2016 prices go into effect on Monday the 18th, and as previously announced, we're including (in some cases re-including) new options for this year. Mike was recently heard saying that "the only way we could keep our prices as low as they are, and keep quality and service as high as they are, is if we were a money laundering front for a meth ring." We may be prone to a bit of hyperbole on occasion, but he's not totally off base. The traditional route to gaining a bunch of exposure for our Nimbus Ti builds would have been to spend a lot of money on ads, sponsorships, "brand ambassadors," and other stuff that doesn't add any value to the people who matter - you, who might actually buy them. Instead, we put all of that and more into giving people a phenomenal deal, getting them out into the market, and getting people talking about them. As George W Bush so effectively taught us, "mission accomplished" can be a regrettable thing to say, so instead we will say "mission well under way" on that.
While I may have put you into full pucker mode with that, the 2016 pricing is still great in a noteworthy way. Bear in mind that Nimbus Ti hubs are every little bit the functional equivalent of their T11/CLD equivalents - there is no compromise other than aesthetics (can I admit here that I actually prefer the Nimbus look?). If you compare our spec, build quality, and service to anything out there, we're much more than comfortable with what you'll find.
Okay, enough of that, let's drop the robe...
Standard Builds (Nimbus Ti or Nimbus Ti CLD hub, black Laser/D-Light spoke mix, black brass nipples)
Rim Brake - Pacenti SL23 rim: $645
Disc Brake - Pacenti SL25 rim: $665
Open Builds (Nimbus Ti or Nimbus Ti CLD hub, black Laser/D-Light spoke mix, black brass nipples)
DT Swiss R460 (rim): $595
DT Swiss R460 (disc): $615
Stan's Grail (disc): $675
Stan's 340 (rim): $685
Ryde Pulse Comp (rim): $715
Ryde Pulse Comp (disc): $735
HED C2 (rim): $740
HED C2 (rim, tubular): $740
HED C2 (disc): $760
HED Belgium+ (rim): $780
HED Belgium+ (disc): $800
HED Belgium (disc, tubular): $800
All clincher builds come with tubeless tape installed. All rim brake builds come with skewers. Disc builds are available in all known axle formats. Tubeless valves are available as an option. All builds are available for Shimano/SRAM, Campagnolo, or XD driver formats.
All of the above will be available in custom builds, which give a greater range of hub and spoke options. Custom options start at $60 more than the Standard or Open build, and as ever, there's no "contact us for best price" BS going on here.
While we hope that people choose to buy from us for reasons other than, or at least in addition to price, we obviously realize that price is an important consideration. We may or may not be the lowest available price on any given option, but we know that each option is a great value, is built by hand with exceeding care, and backed by people who care more than you could possibly imagine about how good your experience with us is. We also respect you and you rmoney enough to create unusually equitable pricing, and to have a frank discussion about it.
9 comments
Not exactly, Peter. Our current least expensive Nimbus Ti build is with the DT R460, at $555. In 2016 that same build in the Nimbus Ti Open program is $595, a $40 increase. The Standard build now features (exclusively) the Pacenti SL23 at $645. In 2016 that build was $595, so a $50 increase there. So 7-8% increases from last year. In 2015, neither was a loss leader. That is, we didn't sell them at a loss in order to make up the margin on other stuff our customers bought. When you sell as few different products as we do, that's a hard strategy to pull off. We did deliberately price them low (read as, at small margins) in order to generate awareness of our Nimbus Ti hubs. We expected that lower margin alloys would balance out with carbons that generate a little more profit per wheelset. But our alloys positively exploded in 2015, comprising a higher percentage of sales than we had forecast. We need to take a little more profit on them to keep our profit per wheelset at a level that allows us to maintain the inventory levels needed to build and ship wheels as quickly as customers expect, and provide the rest of the service our customers seek. Despite our higher prices this year, our pricing philosophy is unchanged – take as little profit as we can in order to deliver the highest quality of product and service that we're able, and not take as much profit as we think we can get away with given the competitive and market landscape.
Standard rim break build is up $90. Not that there's anything wrong that (I assume it was a loss leader), but still a noticeable bump.
Nimbus Ti ….. Great wheel build and still a great buy at $30 more than what I purchased for last year! Nothing but high marks for this wheelset.
Hi Bear -Short term, just call on Monday. We're doing a whole "who should buy what" deal, but it's involved and going to take a bit of time, and the phone call is always more fun.Rico – Thanks again. Range final details coming soon – early February.