Cove Foreplay MX review

[Ryan]

Check out the review (http://www.farkin.net/page.php?p=1c0961e8806e2e64c15f956efd62af08) on the Cove Foreplay MX (formerly the Stiffee SL). Discuss here and ask any questions you might have.

[corndogs suk]

Check out the review (http://www.farkin.net/page.php?p=1c0961e8806e2e64c15f956efd62af08) on the Cove Foreplay MX (formerly the Stiffee SL). Discuss here and ask any questions you might have.
hey i was wonderin if any 1 coung give me an aprrox. price of this bike

[S.]

I have a question - who fucked up the formatting so that the first pic sits over the text?

[Adi]

I am having the same problem, and here is what I see:

The text is being covered up by the big photo.

http://www.farkin.net/forums/album_thumbnail.php?pic_id=7527 (http://www.farkin.net/forums/album_pic.php?pic_id=7527)

Nice review though, :D! Good work.

[Ryan]

woops, I forget you plebs don't all have 21" monitors ;)

Fixed now, the pic is well thumbnailed...

[S.]

woops, I forget you plebs don't all have 21" monitors ;)

Fixed now, the pic is well thumbnailed...

I have a 270000000000000" monitor, but it's so big it goes all the way around the world and overlaps itself.

[shauno]

woops, I forget you plebs don't all have 21" monitors ;)

Fixed now, the pic is well thumbnailed...

I have a 270000000000000" monitor, but it's so big it goes all the way around the world and overlaps itself.
well thats not very big..... :roll:

[MrCove]

thanks for the review fellas. got my T off the Squid today too

sounds like you liked the Cove, anyone who is interested can, for a limited time, buy one direct from me and get a 20% saving over full retail

also i'm doing a 'frameset' option consisting of frame/fork/race face kit/hayes brakes and there is a complete bike option

i'm working on getting the price down so you guys can get them in your local bike shop and get on these beauties

[MrCove]

look what i found

http://cove.stiffee.com/modules/news/

'..... the best hardtail ever....'

[Bikenerd]

anyone who is interested can buy one direct from me and get a 20% saving over full retail

Personally I think that Cove's are sick and this is not a personal attack on MrCove or any sort of attack on Cove bikes but I just feel the need to point it out.
What is the point of even bothering to try and get Cove bikes into retail stores if every man and his dog can get them through MrCove over the net.
This is not the first time this situation has occured recently and I wonder if it won't create a less prosperous business situation as retailers are highly unlikely to even consider stocking cove. I mean, the number of potential outlets for cove bikes in Australia is huge. What's the point of creating a situation where MrCove is the only one selling the bikes. People are more likely to buy bikes they can physically see right? So how many people from everywhere except for the Blue Mountains are gonna decide against a cove just because of this reason.

Sorry, I don't mean to offend anyone, I don't care what the outcome is, I've just seen this happen before.

Comments anyone?

[MrCove]

very interesting comments
it's almost as if i've not being trying to get bike shops through out Australia over the past 10 months to get this product off the ground!!!! please do some research before posting something you know nothing about

as i said i'll sell some direct for a limited time, because i've got some stock, the origional plan was to not sell ANY direct and to go with dealer network all the way, this is still what i want to do BUT advertising, photographers, promotion, events, stock, bank charges, insurance, duties and taxes, demo bikes, etc don't come for free!!!

until there are bikes being riden out there on the trails no one is going to be trying them which means no one will be 'trying' one and then wanting one so if i have to sell some direct then that's how it'll have to be.

[wombat]

very interesting comments
it's almost as if i've not being trying to get bike shops through out Australia over the past 10 months to get this product off the ground!!!! please do some research before posting something you know nothing about

I didn't want to start this myself, but it seems it's already happened. I can definately see where Bikenerd is coming from (and I daresay he would know someting about it). I have done a little research, and while your advertised special is great for the consumer, aren't you shooting yourself in the foot a little by pretty much undercutting the LBSs?
It's nothing personal, I just know that this sort of setup puts the shops in a difficult position, as they are expected to stock a product and let it take up valuable floor space and time, but when it comes time to sell it they look like a ripoff artist because they can't compete with a price direct from the distributor.

[Bikenerd]

Like I said. I'm not saying that this is not the right thing to do. I'm also not saying that I know anything about the situation with cove distribution/costs/taxes etc. For the record, I still know absolutely nothing, never claimed to, never will. Neither am I questioning the integrity of intention or claiming that there is no reason for a decision to sell coves over the net.

To me what you are doing is fine. It's a free market afterall. I have absolutely no problems with it at all. After all is said and done, it delivers cheaper, better bikes to the punter.
All I'm doing is saying that to me, this is a situation I have seen before that has driven a wedge between a wholesaler and retailers to the point that it has left the wholesaler without a distribution network.

I'm not saying this will neccessarily happen with Cove or trying to make cove look bad

I probably shouldn't have said anything cause now it looks like an attack on cove or that cove has been made an example of.
Oh well.
Once again I'm sorry if anyone is offended.

on the other hand:
it's almost as if i've not being trying to get bike shops through out Australia over the past 10 months to get this product off the ground!!!! please do some research before posting something you know nothing about
Maybe you should have done more research in regards to importing a fucking awesome but relitively unknown (in Australia) boutique bike brand into a saturated market.

[MrCove]

to re-iterate what i said, there needs to be some products out there to get the brand noticed.
will dealers complain that i gave a frame away at the weekend at the Sydney24? or is it good for getting the product out there?

any direct sales i'll do are based on stock items and are purely down to promotion, i can't afford to just give them away!! obviously i can discount more than anyone as i'm the importer but belive me that dealers could offer 20% off too, even if it just to get the first few bikes out there.

[Bikenerd]

I agree completely. To get the stuff out there is the only way. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with promotion - hey, that's an integral part of marketing a brand. I fully support giving away a frame at the 24. Thats more than most people in Australia would do.

I obviously have no idea about what you've been doing and I don't claim to.
to reiterate:

All I'm doing is saying that to me, this is a situation I have seen before that has driven a wedge between a wholesaler and retailers to the point that it has left the wholesaler without a distribution network.

I'm just raising the topic for discussion

N.B.

I'm not saying this will neccessarily happen with Cove or trying to make cove look bad

I probably shouldn't have said anything cause now it looks like an attack on cove or that cove has been made an example of.

[MrCove]

glad we agree on something then
belive me that i really see the pit falls of the direct sale and do not in anyway want to offer sales based on the net
but
i've got to keep some sort of cashflow to pay the associated bills to keep the promotion going, