Up next in 10
Dan has some interesting ideas about how bikes can be built and sold in the new world order.
Read our full write up here: https://singletrackworld.com/2018/12/interview-dan-stanton-build-buy-bikes/
Show More Show Less View Video Transcript
0:01
[Music]
0:04
my intention is for this to be a new way
0:07
of ordering buying riding interacting
0:12
with bikes
0:17
hi this is Hannah from singletrack I was
0:20
down at Stanton bikes to have a look at
0:22
my new test bike being built but while I
0:24
was there i sat down with Dan to find
0:26
out about what his vision is for the
0:28
Stanton company the whole frame is made
0:31
in the UK and although all the little
0:33
linkages and things as well yeah yeah so
0:35
we've got a friend owns a cnc firm and
0:37
he's putting those parts together
0:38
Forrest so we sent over the drawings and
0:40
he gets them squared for us and it's all
0:42
assembled here so it's all welded and
0:44
made and aligned and then we send it the
0:47
rear ends up to Manchester for heat
0:49
treatment to bring it all back to t6 and
0:52
then the front end goes to a place in
0:54
Wales for rust proofing IDI treatment so
0:58
it's rust proof like our hard tails are
1:00
so in that case it's a it's the very
1:04
little of it that you are dependent on
1:06
coming from abroad the wheels or the
1:08
brakes or whatever what's the rationale
1:11
behind that that kind of business model
1:15
so the business has been ruined like
1:17
every other business you know in the
1:19
cycle industry where you purchase in
1:21
hundreds in quantity 100 about any
1:23
single model you get three sizes and
1:25
three colors to choose from but you have
1:27
to order one hundred so you end up with
1:29
a load of overstock you know of
1:31
different sizes and colors that aren't
1:33
selling that well because you're
1:34
presuming all the time you're presuming
1:36
what you may sell in roughly six months
1:39
time actually because when you consider
1:41
three months for manufacture one month
1:43
for taking tubing from Birmingham out to
1:45
Taiwan and then a month ship him back
1:47
and then if there's any mishaps and
1:48
problems you're looking between five and
1:50
six months so you're always working to
1:52
what may possibly happen in the future
1:54
so you end up with overstock on problems
1:55
and then obviously the other issue to
1:57
that business model now is that currency
2:00
isn't strong anymore but when the US
2:03
dollar when the pound was strong against
2:05
the US dollar you were able to get
2:07
obviously a lot more money for your
2:09
pound so say you would spend a hundred
2:11
thousand pounds you would get 165
2:13
thousand US dollars
2:14
well now you spend a hundred thousand
2:16
pounds and you get 127 23 you know so
2:22
that's like a massive chunk of your
2:24
money say let's just for argument's sake
2:26
40 thousand US dollars gone well the
2:29
customer still wants it at that price
2:30
seek the summit before seems a little
2:32
treated to take an idea margin so now
2:34
we're not all amazing but you're talking
2:36
out a large proportion of your portion
2:38
of your March so now now really relative
2:43
to the quantities that you're doing you
2:45
can tall up and pay for the labor in the
2:50
UK to make a frame at the same price as
2:53
you get any done out there so we can
2:55
still sell at the same rate but that's
2:57
where the Marchetti comes in actually
2:59
because obviously that cuts the tubes
3:00
and bits and bobs to be on a production
3:03
basis so we can actually make the
3:05
quantities without paying for other
3:07
people just to come in and make tubes if
3:08
that makes any sense to you yeah so you
3:11
showed me this machine before that you
3:12
just sort of up and chop them in a
3:15
winner will bring my new factory in
3:22
house as well so and you'll be able to
3:24
specify your reach and stack on your
3:26
hard tails as well just like you're kind
3:28
of new for sauces so this is the this
3:31
basically is my answer to to what's
3:35
happened on a global economic scale
3:38
that's affected my business locally so
3:41
once the margin obviously got started
3:44
getting crushed was in a bit of a flap
3:47
and a panic and we realized old on a
3:49
minute we'll get from canmake them for
3:50
the same price then we can bring them
3:51
here and we can run the business far
3:53
leaner you know can also have more of a
3:55
family feel as well because at the
3:58
moment I'd previously I designed
4:00
something then send that design off to
4:03
or we use send it off to or Pandora
4:08
basically redraw your drawings send them
4:12
back to you you quibble over any bits
4:15
and bobs that they say they can't do all
4:17
they can do and then they just
4:18
manufacture them for you in informants
4:19
time you have the product that you
4:21
specified on a drawing you know this is
4:24
like so much more interesting so much
4:27
more involved I draw I design it and
4:29
then Jordan sits there and engineers the
4:32
product and then once that's done all
4:34
the drawings get created and sent out to
4:37
the CNC firm and suchlike and then the
4:41
drawings go next door and they gather
4:43
and gather actually fabricates the
4:45
product and to make sure it's all bang
4:48
on we've got like micron perfect jigs
4:50
they're made by patterns that make for
4:54
rolls-royce you know so we know that it
4:56
we've got a repeatable accuracy and as I
5:01
understand it then it's it's a response
5:04
to an economic situation but actually it
5:09
has it has kind of soulful benefits for
5:12
you because you get control over your
5:13
business and also for the customer they
5:17
get a little bit more say in or a bit
5:21
more bespoke kind of saying what it's
5:23
being done because you've got that
5:25
control is that right that's right yeah
5:26
so you're firing a hundred of any one
5:28
model and you paying for a container so
5:31
a container can fit 300 frames in so
5:33
you're buying 300 at any one time
5:34
because you try and obviously reduce
5:36
your cost per product right you're
5:38
buying in 300 you're doing that three
5:39
times a year you got a fine hundred
5:41
grand per time you know and you might
5:43
not have sold some to think it's a right
5:45
faff really that and it's an it's a kind
5:48
of it's an archaic business model in my
5:51
opinion and I think now things are going
5:53
to become more cottagey I think the best
5:55
way to explain it was a social theory
6:01
excellent same MO same year so Marx's
6:08
critique politics okay the MARTA
6:16
critique in Marx's critique of
6:18
capitalism one of the things he said was
6:19
those who own the means of production
6:20
also in the means of logical thought and
6:23
that's stuck with me that really has
6:25
stuck with me because it made me realize
6:27
it doesn't really matter what industry
6:29
is yeah whoever is in production of that
6:32
home owns the logic the way that
6:35
everybody sees that one thing should be
6:40
presented to the I can explain that well
6:45
those only means the production also in
6:47
the means of logical for yeah so if
6:49
something so so if there is a structure
6:51
to the way that something is produced
6:53
then there's a logic and that logic
6:55
through marketing and media will be
6:57
expressed to you and you won't know
6:59
anything any other way that's just the
7:01
way you're going to accept the situation
7:02
right so then that so we're talking
7:06
really about colors and sizing you've
7:08
got no choice over those things you get
7:10
to pick from three colors and three
7:12
sizes yeah yeah so there's no so you you
7:15
know so you then specify your
7:17
individuality on your bike because
7:19
obviously all we all think we're special
7:22
and individual that's consumer fetishism
7:26
you know we all form identity in
7:28
relation to the products that we fulfill
7:29
ourselves with yeah so then right now
7:32
you're buying bit people do it with the
7:34
right fork or the right break or the
7:36
right this or the right that well we
7:37
want to step that up into frames
7:39
effectively so you can now from Orr's
7:42
it's it is a set model you do have a set
7:45
geometry overall but your size in this
7:47
geometry which is your cockpit which is
7:49
your reach and stack though they they
7:51
can be variable to suit the rider yeah
7:54
so you've got a set geometry but from
7:55
always you can now specify your reach
7:57
and stack and relative to the model that
7:58
you purchase him and then you can go for
8:00
any color you fancy and we've got set
8:02
ones that we offer but if you come
8:04
towards with a row who's trying to break
8:08
that mental constraint and it's been
8:11
laid out by this industry already over
8:13
sizing and colors basically now we have
8:17
now we own production we can have a
8:19
different logic effectively as well
8:21
getting it and also it becomes sort of a
8:27
bite for life as well if you want to
8:29
because you were saying you can kind of
8:32
swap bits out later on and and and
8:35
change your bite suit the riding house
8:38
maybe you change or you become a better
8:40
writer or an older rider or whatever
8:42
yeah yeah so for instance I've always
8:46
been I've always been one of those
8:48
people that like to interchange things
8:50
and make things bespoke and
8:52
you know I did the same with
8:54
remote-control cars he's quite like
8:55
laughing with them as well you see and
8:58
so it's trying to bring that kind of
9:01
hop-up mentality into thee into frames
9:04
so now we're working on carbon rear ends
9:07
well rather than having to commit to a
9:09
three and a half grand frame you'll be
9:11
able to buy your carbon carbon swing our
9:14
carbon swing arms yeah and then they'll
9:16
fit this product so if I already had one
9:20
of these I could I could get the carbon
9:23
rear end to go with it stage you can
