ect, cycle of decline. If the details of these rumors are true it doesn't sound like company has any future, short of a revival of the name later ala Ibis.


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## Varaxis (Mar 16, 2010)

One more source of info:

http://www.nsmb.com/3350-race-face-and-mec/


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## 1962 (Feb 23, 2008)

*that sucks*

wow that really sucks. so what chainrings will work with the atlas FR crankset when the raceface rings are all gone...ralph


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## 1962 (Feb 23, 2008)

Pedal Shop said:


> l think the quality took a big hit when they started having everything made in Taiwan -- back when it was still made in Canada, the stuff was the shizix!!! .


...you mean to tell me that their stuff was made in taiwan ? i thought it was made in canada, Was there high end stuff made in taiwan too ? ... ralph


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## Fix the Spade (Aug 4, 2008)

Didn't see that coming.

They must have had some pretty massive debts hiding away in the background to just get wound up immediately like that.

Not like Iron Horse or Titus where everything steadily went to ****, there's still bikes coming in with RF components specced on them. 

What the hell has gone wong for a company with steady OE contracts to people like Orange and Giant to just suddenly go bust?


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## Fix the Spade (Aug 4, 2008)

1962 said:


> wow that really sucks. so what chainrings will work with the atlas FR crankset when the raceface rings are all gone...ralph


Pretty much all of them, RF cranks use a normal 104mm bcd.

RE your other comment, there are a lot of Canadian (and American, English etc) brands who will make a big deal of 'place X, our country' when the label on the bottom of the product says 'China'. Without looking at the parts or physically asking the people who make it where their product comes from you can't trust advertising one bit.


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## Varaxis (Mar 16, 2010)

Closing their doors doesn't really mean that they went bankrupt. It could be some private company that simply had an owner that wanted to put an end to it all. There's no real indication or downsizing to a more focused and efficient business or talks of selling off to show that they were having financial trouble. They kept adding new lines and the new Turbine stuff looked great. They signed new riders recently too. That's why I thought it was an April Fools joke, until I saw all the different sources "confirming" the rumor.


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## Pedal Shop (Dec 14, 2006)

1962 said:


> ...you mean to tell me that their stuff was made in taiwan ? i thought it was made in canada, Was there high end stuff made in taiwan too ? ... ralph


l don't know if ALL the stuff was made in Taiwan but yeah --- they switched plant locations somewhere around 6, 7 years ago. big stickers on a lot of products stamped "MADE IN TAIWAN" ...

l wonder why it was so sudden too --
odd, they pulled out sorta outta the blue, no warning.

the ripple effect will be pretty big a l bet. All that OE stuff out there on bikes AND all the wholesale companies that stock a ton of their products.

http://www.pinkbike.com/news/Race-Face-Closes-the-Doors.html


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## kubikeman (Jun 4, 2010)

I was not expecting to ever see a thread with the words "Race Face" and "Closing" ever. Really? I actually sought out their new Turbine line to build my Blur this winter. It may explain why I haven't been able to get a hold of a Turbine crank. No one has them in stock. Guess I probably never will


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## big_slacker (Feb 16, 2004)

UEDan said:


> Good Products = Parts never break
> Parts never break = no new sales.


Thomson is still in business as an example, so is Chris King. (I know, different business model)

Not saying RF stuff is as bombproof as that, nor am I saying business is as simple as just having a good product at a good price. Anything can be mismanaged, a company can overreach with debt and so on. But dammit if RF didn't seem to have the fundamentals down.

My initial thought was early april fools joke as well.


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## essenmeinstuff (Sep 4, 2007)

big_slacker said:


> I'm surprised they're going out of business as usually good products + good price=success.


Well good products + good service = keeping customers happy.

But to make a business work its three things...

good product + good service + profitable

By the sounds of things, they had 2 out of 3 right.

I wonder what went wrong?

If I remember rightly there was some $hit storm in Canada because RF decided to go through MEC direct, and they pi$$ed of the main distributors, and got dropped, I wonder if that had anything to do with it...

I also have no doubt that someone will pick up the name when they get liquidated... what will they do with it? who knows...


