Quite interested in one of their frames having read the reviews, but no phone response and the website has been in maintenance mode for days.
Anybody know what is going on? Have they gone? Laying a large amount of cash down for a niche player bike is always a bit worrying in terms of long term support, but this makes me even more concerned. A long warranty is only good if there is somebody around to honour it!
HSBC will be hoping they haven't! Spotted one of their bikes in the adverts on the jetway at Heathrow the other day!
I have noticed this too and I'm looking to buy next year, I reckon it'll be fine.
HSBC will be hoping they haven’t! Spotted one of their bikes in the adverts on the jetway at Heathrow the other day
Ha. Spotted that too
There is one hanging up on the stairs at Bristol Science Park. Was kind of hoping they might bring out a robot e-bike.
In my experience when companies do go pop the last thing anyone worries about it taking down the website. I'd guess - very small company, maintaining their own website and launching a new site/moving to a new host. Doing it in December as it's a dead time for bike sales. And/or away on holiday.
Renishaw still have one on display at their technology Centre too - as of a couple of weeks ago anyway. They are the company that supply the metal 3D printing capabilities for the lugs.
Facebook page is now hidden or gone. Hmmm
Rumor is UBYK were involved 😉
Last Instagram post was 13th October. I hope they haven't gone bump, I was hoping to pick one up this coming summer.
Fingers crossed they are still around.
I love what they did and seemed reasonably priced consider what you got (compared to Evil & Yeti).
It was niche though and I've never seen one in the wild. Massive press release push a couple years ago and since then they've just got quieter.
In my experience when companies do go pop the last thing anyone worries about it taking down the website.
It's the first thing I would do so no one bought anything online that I couldn't provide.
They have definitely gone pop
🙁 If so that's a real shame
What a shame.
That's a pity.
I really liked what they were producing, just not enough to buy one.
Had a short spin on one at Ft Bill demo, it felt really good.
<blockquoteRumor is UBYK were involved
That's a surprise and a shame
Looks like one of the co-founders went back to a line role in November. If they have gone pop it's a shame - a great idea, well executed and clearly differentiated against other frame options.
The bikes weren't for me but it is a shame they have gone bust.
They will be well sought after on retrobike in the years to come.
That’ a real shame. I test rode one and I really wanted to like it more, so I could buy it! I thought what Ed was doing, his passion for it and the way he was trying to make it happen was fantastic.
Much as I liked the concept, I did think it would be difficult to sell custom geometry full-sus bikes when MTB geometry has been changing so much in recent years.
With road bikes things are much more settled so you might choose a custom frame to get a perfect fit. But the MTBs I’ve ridden over the last five years have got about 60mm longer in reach (let alone the decrease in head angle and increases in seat angle, chainstay length and wheelbase) but each one felt like a great fit when I got it. How can you commit to a very expensive custom build when you know it might feel too small in a few years time?
A shame it didn’t work out for them.
The bikes frames were way out of my price range, but we're definitely on my lotto winner list. Loved the concept, manufacturing process, finish etc.
chiefgrooveguru - you've got the problem of ever changing geo/standards with any bike you buy.
We (the public) may never find out why/if they have gone pop. They are still listed as active on companies house so may just be rearranging the company. Link
Personally I'd have thought it's a case of getting too big too quick when costs are rising left right and centre.
Too big too quick?
I've never seen one in the wild. I suspect they simply didn't sell anywhere near enough to justify the effort involved.
Shame for the people involved if they've used their life savings up, but it was a very high end product aimed at a very small section of the MTB community.
Three base models, multiple full-time staff, permanent site location, bills getting more expensive. Sometimes it pays to work on a smaller scale.
No idea though. It's just me guessing. It all depends on how the finances worked.
I get you now, can't argue with that.
Curious where people are getting the information about them going pop? Their company status is still currently 'Active' on the companies house, I think it would be a shame if they have gone.
things change that's all anyone can say I'm told
They have (or, more accurately, are in the process of going pop)
As the OP, I would also be interested to know the source of 'yes they have gone pop'.
I am sure that selling a domestically produce niche product with high R&D overheads and seemingly big investment was always a difficult business model, but hopefully this is a temporary pop rather than a catastrophic failure.
Did you see their prices?
And then they made a bike to fit you.
And if you wanted to sell it you have to find a bloke your shape and of similar intent.
With a lot of money.
FAIL.
I think that's very far from a fail in this day and age
Using cutting edge technology to make a bespoke product in the UK.
WIN
That it comes at a price is just a factor of the costs involved (and actually that price was not much different to a mass produced plastic frame from Taiwan from the likes of Yeti or Santa Cruz).