9:26
upgrade the front end to tie if you
9:27
wanted yes please
9:31
and then carbon linkages as well I mean
9:34
other thing we work on your BRS which
9:35
will do it all so all Mary's wouldn't
9:36
fit so you can into Swat you can you
9:38
know you have to commit to buying a
9:40
three and a half grand frame and when
9:41
you've already got a two and a half gun
9:42
frame you can literally just swap and
9:45
change bits and bobs out and then say if
9:47
you've got the 27.5 trial version that's
9:49
160 ml four and 140 ryo travel change
9:54
the link change the swing gone and
9:56
you've got hundred and 60 ml out at the
9:57
same product you know so you can
9:59
literally interchange the bike and then
10:01
say you fed up with 27.5 wheels
10:03
you want to try twenty-nine you can send
10:05
the bike in and with the link that
10:07
you've got and the front end we can
10:09
change the rear end and you can you can
10:11
effectively swap between twenty-nine
10:13
27.5 longer travel short travel and you
10:16
can do that all off the same front and
10:18
we just small alterations with linkages
10:20
and swingarm so it's all calculated so
10:23
that is so that can be ha palpable I'm
10:26
not gonna try and say that okay so
10:31
that's that's quite kind of
10:36
economically sustainable some extent
10:39
that's kind of environmentally
10:40
sustainable as well because yeah if you
10:44
don't have to buy a whole new bike each
10:45
time you can kind of buy a little bit
10:47
but it's kind of singing to my tune so
10:53
where do you want to take of the
10:55
business from here because you're
10:56
obviously you're bringing it all
10:57
in-house are you wanting to stay small
10:59
and cottage like and still have time to
11:01
ride your bike or do you want world
11:04
domination quite tempted by the world
11:09
domination because to be quite honest
11:13
it's always been the intention for this
11:16
to be it's always been the intention for
11:19
this to be a big company I want to be a
11:21
big company I want it to be yeah I want
11:26
I want to compete with the likes of
11:28
specialized track cube things like that
11:31
but I want to bring a totally new angle
11:33
on it all yeah I want it to be like we
11:40
say so like you just said there it's not
11:41
sustainable like they're buying
11:43
thousands of a product and then having
11:45
to change the color every year so all
11:48
over stock off super cheap which
11:51
devalues everything that people have
11:53
previously bought you know and it just
11:55
keeps rolling like that rolling like
11:57
that and I don't I think I think my
12:01
intention is for this to be a change in
12:04
the industry my intention is for this to
12:06
be a new way of ordering buying riding
12:11
interacting with bikes that's the aim
12:15
and what is my infinite so I intend to
12:18
be in five years time picking a farm and
12:22
all of this to be round from the farm
12:24
and for there to be like what would be
12:27
what would have been cattle sheds full
12:29
of CNC machines and what would have been
12:31
cow sheds full of people welding a bike
12:35
shop on site on the farm well they'll be
12:41
chickens in between the sheds my wife my
12:43
wife want my wife wants us more holding
12:45
as well so it's high and
12:47
it'll also be a reason for families to
12:49
come so we'll have pump trucks and we'll
12:52
have camping pods and we'll have trails
12:54
running all the way through but as they
12:55
already exist all the way through
12:57
different parts of the White Peak you
12:59
know and you better come see how the
13:01
bikes are made just try them out go out
13:04
on a demo ride you know stay for the
13:06
weekend you know what I mean it sounds
13:08
like Senza parks but good obviously that
13:15
coupled with all the different
13:16
interchangeability of your products you
13:19
should I want it to be a big company but
13:22
I also want it to be really economically
13:28
sound in terms of its values if you know
13:32
what I mean like a so like you say so
13:35
it's not just constant year to model
13:38
turnover constant waste all the time you
13:41
know so that we're making toward err
13:43
we're not sucking loads of stock we're
13:44
not we're painting to order you know and
13:47
it's not that there are model changes
13:49
constantly to try and drive revenue you
13:52
know because of currency dramas and
13:56
everything else yeah I'm not explaining
13:58
how probably not explaining myself that
14:00
well but principally that's my intention
14:02
well I like the sound of this brave new
14:05
world so let's let's go and have a look
14:08
at the bike and get it built and and
14:12
then I'll be able to ride it because
14:13
it'll have to be a good bike so so how
14:16
this this brave new world when it let's
14:19
see if it stacks up okay I'm not gonna
14:24
try and say that albany hobble on your
14:31
hopper pub or bike yes yeah which page
14:39
[Laughter]
#Sports