[Closed] Unhappy Sick Bicycles Customers. BEWARE!

There’s a post on the FB Steel is Real group from Marino (the frame builders).

Apparently they had been in communication with Sick about payment for work and agreed a final deadline of May 20th as they had their own bills to pay. The deadline has sailed with radio silence so they’ve given up and are selling the frames to recoup their losses. Apparently 30 frames were completed and there’s another 30 part built...

“We had comunication with Jordan and Tim from SICK BIKES, the payment limit date was may 20th, we hadn't recieved any comunication from them... because we have material to pay, CNC machine, welders, painters, we see ourselves in the obligation to sell these frames, if you are interested please communicate with me :
Marinobike@Gmail.com

FRESH !!!!Frames on stock from 2 months
#cromoly #steelisreal #handmadeinperu #cromo4130”

“Oh wow! You bought one of those?”

I would go with:

“Oh wow! You bought one of those and it actually turned up!!!!!”

“Oh wow! You bought one of those?”

"Yeah but in a different size and colour, I tried flogging it off on ebay but there's some Peruvian seller kicked the bottom right out of the market"

Here's a pic of mine all you hayters

Maybe worth buying a sick frame from Marino and mothballing it. Who knows might be worth a bit in years to come !!

Wonder how much the frame bought direct from Peru would be?
would have to cover up the stupid logos though

Maybe worth buying a sick frame from Marino and mothballing it. Who knows might be worth a bit in years to come !!

Collectors edition, one of only 30 ever known to have been made!

This whole saga reminds me of a car that's had an accident and is on fire, rolling down a hill, and every time it rolls, penguins fall out, and it keeps going and penguins keep falling out (or something)...

Question: what do people see as the end point here? It feels like eventually the wheels will fall off this thing, and the ability to keep spinning lies to those to whom they owe money will end. Then what? Bankruptcy presumably; maybe someone comes in to buy what few assets there are.
Prison time for the directors? Just barred from running a company again?

SICK BIKES
RIP
2017 - 2019

"be a dickhead on the internet, and we will fight you" - Classic

This would make a good movie.

A very low budget, made for tv movie admittedly.

pre-order the movie?

Nicko - its all going bust. The money has gone. People need to go to court to get refunds if there is anything left to refund with

They could well be in legal trouble for trading while insolvent and even fraud possibly as they continue to take orders they cannot fulfill

They have clearly pissed money up the wall, and now can't pay the builder.

So we're they hoping to sell enough t-shirts to fund this? Because selling more frames you can't supply (as you'd have to sell them at high enough to cover both sets of frames which is never going to happen) is full on Ponzi and illegal... So they are playing a dangerous game.

What was the plan?

Where did the money for the frames go?

This would make a good movie.

Ohhhhhhhhhhh they could use Ingenious Film Partners 2 to fund it.

What a shower of shite Sick are.

I’ve been in & out of business for nearly 30 years - these guys just cone across as totally fing inept. One excuse after another, begging for more time & forgiveness. Well, you’ve had plenty of that & then some - time to MTFU & pay up. Hopefully there’ll learn from the experience & not be such a clusterF the next time..

How some of you can keep backing if fing beyond me!

Still, a fool & his money....

kcal

Subscriber
pre-order the movie?

I think you might be disappointed 🙂

Where did the money for the frames go?

Coke & hookers?

Where did the money for the frames go?

That Edge fork is a bit spendy...
See also Sweet Wings cranks, custom anodising, carbon wheels etc. All great for building up a presence with the "real community bros" on IG. Also all good for building up a big debt on the trade accounts

Here’s a pic of mine all you hayters

Chainstayz look 30mm too long

Chainstayz look 30mm too long

and it isn't the size I ordered plus the (s****) warranty ain't worth shit but otherwise everything is tip top....bit laterally flexy too but I'm (not) sure it will be fine😀

I was also worried that if we did sit down and decide to make a pleasing business case, and take a huge loan, that it would cost us a lot more in the long term anyway - while doubling down on risk, doubling down on the pressure to succeed. It seemed like the lightest way of doing that. It also relied heavily that everything was delivered on time, and that people would be prepared to wait.

And if it wasn’t, it would be okay because we had a close relationship with the customer, that there would never be that point where they were really concerned that it was like some kind of pyramid scheme or something like that.

This quote from the PB article is telling. It was always the plan to pass the risk to the customer...

In addition, with this in mind, they purposefully targeted the Ti frames as loss leaders...so they were intentionally creating a situation where they were spending money that they didn't have on passion projects...knowing that this money should have been going to frame builders

Again, from PB article

On top of that, the biggest mistake I made was my own passion projects. The titanium frames, the reason that they're on the market for half the price of every other one, was not because there was a shady deal where they were made out of garbage. It was because: One, we brought up someone else's production time that fallen through. And two, that they were loss leaders.

Pinkbikes crack journalist is back on the case

https://www.pinkbike.com/news/sick-bicycles-manufacturer-selling-off-sick-branded-frames-claiming-lack-of-payment.html

This might just be the mentalist thread on t'internet. *

* Apart from Mumsnet sex beaker, obvs.

and it isn’t the size I ordered plus the (s****) warranty ain’t worth shit but otherwise everything is tip top….bit laterally flexy too but I’m (not) sure it will be fine😀

That gave me a wee giggle. Appreciate the honesty!