Time was that most frames were hand made, custom sized and domestically sourced. If I buy something bespoke, the last thing I worry about is selling it. That’s missing the point. Clearly it wasn’t for everyone (and it would appear not enough people agreed), but I don’t think that the concept was a fail at all. It was never meant to be a mass market product, but so often these kind of niche cutting edge products shape the mass production methods and products of tomorrow.
Proper Shane.
Out of the box thinking, UK design and manufacture.
And then they made a bike to fit you.
And if you wanted to sell it you have to find a bloke your shape and of similar intent.
Ever heard of custom built frames? They've been around for a while...
these kind of niche cutting edge products shape the mass production methods and products of tomorrow.
A robot bike prototype, circa 1992.
These methods have been tried, nearly 30 years ago, and they weren't a success then. The Robot bike prices were heinous, the frames looked like a high school project and the graphics were awful. Factor that with the fact that there's enough variation in MTB geometry now that there's a bike out there to suit most body shapes, it was destined to fail.
As the OP, I would also be interested to know the source of ‘yes they have gone pop’
Me too they must know more than Ed who I spoke with Friday and mentioned this very thread.
Very harsh. That 1992 ‘prototype’ had welded ti tubes posing as lugs not 3D printed complex forms. It wasn’t bespoke. It wasn’t full suspension. In fairness the concept of lugged bicycle construction predates 1992 by many years if you want to use that particular analogy. It was nevertheless a beautiful looking thing (IMHO). Guess that’s why I liked the look of Robotbike. The graphics weren’t amazing agreed but I wouldn’t make a bike choice on that basis. And as for the ‘heinous’ price, thanks to current exchange rates it was comparable to certain brands of mass produced Taiwanese plastic bike. Nothing wrong with those at all. Both are different rather than better/worse.
It’s easy to poopoo innovation but without companies like Robotbike throughout the history of mountain biking we would still be riding clunkers. I for one think it is sad when a company like this fails. Armchair internet critics add far less value to the evolution of our sport than plucky start ups who give it a go. Actually without innovators being bold, following their ideas regardless of doubters we wouldn’t have computers or the internet to pass such comments. I am not saying that everything new and shiny is necessarily good, but evolution never has been a smooth linear journey. The people who set up the company invested time and probably personal cash in following their dream and if the company has indeed gone pop that’s a shame.
Plus I never read anything less than a glowing review of their bikes (hence my interest).
Robot bike prices were heinous....it was destined to fail.
I think this sums it up for most people.
A mate of mine had one of those epic ultimates,vpretty sure that was 3k back then plus the carbon fork which was another 600 quid
A chap called Ralf was doing the whole 3d printed lug carbon tube thing as far back as 2012
Renishaw did the whole bike as a PR vehicle
The clever thing 3d printing brought was it allowed robot to pi joint traditional and custom frames with no distortion and minimal tooling which when you start looking into industry are smart methods.
Bastion cycles in Australia however do something similar
Very very loosely ,Personally whenever we try to make anything that involves 3d printing there seems to be an easier cheaper route to market and there's an arcam sat at our disposal should we want to print something , Though I do know it's possible to make a handlebar lighter than its carbon equivalent and this was proved in top level road racing.
Me too they must know more than Ed who I spoke with Friday and mentioned this very thread.
so what is happening? is it just changes?
I admit that I thought of the Specialized Epic Ultimate when I first saw the Robot frames, but reading up on them they are very different. The fundamental difference being that the 'lugs' aren't lugs in the conventional sense at all. They surround the tubes from the inside as well as the outside so arguably much stronger. Whether they are any better than a conventional high end carbon frame is debatable (and I've no idea) but they are pretty rad, and if I had the money they'd be top of the list of frames to buy as I like different ideas.
And then they made a bike to fit you.
And if you wanted to sell it you have to find a bloke your shape and of similar intent.Ever heard of custom built frames? They’ve been around for a while…
With very little benefit for most people. The custom frames we did with Nicolai tended to be for people who were either very large or heavy or very small (which never worked so well). There was a small category of customers who wanted to do something different that worked pretty well as free R&D for Nicolai - there were a few 'regular' models that came directly out of customer custom frames.
I'm guessing most Robot customers would have taken a regular 'off the shelf' geometry so you're then into a simple question of whether the manufacturing process gives any real world riding benefits (which seemed doubtful) or produced a bike that appealed visually. (and I think the look of the bike was probably pretty marmite).
Seem to have morphed into Atherton Bikes...
https://www.athertonbikes.com/
Well I wasn't expecting that!