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## essenmeinstuff (Sep 4, 2007)

http://www.nsmb.com/3350-race-face-and-mec/


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## Jayem (Jul 16, 2005)

I think raceface was in a tough spot, so this isnt all that surprising to me. What did RaceFace make that was better than truvativ? Truvativ undercut them in pretty much all areas with good products. When it came time for me to get some gravity stuff, truvativ was dirt cheap comparatively and just as good. Shimano drivetrain stuff has had constant improvement and refinement, arguably better products with hollow-forged designs, reliable bearings, no taper-lock design, etc. I think with just shimano and raceface, there was space for both, but with added pressure from truvativ and fsa, they crumbled. Blame SRAM imo (altho they were making their impact before they were bought by sram).


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## saturnine (Mar 28, 2007)

sweet. open the door for cheap raceface stuff. i have a lot now and i can use some more.


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## Evo. (Feb 3, 2009)

According to a Race Face employee (or former employee), sales were pretty strong for the year already. Maybe he didn't know everything that was going on.


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## SSteel (Dec 31, 2003)

All of the high end stuff like the Turbines (anything with the distinctive CNC) was made in Canada. 

They also went to great lengths to make the Six carbon cranks here...they felt if production was shipped overseas the proprietary production technology would be leaked and everyone would have it not long thereafter.

The OEM products (like Respond) were made overseas because of cost and that is where OEM specing is done; if you are not right 'there', you lose out.

Handlebars are made off-shore cause no one can compete with Asia for that sort of thing.

All of this is info I got from their sales rep last year.

I hope they never whore the name out.


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## Mr. Blonde (May 18, 2008)

VERY VERY sad. One of the truly great companies in mtb components. I would be surprised if we don't see the name get revived by someone. Super cheezy to just shut down suddenly with no notice to anyone. Must be something more to the story.


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## scooderdude (Sep 27, 2004)

This will be a blow. I have so much RF product on my fleet of race bikes


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## Just J (Feb 14, 2005)

Very sad indeed, I hope someone can save them...


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## whoda*huck (Feb 12, 2005)

Wonder how that'll effect the retail value of all those bikes sitting on showroom floors with potentially unreplaceable RF parts.


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## Tim F. (May 22, 2006)

whodaphuck said:


> Wonder how that'll effect the retail value of all those bikes sitting on showroom floors with potentially unreplaceable RF parts.


What unreplaceable parts? Their bottom brackets use the same bearings as every one else, and afaik, the bolt patterns on their chain rings are universal as well (except maybe Shimano), The bolts for their stems are standard, ... Not like their producing frame or brake systems were if some thing needs to replaced, your screwed.:nono:


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## Varaxis (Mar 16, 2010)

I'll just repeat it again... closing doors does not mean going under or going bankrupt. Race Face could simply be "retiring". There's no point in going too deep into believing that they're gone forever until all the assets disappear. Someone who claims to be an employee says they're liquidating. Closed doors could be easily re-opened if you have all the assets intact.


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## hozzerr1 (Feb 26, 2005)

Man this is not good at all....

Competition breeds innovation!

Now Shimano and Sram get to play with the prices, and can sit in their laurels as they will have an oligopoly choke on the market.

Not good!


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## Jayem (Jul 16, 2005)

Evo. said:


> According to a Race Face employee (or former employee), sales were pretty strong for the year already. Maybe he didn't know everything that was going on.


Definitely possible, but often the employees are the absolute LAST people that want a company to fail, and the "denial of reality" can often be quite excessive (in terms of failing, reasons, etc).


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## Warp (May 24, 2004)

Oh, crap... I really love my Deus cranks and particularly their tough rings.

Sad to see them go.


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## whoda*huck (Feb 12, 2005)

Tim F. said:


> What unreplaceable parts? Their bottom brackets use the same bearings as every one else, and afaik, the bolt patterns on their chain rings are universal as well (except maybe Shimano), The bolts for their stems are standard, ... Not like their producing frame or brake systems were if some thing needs to replaced, your screwed.:nono:


I said "potentially". What about those rare warranty returns (see PedalShop's mislabeled bb)?


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## boomn (Jul 6, 2007)

Varaxis said:


> I'll just repeat it again... closing doors does not mean going under or going bankrupt. Race Face could simply be "retiring". There's no point in going too deep into believing that they're gone forever until all the assets disappear. Someone who claims to be an employee says they're liquidating. Closed doors could be easily re-opened if you have all the assets intact.


