Volcan who?

[droo]

34 minutes ago, Danger Dassie said:

However, you can find similar or better at just about any LBS, and very likely built up properly by someone who appreciates bikes.

^^^^^^

One Bells for this man, make it a double.

[droo]

36 minutes ago, Danger Dassie said:

Still, if it means Makro are making a better product and spec out to a broader market and brings bikes closer to none core ‘cyclists’, good for cycling.

But also this.

[dasilvarsa]

10 minutes ago, Jewbacca said:

I'd definitely ride Epic on it as a marketing campaign if they paid for me... just saying

Not designed for That but if you compare with Other 10 grand bikes This One sports Deore Shifter and Derailleur and Deore Brakes and Not Cable Brakes and Suspect Drivetrains and it's 10 Speed. The salesman Said that it's selling much better than the Raleigh. 

Edited September 20, 2023 by dasilvarsa

[Danger Dassie]

13 minutes ago, dasilvarsa said:

Not designed for That but if you compare with Other 10 grand bikes This One sports Deore Shifter and Derailleur and Deore Brakes and Not Cable Brakes and Suspect Drivetrains and it's 10 Speed. The salesman Said that it's selling much better than the Raleigh. 

Epic was done on a stock standard 2x10 Axis A10 hard tail. Only the tyre were swapped out. 
Plenty other 10k ballpark bikes that are similarly specced. I’d say that anything would sell better than the current Raleigh’s available. 

I think Jewy was being tongue in cheek, well only a bit … 🫢

Edited September 20, 2023 by Danger Dassie

[Jewbacca]

7 minutes ago, dasilvarsa said:

Not designed for That but if you compare with Other 10 grand bikes This One sports Deore Shifter and Derailleur and Deore Brakes and Not Cable Brakes and Suspect Drivetrains and it's 10 Speed. The salesman Said that it's selling much better than the Raleigh. 

I was more referencing Oli Munnik riding Epic on the Signal.

It's got 9 more gears and way more suspension than the last bike I rode any sort of stage race on.

Another option in a busy market. Good for the basic 'bums on bikes' class and/or development access to a 'proper' bike.

 

[Danger Dassie]

16 minutes ago, droo said:

^^^^^^

One Bells for this man, make it a double.

You had me at double. … 🤗 

[Eugene]

I have a Volcan FS. The drop outs were worn and the wheel shifted causing it to rub on the chainstay. After phoning around, I could not find a single bike shop that distributed Volcan. 

I contacted Volcan directly, on the email address listed on their website. My numerous emails were simply ignored. 

I realise that distributors don't deal directly with the public, but surely they could have, at the very least, responded. Even if it was to tell me to bugger off or put me in touch with a dealer. 

My concern with Makro, is lack of technical knowledge. Anyone buying one of those bikes will have to take it to a bike shop to ensure it is assembled properly (my neighbour bought a bike from Makro and the fork was on backwards). 

Going back to my experience. What if the frame cracks. Will Volcan be able to back the client up? If a new frame is despatched, who will rebuild it?

[Eugene]

Those of you who have been with Bike Hub as long as I have, may remember the time, an ex-employee (disgruntled) of Volcan outed them on Bike Hub. 

They always claimed to be Swiss, however, he came on Bike Hub stating it was actually a South African brand. Not sure if he was telling the truth. 

Also, let's not forget, Team Biogen, once rode Volcan (Kevin Evans and David George) and so too did Andrew McLean. So they do have a good pedigree. 

[Shebeen]

On 9/20/2023 at 12:27 PM, Danger Dassie said:

Some historical context and random info; Volcan were launched as a ‘Swiss’ (Saffer) brand under Evolution Cycles. Who were also the Cervelo agents at the time. CycleLab/McClean were one of the primary marketing platforms. 
There were carbon hardtails and eventually a few frameset designs. A bit hit and miss but actually put some good models into the market. 

There was some alignment with Mass Mart as Evolution had an injection of investment, zany offices on Rivonia and gained the license rights for Raleigh, which was under Probike. A shame because locally the Raleigh brand had really value through knowledgable in house designers, who can forget the RM8 for example. Consequently Probike came under pressure, but given their internal knowledge base in that particular supply chain they launched Axis with good success. Coincidentally a follow through from that is Sign Bikes, but that’s a different story.
Evolution imported Raleigh models directly from the UK/US. They were also agents at some point for Michelin, LaPierre bikes and others alongside their Volcan brand stable. 

From this it seems they’ve revived the brand name, in an incredibly competitive segment to boot. And arguably an already saturated segment. Think Signal, Axis, Apex, Titan, Zini, Marvel, Avalanche.. Everyone has stock.

Still, if it means Makro are making a better product and spec out to a broader market and brings bikes closer to none core ‘cyclists’, good for cycling. Hopefully in-house assembly has improved as well. 
On this model, it’s not bad and well worth the price considering the spec level on balance.  
However, you can find similar or better at just about any LBS, and very likely built up properly by someone who appreciates bikes. I know that’s not the decider for everyone, just my personal take. 

I remember quite a bit of marketing behind Volcan, and obviously the lab have a lot of influence with consumers so they did sell. The swiss reference was always a straight face lie.

Just disappeared though, wonder who is actually behind this revival now as it's obviously aimed at a different segment?

Walmart itself probably sells a gazillion bikes per annum and the grandsons are big into mtb. They bought rapha and have a boutique brand as well as built hundreds of km of trail in their home town.

[MORNE]

On 9/20/2023 at 12:08 PM, BaGearA said:

Makes me fell very .... about my 16.2 kg full carbon bike

And this makes me feel not so bad about my 16kg size XL steel one haha! It even has a 1kg coil shock on it, with heavy AF hope fortus wheelset. Im convinced if i cared i could get it down to 14.5kg

[BaGearA]

43 minutes ago, MORNE said:

And this makes me feel not so bad about my 16kg size XL steel one haha! It even has a 1kg coil shock on it, with heavy AF hope fortus wheelset. Im convinced if i cared i could get it down to 14.5kg

Same 

 

if I put terrain appropriate tyres , the airshock and empty the frame store I can cut 1.7kg 

 

I only know cause i already calculated 😂

[dasilvarsa]

4 hours ago, MORNE said:

And this makes me feel not so bad about my 16kg size XL steel one haha! It even has a 1kg coil shock on it, with heavy AF hope fortus wheelset. Im convinced if i cared i could get it down to 14.5kg

NO NO NO You don't want to Make it Lighter You want to Make it Heavier Remember Your OSSEWA Theory. I like heavy Bikes Myself When It gets Going it Just Doesn't Stop.

[Eugene]

On 9/22/2023 at 6:26 AM, Shebeen said:

I remember quite a bit of marketing behind Volcan, and obviously the lab have a lot of influence with consumers so they did sell. The swiss reference was always a straight face lie.

Just disappeared though, wonder who is actually behind this revival now as it's obviously aimed at a different segment?

Walmart itself probably sells a gazillion bikes per annum and the grandsons are big into mtb. They bought rapha and have a boutique brand as well as built hundreds of km of trail in their home town.

They never disappeared, they just became less relavent. Only selling in very small numbers. They've had a very nice carbon full suspension on the market for some years. You don't see many around.