Middleburn closes down

They’re still active according to companies house but last years accounts don’t make for happy reading.

Damn, I’ve been looking at them for a while thinking that next time I need a set of cranks they’re the ones I’m going for.

That’s probably part of the problem; lots of people planning on getting them next time they need new cranks but never actually needing new cranks.

Does anyone know why they actually closed.

Nipper99’s post implies they went bust.

Really sad, but almost expected I s’pose. It’s the way nearly all nice little UK manufacturers go; if they don’t make it big and get bought out by the big boys 🙁
I’ve got Middleburns cranks on my three main bikes, and only bought a set earlier this year. True no bike shops appeared to stock their parts, but if you have a LBS that can be @rsed to order for you, it really was no problem getting hold of them. I’ve got some Royce stuff too, and the same applies there to ordering – although I have to say Cliff the owner can be an acquired taste!

Lots of posts above highlighting the fact that remaining in business is more about effective marketing than producing excellent products

No. It’s about making excellent products and then actually letting people know about them. If no one know who they are, who’s going to buy them, regardless of how good they are? A very small number of people, that’s who. Not enough people to support a business, sadly.

If someone buys something lasts a lifetime they will probably only ever buy one of them..

When there are massive companies churning out skit that wears out in no time but still have the market share despite it what chance do a small firm making quality kit have?

Arcam AVR1300 and an ancient Marantz 2226b btw, yes I know the Marantz is American..

When there are massive companies churning out skit that wears out in no time but still have the market share despite it what chance do a small firm making quality kit have?

See earlier comments regarding Hope.

I blew a student loan in the early 90’s on an Arcam CD player and Amp, paired with Mission speakers, custom cable and shot-weighted speaker stands.

Worth every penny, not heard anything like it since. Had it 16 years, sounded perfect, needed the space, sold it for £450 to an enthusiast who arrived in a Triumph.

Great products need great marketing. All the magazines of that time raved about British hi-fi like Arcam.

Shame about Middleburn, but not heard much about them in years and I work in the trade

The MTB industry is very fickle and I guess the market is aswell. THere is not really a place for a “boutique” component manufacturer that produces very expensive stuff that’ll probably last a lifetime, when the market prefers to spend all it’s money on things that go out of date within a year.

They should’ve put more of a focus (did they even have any anmyway?) into the road side of things, as there appear to be plenty of smaller companies who seem to do alright with the darkside stuff (Tune/PMP etc.)

Damn that’s a shame, I’ve got. 2 or 3 sets 1 set on my DH bike and one on my hardtail – they really cover all aspects but I think they’re victims of making a successful product. They work really well and they don’t wear ou but they’ve never been fashionable. They’ve made the same crank for the last 15 years and as such I think they’ve completely fallen off the radar. I imagine they’re very much a crank you only see on old men’s bikes.

If I win the lottery tonight I’ll buy in and help get it turned around, I like them a lot and I think they deserve better than just going to the wall like this.

Is there the option to buy into something here – is there going to be a SWT / Crowd Funded buy out?

Is there the option to buy into something here – is there going to be a SWT / Crowd Funded buy out?

I know it seems like I’m being down on them, but I am only being down on their approach to business, not their products.

A company with a stellar reputation for making great products, yet one that even people in the industry (See Esher above) didn’t even hear about? I’m out.

It’s a shame, but not a shock really.

Their market position was knackered on several fronts, firstly if you’re not going to give the MBR/MBUK “Technical writer” a handjob and a freebie every couple of months don’t expect hordes of new-golfers to be beating a path to your door, sad to read people who’ve been into MTBs for some time actually haven’t heard of Middleburn.
Worse still their ‘headline’ product was pitched against a fair few cheaper, lighter, “modern standard” alternatives, plus most OEM cranks (mostly from the two big S’s) probably just tend to just get traded up a tier from the same manufacturer if they let go outside the warranty…

Also there was very little diversification outside of cranks and chainrings (they did dabble with hubs didn’t they?), small market segment, with a long wait for repeat custom, because your product is “too good” and doesn’t wear out as quickly…

Hope, while not the cheapest either have a fair old spread of products, one or other of which is likely to appeal to most riders, if not all of them, they keep pace with current “standards” and fads and they advertise, publicise and update their website now and then…

I always had a hankering for a set of Middleburn cranks, but only ever owned a couple of their chainrings instead, I always said “one day” when I have the spare money I would fit some Middleburn cranks on a posh build… Doubt that’s going to happen now. In fact sad to say, earlier in the year when I was looking for some square taper cranks for a build, I ended up getting some NOS… shimano 😳 [/hides]

\What a shame have used there rings and cranks for years. Still have RS3’s in a box some place. You can never beat the RS7 and Royce combo. Not sure whose kit I’ll buy now.
Running business is hard and it’s easy to be critical for a distance, so many factors can cause a problem. If there is a rescue via crowd fund I’ll happily invest.

they did dabble with hubs didn’t they?

Aye, I don’t expect that was an inexpensive undertaking though.

I used to rate the Hardcote rings, back in the days when I swapped out chains at 0.75 wear rather than just buying cheap drivetrains and riding them to destruction. I still use RS8 cranks and a UN52 BB, having gone back to them for reliability. I had to get all their stuff via mail order, though, even 15-20 years ago, because my LBS at the time wouldn’t deal with them following various (non-specified) problems.