A good point from the pinkbike comment section. They are offering to refund anyone affected by the non arrival of the Marino frames, wouldn’t it be cheaper to pay Marino and ship the frame?

yes - but I'd bet my house they do not have the money to do either.

I am only on this for the laughs and if I was still awaiting a frame I would be very unhappy but have yu guys seen this interview? Its effing hilarious and clearly full of lies.
https://www.pinkbike.com/news/sick-bicycle-co-there-are-so-many-people-that-couldnt-wait-to-see-us-fail.html

+1 TJ.

I think they just planned to cuff it - quite literally. No real plan at all, just cuff it & hope for the best.

Turns out biznezzzz isn’t quite that simple hey Sick..

Is anyone on this thread owed anything ?
Or is it all just pointing and laughing ?

The OP is owed a couple of grand, one of their unpaid suppliers is on here too.

Not sure if any others are lurking, but there’s a list of folk on the pinkbike forum

A good point from the pinkbike comment section. They are offering to refund anyone affected by the non arrival of the Marino frames, wouldn’t it be cheaper to pay Marino and ship the frame?

Refund or supply a replacement frame! Presumably from Taiwan. So what frame or size or colour would you be offered and how close to your original order?

Seems a very odd level of interest for a couple of blokes with a handful of orders and no real clue what they are doing

@Nicko it needs quoting in its entirety. I can't find the original thread but it's frequently requoted in threads around 2010 attributable to Bigdummy who still occasionally posts. It soooo beautifully describes the situation and should be put on the next batch of Gnarpoon t-shirts...

It's a bit like watching that video of the rolling rally car the other day, but in slow motion, and the car is full of ostriches, and every time it rolls another ostrich comes flying out, and as each ostrich hits the ground it starts whooshing like a catherine wheel, and all the orange penguins who are watching the crash come running out with brooms and try and put the ostriches out by hitting them with their brooms, but the brooms just catch fire and the penguins panic and stat rolling around on the ground surrounded by exploding ostriches as the car rolls on and on spewing out ever more ostriches.

– BigDummy (STW)

nonk

Member
Seems a very odd level of interest for a couple of blokes with a handful of orders and no real clue what they are doing

That's the rub.

Sick courted the interest,stoked it, tried to use it to their financial gain.

When you do that you are risking a very public car crash should the worst happen.

Most on this thread are bemused and utterly and totally unsurprised by what has happened to Sick.... particularly as Sick are still effectively saying they are in control of the situation. It's completely bizarre.

I’d rather give front page coverage to bird or airdrop or starling or cotic than have 26 pages of this shite though

Well, front page coverage is transitory anyway, though I see your point.

As for the 26 pages here, it's purely optional reading to be honest. More to the point, it's obviously interesting to many as it has gone on for 26 pages.

I’d probably rather see everyone just look the other way I guess

If you look the other way then we can carry on and all is good, isn’t it?

Well, if nothing else it's doing a public service in a way nonk.

Along with similar threads on PB etc it has at least alerted potential buyers (or those being strung along for month after month waiting for a never to arrive frame) to the fact Sick are in big trouble and they might want to look at a different purchase/method of refund.

I’d probably rather see everyone just look the other way I guess

Yeah, just turn a blind eye to people getting mugged for thousands, in some cases, whilst the perps carry on, pretending to be the saviour of the bike industry, and telling anyone who criticises or calls out their lies to foxtrot oscar.

Waiting for a frame ordered in November. Delivery date est. Feb 15th. Then was told direct shipping ETA mid March. Then radio silence. Requested a refund in April. Zero response since then.

I feel like I have given them a business personal loan which I am unlikely to recover - or at least gather any interest from.

Tom mate you are completely obsessed with it man
I’d get out more
No protection on the payment Craig ?

I've been out to the cinema with my wife, Thanks. Saw Rocketman as my unlimited cinema pass gets me early screenings. 7/10.

Love how some people see me as the bad guy/loser in this saga

Rocketman any good ?
Never said any of that
You are obsessed with these two clowns though

No protection on the payment Craig ?

Used c/card rather than paypal which is my own fault - lesson learned. I thought I was dealing with a reputable brand.

I think Paypal has a 180 day limit anyways, so I would have been outside that too.

The count on the link below suggests 11 frames in limbo, but I am guessing that's the tip of the iceberg if Marino has 30 sitting there made from an initial order of ?60?

https://www.pinkbike.com/forum/listcomments/?threadid=213188&pagenum=1#commentid6735750

better than OK, not one of the greats though. as i said, 7/10.

Used c/card rather than paypal which is my own fault – lesson learned.

So you’re protected. Better than PayPal. Section 75, get claiming.

So you’re protected. Better than PayPal. Section 75, get claiming.

Assuming we're over the magic number of course.

Re the 11 (known) outstanding frames vs 60 at Marino I wonder if they maybe over ordered so the reason Marino isn't getting paid is they haven't sold 49 of those frames yet and) as we're all fairly certain,) the have no cash reserves to make up the rest.
Given their apparent ineptitude I can very much imagine "oh look we've sold 11 in a week. We'll definitely sell 60 in a month.
Oh...."

"Chainstayz look 30mm too long"
OOF! Harsh but true.

Assuming we’re over the magic number of course.

I doubt Sick were selling frames for under £100 🙂

I doubt Sick were selling frames for under £100 🙂

I thought it was 500 but it seems I was wrong on that