Someone started a thread on our little brother forum _last month_ that he had been told through a connection that Race Face would be filing for bankruptcy soon, and he did specifically mention bankruptcy


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## C S (Sep 26, 2007)

hozzerr1 said:


> Man this is not good at all....
> 
> Competition breeds innovation!
> 
> ...


Fortunately, there are other players in all of the markets race face was in. e13 is now making a crankset and I know quite a few riders excited about it. Saint is by far the most common crank that I'm seeing on new builds, but I'll bet that the e13s will be increasingly popular. I'm sure the e13 guiderings are more popular than the race face lately. Bars, etc... Deity is getting pretty popular, seeing a lot of blacklabels on new builds. I could go on for a long time, the point is that Shimano and SRAM are far from having a monopoly on any market other than shifters / derailleurs.


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## jasevr4 (Feb 23, 2005)

Pretty good opportunity for Chromag to step up their game in BC (if they choose to do so). But yep as mentioned there are plenty of other competitors - Deity, Spank and so on. Although Race Face really had the OEM market - I guess time will tell if any of these brands can/want to step their product up to the big time.


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## Evo. (Feb 3, 2009)

But Chromag wants $120 for handlebars whereas the Race Face Atlas bars can be had for $70. I have not had Chromag bars before, I can't imagine them being more stiff then the RF Atlas bars... idk, maybe they are...


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## Atomik Carbon (Jan 4, 2004)

*Personally.....*

I won't be losing sleep over this. Last time I bought anything race face was over 8 years ago. My expensive and new headset blew up and bearings went everywhere and they did not warranty it. I started buying Hope stuff after that and never had a problem after that. Sux, but if you don't take care of your customers over legitimate problems, it will just be a matter of time.

Next one to go will be Crank Brothers.......I'll actually celebrate when they go....

But that's another story.


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## iheartbicycles (Mar 14, 2008)

boomn said:


> Someone started a thread on our little brother forum _last month_ that he had been told through a connection that Race Face would be filing for bankruptcy soon, and he did specifically mention bankruptcy


 A guy on f88me.com posted news of raceface going bancrupt a year ago.

This has been a long time coming and no surprise.

http://www.f88me.com/showthread.php?t=18555&highlight=raceface


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## boomn (Jul 6, 2007)

iheartbicycles said:


> A guy on f88me.com posted news of raceface going bancrupt a year ago.
> 
> This has been a long time coming and no surprise.
> 
> http://www.f88me.com/showthread.php?t=18555&highlight=raceface


haha, that's actually what I was referring too as well, somehow I just missed the fact that it last February not last month


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## slvrathlon (Aug 20, 2008)

Quoted from Ride Monkey:



> From what I've heard.
> "Business owner got a huge loan from the bank based on fraudulent inventory valuation statements. With the money, he paid himself a ridiculous wage: >$30k/mo. Bank auditors finally figured out what was up and shut the place down. He's facing a civil suit for the loan (over $3MM) as well as likely facing criminal charges."


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## Evo. (Feb 3, 2009)

slvrathlon said:


> Quoted from Ride Monkey:


Yea, I read that today... If that is the case, that would explain the sudden closer.


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## big_slacker (Feb 16, 2004)

30k/month isn't excessive for a successful medium sized business owner. I know it might sound ridiculous to middle class folks, but its all relative. For instance my boss probably does 15k/month in expenses between airplane payment, hanger, big house, 2 nice cars, boat and slip and so on. And thats a 20 person, 2mil/yr type of company, I think RF is bigger than that, or am I wrong?

In any case, if that is true, how dumb can you get thinking you can get away with something so retarded forever?


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## 274898 (Nov 29, 2005)

Its a bummer. Race Face is one of my favorite companies for components. All their stuff looks sick, lightweight, and function well. I haven't had any problems with their stuff. 

I think a lot a bike companies are feeling the hit. The last few years with all the financial problems with the economy has left too many companies with not enough people buying high end custom bike parts. 

It would be smart for another company like Fox, Cane Creek, Thomson, etc to buy the company and keep the name. I'm sure some companies are looking at them.


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## jasevr4 (Feb 23, 2005)

Evo. said:


> But Chromag wants $120 for handlebars whereas the Race Face Atlas bars can be had for $70. I have not had Chromag bars before, I can't imagine them being more stiff then the RF Atlas bars... idk, maybe they are...


That's what I mean by step up. They produce a quality product, but being a smaller brand with higher manufacturing costs their product costs more. If they chose to compete with the bigger players presumably their price would fall in line similar to that of Race Face's.