That’s a real shame , Matt was always helpful and took time
To go through things when ever we had tech questions.
But sadly it was not a brand that sold easily in the shop I work in.

I still have the first pair I ordered the month I started working full time in a bike shop

Have just stocked up on possible the best widget ever made for bikes following this thread (surprised they haven’t been mentioned)

https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/cables/black-middleburn-cable-oilers-4mm/?sessionid=71829668f267da80694518b3961b782703c4fd96

I wonder who you would contact to buy the name it’s the kind of product that someone with a cnc lathe and milling machine could quite easily keep in production as a hobby.

Any update on Middleburn. I did send a message via their FB page to say how sorry I was to hear of their troubles and had anything been decided going forward with the reply that they were waiting for the dust to settle. I hope it can be kept going.

It seems like frims like White Industries and Interloc in the US can manage with similar products.

Lots of middleburn bashing on here for notbkeeping up with the times, thing is they did….. With mucoff!! Started as a by line and became huge, middleburn just got sidelined..

were x-lite middleburn too, then?

were x-lite middleburn too, then?

Oooops sorry, got that one wrong, will go and whip myself

Don’t CRC own x-lite now? Sure I saw somewhere they were supposed to be taking over and developing stuff.

This is sad news, but given that they were, basically, in the drivetrain business, and the big thing over the last few years has been expander cogs, 1x drivetrains, thick/thin rings yadda yadda, that was their prime opportunity to lap up the rewards.

If you can’t manage even when the market/trends swing in your direction, you’re knackered.

Really sad though.

Not sure what ‘not keeping up with the times’ means unless it means that they didn’t pointlessly pursue all the pointless fads and fashions and planned obsolescence that most people are happy to sign up to. They make excellent quality cranks and chain rings etc. that allow you to make your bicycle move forward.

that they didn’t pointlessly pursue all the pointless fads and fashions and planned obsolescence that most people are happy to sign up to. They make excellent quality cranks and chain rings etc. that allow you to make your bicycle move forward.

and how did that work out for them?

Nipper, ‘not keeping up with the times’ means exactly that, bicyle drivetrins have evolved quite a lot in the last few years, in many ways, it would appear their products have not followed.

The fact they’re closing down could be taken as evidence that pursuing ‘fads and fashions’ wouldn’t have been a pointless exercise at all…..

p.s. They make made excellent quality cranks…….

The company is not in administration or liquidation so here’s hoping this is just a bit of a hiatus. Not following fads and fashions wouldn’t seem to be problem (see Interloc / White / Paul / Phil Wood etc) perhaps just not great marketing on Middleburn’s part which could be remedied.

When people say they made excellent quality cranks what do people mean? How were they any better than Shimano, SRAM, Campag, FSA etc.

Problem the had is they were making a product that not many people replace and for more money than a top class alternative from the main companies. Hence, they didn’t have a USP and weren’t competitive on price.

it means that they didn’t pointlessly pursue all the pointless fads and fashions and planned obsolescence that most people are happy to sign up to.

they invented half the current fads.

see the uno and the duo ….. lightyears ahead of their time.

They were doomed when they launched HT2 cranks. When we got them in the shop they were so closely spaced that they hit the chainstays on a very regular steel hardtail when they flexed. Given that they’d been coming out for many years, and were on the market long after everyone else had a set for sale, it was clear they weren’t going to last long.

I’ve got a pair of cranks knocking about in the shed somewhere. Haven’t seen them for years. Wonder if they are still there.

I’ve been using the same pair of Middleburn cranks and UN52 for 15 years and hopefully I can get hold of a single ring spider before they all go. That’s value for money and they also look far better than any other contender.

When people say they made excellent quality cranks what do people mean? How were they any better than Shimano, SRAM, Campag, FSA etc.

How many people would still run the same set of Truvative cranks from 10-15 years ago? Yet RS7’s are still in demand, and as long as they’ve not been installed by a ham fisted monkey they’ll likely be as good as new to boot.

Problem the had is they were making a product that not many people replace and for more money than a top class alternative from the main companies. Hence, they didn’t have a USP and weren’t competitive on price.

Their USPs were:
Made in the UK (unil they outsourced the forging of blanks to Italy)
Lightweight, OK not in recent years, but that’s because they didn’t relentlessly bring out new models every year shaving off grams at a time.
Lasted forever in British mud, a 10 year old set of RS7’s (or even RS6’s, or earlier) will look better than a 1 ride old set of shimano cranks.
Spider less designs of the uno, and they invented the XC double with the Duo.
One crank could do both light enough for road bikes and tough enough for DH, and they had a lifetime warranty for it.

I think it’s doing them a huge disservice to say they had no USP, they just relied too much on word of mouth, I’ve not seen one of their adverts in years.

One crank could do both light enough for road bikes and tough enough for DH, and they had a lifetime warranty for it.

I used mine more than once – Cracks propagating from the lettering on the cranks.

My mates split down the centre on his XC bike while out riding on the road – his pedal came out etc

anotehr mate had his on ATX one – landed a jump and it sheared in half with the stump going into his leg.

They were good but lets not get all rose tinted specs about them now they are gone. How ever the guy i used to deal with in warrenty is on here still and was always a very helpful guy when it came to sorting you out.

Bought by BETD. Where’s my (3DV ano) trophy?

singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/middleburn-lives