5/18/22 10:47 AM

http://www.strongframes.com/about/timeline/


>After almost 30 years of running Strong Frames, Loretta and I have decided to set a retirement date. We will be taking 10 orders for delivery in 2023, and 10 orders for delivery in 2024. Each of the final 20 orders will be assigned a delivery month and all design and fabrication will take place in that month. After that we will continue to support all existing SFI customers, but will no longer take orders.

>>While we love titanium and think it is an outstanding material for bikes, we want to shift our focus to Pursuit Cycles.

5/18/22 2:42 PM

Guess that answers my question on material...I've been vacillating

5/18/22 4:09 PM

Get one of the last Ti Strongs, last chance. ;)

Check out the Allied Echo yet?

https://alliedcycleworks.com/collections/echo

Cleanest front end out there: ;)

5/18/22 5:05 PM

I was going to congratulate him on retiring, but then I noticed he’s not really retiring, just shifting his emphasis. I can relate, I seem not capable of retiring as well.

5/18/22 7:05 PM

I think he is only retiring hands on maybe. He will still, I am guessing, repair or replace welded frames of customers. His shop is outside his house in a custom garage, no commercial property to liquidate or carry etc.

I suspect of one of my two steel frames fails, I will be offered a Ti frame.

One is 22, the other 7 already. If the 22 year old one cracked I'd not even ask his to fix/replace it. The original 975.00 is well amortized a few times over.

But my guess is a lot of frame out there over 20+ years.

5/19/22 9:00 AM

Allied Echo looks pretty sweet...but requires a proprietary stem and handlebar which limits options. Not a deal breaker, but definitely a consideration.

Looking at Pursuit the components/wheels I want put the entire rig at about 12k. That's a number that is making me wait to be absolutely sure I want to spend that money and that I fully intend to make regular use of the machine.

5/19/22 9:46 AM

Yeah on the $$$.

If you know your fit, I see the proprietary bits as non issue. I still sold my ISP Addict, even though.

I just grabbed a one year old Boone frame to try a double IS0 do-hicky gravel build. Probably cost me 3k to do up what someone paid Trek 8k for a year ago.

I dont wanna rise that much coin in one machine. I don't do Enve wheels either, too much coin can evaporate at one time for me.. ;)

I went into Trek Sat. to grab black saddle rail ears set for carbon rail saddle for the mast topper. The frameset came with round rail ears and silver, stuck out like a sore thumb. ;)

Anyway, cheapest upper level bike was $8800.00. Zed! And there was nary a Shimano component in the rack of higher end bikes, all ASX/SRAM...


>>Rob. You still have your Strong? Or was it two, a CX and a Road??

5/19/22 12:02 PM

Still on my Strong. Been riding it regularly. I don't "need" a new bike, but you know how that goes....

5/20/22 9:51 AM

I'm a little confused as hes says hes retiring but going to focus on Pursuit in the future.

5/20/22 10:05 AM

I think of it as he's retiring the Strong brand/line vs actually retiring himself.

5/20/22 10:27 AM

The retiring is the metal shop. Pursuit is a separate entity with partners. Strong shop fabrications operation is/was his solo operation.

When we moved here in 2010 I stopped in the shop location in Booze-man. At some point after that [info on strongframes.com] he built a really nice shop behind his house and was able to quit the end of lease hassles re-negotiations, and/or moving and such of commercial rental properties etc.

Pursuit, I am sure in the tooling buildup he was instrumental, guessing...

I believe his main role in the plastic operations is likely marketing and operational. Plus imagine 30+ years of experience in the biz is huge plus, nice resume. ;)

The writing kinda was on the wall I thought when he raised his steel prices to even with titanium, and then eliminated steel altogether. That's a shame as Carl builds a steel frame for all time IMO.

If you think about it, how many small shops make it to a retirement state really. Single entity business that avoid the risks of growing out by staying a single entity operation seem to be the ones that make it all the way, sometimes. ;)