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## man w/ one hand (Dec 29, 2003)

NSMB article with a lil 411.

http://nsmb.com/4228-race-face-shuts-its-doors/


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## MondoRides (Feb 18, 2004)

*More info here...*

http://www.bicycleretailer.com/news/newsDetail/5219.html



Bicycle Retailer said:


> *Banks Shut Down Race Face Operations *
> 
> NEW WESTMINSTER, B.C. (BRAIN)-Running into financial turmoil, Canadian component brand Race Face is no longer in business. A receiver took over operations on Saturday and has shut down the company. Race Face's bankers, Scotia Bank and Roynet, appointed Grant Thornton Limited as the brand's receiver over the weekend.
> 
> ...


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## V.P. (Aug 26, 2007)

Lets hope someone buys RaceFace - and continues its great product line.


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## Lelandjt (Feb 22, 2008)

MondoRides said:


> Officials at Grant Thornton said they intend to dispose of Race Face as a single entity and may rehire back some essential employees to assist in the sale of the company.]


So there you go, good chance the company (at least in name) will continue to exist.


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## DWDW (Oct 7, 2005)

V.P. said:


> Lets hope someone buys RaceFace - and continues its great product line.


Let's hope RaceFace doesn't become the next Bontrager/Klein/Syncros etc.


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## djball (Nov 3, 2010)

The RF website is still up.... I'd like to see a nice streamlined resurrection. Drop the crappy clothing, armour, ome, and stick with local machining. Viable? I dunno.


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## Lelandjt (Feb 22, 2008)

A streamlined version of the current company that returns to its roots would be sweet but my bet's on it becoming a better managed version of it's current self (high end mixed with price point and mostly Asian production) or a frame maker's house brand.


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## henry9419 (Nov 18, 2010)

great, i was planning on getting a bunch of stuff for the as soon as i get a new bike...oh well...


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## Lelandjt (Feb 22, 2008)

Maybe you'll get your stuff cheap, without warranty of course.


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## man w/ one hand (Dec 29, 2003)

Lelandjt said:


> Originally Posted by MondoRides
> Officials at Grant Thornton said they intend to _dispose of Race Face _as a single entity and may rehire back some essential employees to assist in the sale of the company.
> 
> So there you go, good chance the company (at least in name) will continue to exist.


I'm reading race face iz no more, period.


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## boomn (Jul 6, 2007)

man w/ one hand said:


> I'm reading race face iz no more, period.


dispose has a lot of definitions beside "throwing something away", especially in business where it can be just another term for selling something off


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## CombatMutt (Jan 3, 2011)

djball said:


> The RF website is still up.... I'd like to see a nice streamlined resurrection. Drop the crappy clothing, armour, ome, and stick with local machining. Viable? I dunno.


Website is gone now. You can still buy RF stuff on PricePoint and other sites like that.


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## headstrong356 (Feb 20, 2008)

Spread the news: http://www.bicycleretailer.com/news/newsDetail/5219.html


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## invol2ver (Jul 14, 2009)

put the flags at half mast...


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## miqu (Jan 20, 2004)

money money money...growth growth growth...F**K! F**K! F**K!

RaceFace components were on the top of my choice list.


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## dbabuser (Jan 5, 2004)

Sad. The Flank knee/ shinguards are the best I've found so far...


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## waterdogs (Jun 18, 2010)

headstrong356 said:


> Spread the news: http://www.bicycleretailer.com/news/newsDetail/5219.html


Scroll up about 10 or 12 posts.


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## 317000 (Mar 2, 2007)

All their products were mediocre, anyways.


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## dbabuser (Jan 5, 2004)

dowst said:


> All their products were mediocre, anyways.


I have a tough time believing you tried them all if you thought that way.


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## Nvrider66 (Mar 17, 2011)

Hay I'm just getting serious into mountain biking and I'm wondering what I should buy for pretty cheap I'm 180 lbs 5 8 any ideas


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## man w/ one hand (Dec 29, 2003)

boomn said:


> dispose has a lot of definitions beside "throwing something away", especially in business where it can be just another term for selling something off


With all sincerity, "I hope yer right".

Latest on Race Face: http://nsmb.com/4240-race-face-official-press-release/


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## aa240sx (Jun 28, 2008)

Doh! Just won a bid on Ebay for RaceFace Next SL bars on the chizzeap. I was going to do a full cockpit setup too, bar, stem post, even grips....

Sad day for me, as I've pretty much always run RF stuff. Had to have the Turbine LP's when they first came out. I think that crankset hooked a lot of MTB er's in the early 2000s.

There's a massive swap meet that's going to be held in San Diego in Mid April. Sure you all know about it, but maybe that might be a good place for RaceFace (and it's distributors and retail shops) to liquidate.


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## boomn (Jul 6, 2007)

aa240sx said:


> Doh! Just won a bid on Ebay for RaceFace Next SL bars on the chizzeap. I was going to do a full cockpit setup too, bar, stem post, even grips....
> 
> Sad day for me, as I've pretty much always run RF stuff. Had to have the Turbine LP's when they first came out. I think that crankset hooked a lot of MTB er's in the early 2000s.
> 
> There's a massive swap meet that's going to be held in San Diego in Mid April. Sure you all know about it, but maybe that might be a good place for RaceFace (and it's distributors and retail shops) to liquidate.


Distributors and shops have no reason to slash prices on their Race Face stock other than customers refusing to pay full price for some of the parts anymore. They've already paid full price to Race Face get the stock they have, so they're going to want to recoup as much as they can.

The bank who now controls Race Face has to liquidate Race Face's internal inventory and other assets so they can get cash to cover the debts left behind, and things will get liquidated for cheap only because the bank wants to clear up what debts they can ASAP, so someone who can step up early and offer them a good deal for the whole lot will get it. I could definitely see a shop like Jenson buying up a lot of the stock, as they have struck similar deals in the past to buy large lots of old inventory to help out companies or distributors


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## aa240sx (Jun 28, 2008)

I hear ya, of course I'm not suggesting there be a massive fire sale on RF stuff, but I'm sure that's the arguments the big banks will certainly make as they sit on this asset. I'm optimistic that the brand will live on in some shape or form, right?


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## CombatMutt (Jan 3, 2011)

Nvrider66 said:


> Hay I'm just getting serious into mountain biking and I'm wondering what I should buy for pretty cheap I'm 180 lbs 5 8 any ideas


Well, this isn't the thread to get your question answered. Having said that. you need to give up some more information. When you say "serious about mountain biking" are you talking XC? DH? DJ? All three? Basically a XC guy with some DH thrown in, or are you more of a "go big or go home" kind of guy?

I'm not trying to be a jacka**, I'm just trying to let you know that you need to give up some more information before someone can give you a knowledgeable answer.

Be prepared for lots of different answers, and have fun choosing!


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## PvtJoker (Mar 27, 2011)

such a shame. they were a staple in the mtb component world. too bad bad management destroyed them


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## tacubaya (Jan 27, 2006)

> As of Wednesday 3/30/2011 carbon X and FTM will be offered at 999. This is being done in an effort by ownership to raise the capital needed to buy Race Face.


http://www.facebook.com/TitusCycles#!/TitusCycles?sk=wall


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## big_slacker (Feb 16, 2004)

^^ Very cool, I reposted a few places. Hopefully Titus can make a solid bid and could handle running a different type of company. 

On a side note, I got myself some atlas FR bars and expect them to serve me well for years.


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## MondoRides (Feb 18, 2004)

*Great News!*



tacubaya said:


> http://www.facebook.com/TitusCycles#!/TitusCycles?sk=wall


The Titus brand was just bought up earlier this year by On-One/Planet X. As far as I know all their components are made overseas but my experience with them has always been top notch.

Maybe now I can take down the RF Next cranks I put up on eBay knowing that a good company may be taking over the brand now.


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## eurospek (Sep 15, 2007)

http://nsmb.com/4287-race-faces-demise/



> *Race Face's Demise*
> 
> Many people now know the broad strokes of the demise of Race Face; as of March 12th, 2011 Race Face Components Inc. and Race Face Holdings were officially in receivership. Employees were given little notice about what was happening and the business stopped operating immediately. Nothing can happen with the company for 45 days from that date - until April 26th by my calculations - so most staff will likely have found other employment, making it virtually impossible for the company to be sold as a going concern. This means Race Face's remaining assets, including the name, will be broken up and sold to the highest bidder. There's likely nothing that can be done at this point to avoid that outcome. It's a sad end for a company whose products had become synonymous with innovation, quality and durability. All the riders we at nsmb.com have talked to have a favourite Race Face product they can remember and all are sad to see the company's first act come to a close.
> 
> ...


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## bklnbdub (Mar 16, 2008)

Wow, your boss is never as cool as you think.


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## Fix the Spade (Aug 4, 2008)

If even half of that is true I can't see Mr Pollack ever getting business within the bike industry ever again, no matter how many new ventures he starts. I can't see anyone lending him money either.

Still a crying shame.


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## big_slacker (Feb 16, 2004)

The numbers being thrown about really aren't fishy at all if they're for legit employees. 6700/month isn't a lot, thats $42/hr or 87k/yr GROSS. I wouldn't roll out of bed for that on a long term contract let alone short. It is common practice in corporations to bring in 1099 (US tax term, there is probably a canadian equiv) employees in for short term projects or even long term employment and they ALWAYS bill out higher than the equivalent W2 position because that person has 0 stability, pays ALL the taxes, healthcare, etc...

400k/yr also isn't excessive for a CEO of a small company. Real corporate CEOs pull millions in salary and stock options. 

This isn't me defending Pollack. Even though the salaries COULD be above board what isn't known is if they were. Allegations are just that. Where were the compliance audits? Where was the accounting department? I mean, this is a small company and I'm sure payroll and AR aren't huge departments. 

Hopefully real facts vs. rumors come out. I'm pretty intrigued by this whole case because its a company that was generally perceived as doing well.


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## stumblemumble (Mar 31, 2006)

big_slacker said:


> The numbers being thrown about really aren't fishy at all if they're for legit employees. 6700/month isn't a lot, thats $42/hr or 87k/yr GROSS. I wouldn't roll out of bed for that on a long term contract let alone short.


LOL..."Big Slacker" 
It's sounds to me like criminal fraud.


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## boomn (Jul 6, 2007)

stumblemumble said:


> LOL..."Big Slacker"
> It's sounds to me like criminal fraud.


parts of it, yes, but definitely not the salaries mentioned


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## deadatbirth (Jul 23, 2007)

hopefully he really doesnt bring Roach clothing back and massacre that brand


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## Nick_M2R (Oct 18, 2008)

such a shame, seems you can always trace this stuff back to bean counting....


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## NWS (Jun 30, 2010)

Nick_M2R said:


> such a shame, seems you can always trace this stuff back to fraudulent bean counting....


Edited for clarity.


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## stumblemumble (Mar 31, 2006)

NWS said:


> Edited for clarity.


Much better. I was wondering what the assembly line had to do with it. If this Pollack does look to remain in the bike industry would a boycott be in order? On the one hand it'd boycott his venture, unfortunately on the other hand it'd boycott the industry employees.


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## big_slacker (Feb 16, 2004)

Which part, the salaries or the race face thing specifically? If you think the salaries I don't know what to tell you. They're not shockingly high in any way. At the end of the article it mentions Pollack rejecting an offer for a 150k salary. No ****, thats a very low wage for a CEO, almost comically so.

If you mean the article makes it sound like Pollack was cooking the books then yes it does. But you have to separate fact from an anonymous employee saying "this person made this, this person did that." and the actual checks cut, debts defaulted on, etc... Like I said, hopefully some real information will come out.



stumblemumble said:


> LOL..."Big Slacker"
> It's sounds to me like criminal fraud.


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## deadatbirth (Jul 23, 2007)

big_slacker said:


> At the end of the article it mentions Pollack rejecting an offer for a 150k salary. No ****, thats a very low wage for a CEO, almost comically so.
> 
> .


$150k is low when you were paying yourself $30-40k a month :skep: . 
what is comical is getting paid _only_ $150k to help save your company and turning it down. stay classy Pollack


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## John P. (Feb 7, 2004)

big_slacker said:


> If you think the salaries I don't know what to tell you. They're not shockingly high in any way. At the end of the article it mentions Pollack rejecting an offer for a 150k salary. No ****, thats a very low wage for a CEO, almost comically so.


Before you get too carried away, let's keep in mind the annual sales of the co. and the average profit margin in the bike industry. This ain't exactly Microsoft we're talking about.

--JP


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## big_slacker (Feb 16, 2004)

deadatbirth said:


> $150k is low when you were paying yourself $30-40k a month :skep: .
> what is comical is getting paid _only_ $150k to help save your company and turning it down. stay classy Pollack


So you'd take a 70% pay cut at your current job, retain full responsibility for your results even though you're gonna lose a good deal of control and be under constant scrutiny you'd be all in right? :thumbsup:


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## John P. (Feb 7, 2004)

big_slacker said:


> So you'd take a 70% pay cut at your current job, retain full responsibility for your results even though you're gonna lose a good deal of control and be under constant scrutiny you'd be all in right? :thumbsup:


 *IF* my salary was seriously inflated to begin with due to fraudulent statements I made to the bank, and if the other option was shutting down my business and putting 50+ people out of work, then yes. Yes I would.


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## tiSS'er (Jan 6, 2004)

John P. said:


> *IF* my salary was seriously inflated to begin with due to fraudulent statements I made to the bank, and if the other option was shutting down my business and putting 50+ people out of work, then yes. Yes I would.


Very true. Being an owner myself, I am the last to be paid. I have gone most of last year and most of this year with out any compensation at all. Why would I do this? I have 30 employees counting on their paycheck, and at some point, this economy is going to change and I will be fairly compensated. I could have paid myself and blown off my creditors, but once that hole is dug, it is impossible to get out.


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## LeeL (Jan 12, 2004)

John P. said:


> *IF* my salary was seriously inflated to begin with due to fraudulent statements I made to the bank, and if the other option was shutting down my business and putting 50+ people out of work, then yes. Yes I would.


Not to mention if I had personally put my balls on my line and personally guaranteed that 2.5 Million to the primary lenders - as CP did.


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## deadatbirth (Jul 23, 2007)

big_slacker said:


> So you'd take a 70% pay cut at your current job, retain full responsibility for your results even though you're gonna lose a good deal of control and be under constant scrutiny you'd be all in right? :thumbsup:


when youve been screwing over the company and paying yourself a ludicrous amount of money as a "contractor" and also paying family members, id say taking a 70% pay decrease is MORE than fair....especially when that means saving 50 other people's jobs.
it would also probably be a good thing for him to lose power in the company if he took the pay hit, since he is the one who probably got them into this mess


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## big_slacker (Feb 16, 2004)

This is exactly what I'm talking about. You're making the assumption that he was screwing over the company and that his pay was ludicrous based on an internet article. One or both of those might be true or not.

If there was systematic intentional defrauding of the company and lenders, why would the bank make an offer for Pollack to stay on? Because they knew he wouldn't take it and would resign without a fight? Smells fishy, right?

Or we could just burn the guy at the stake. 



deadatbirth said:


> when youve been screwing over the company and paying yourself a ludicrous amount of money as a "contractor" and also paying family members, id say taking a 70% pay decrease is MORE than fair....especially when that means saving 50 other people's jobs.
> it would also probably be a good thing for him to lose power in the company if he took the pay hit, since he is the one who probably got them into this mess


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## string (Jan 13, 2004)

Also speaking as an owner of a company, $150K is reasonable considering the fact that you are in violation of the loan covenants and in substantial financial jeopardy. It is better than nothing. If you are truly committed to making your company succeed you take the lumps in the tough times and reap the rewards when you win. As Tiss'er said, the owner is the last to get paid. (but can get paid the most by far in good times). 

Don't get too caught up on the consultant status. There may be tax or other reasons for that classification. It can be tricky how owners get paid in some corporate structures. You want to pool money out with the best favorable tax consequences. It does sound like there could have been a total failure in the management structure of the company including the board if the President was allowed to structure his pay in a manner that did not need board approval. Hard to tell with out knowing the actual ownership of Race Face.

A definite loss for the bike industry but an interesting case none the less.


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## abbike18 (Aug 28, 2009)

*Spacer kit anyone?*

So when Race Face went under I grabbed a SIXC crank real quick off ebay - because they are everything I want in a crank set. When I got the set, they were missing the spindle spacers (elastomer and two black washers). Does anyone here have any of these lying around on an old set of cranks or know of any new ones? I have scoured bike shops with no luck. If you do have any I would be glad to pay you for them. I attached a picture, just in case. PM me if you have any info.

Please help me be able to ride my RF cranks!


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## miqu (Jan 20, 2004)

abbike18 -->

Here you go: ChainreactionCycles - RF spacers

OR found some from BikesOnline


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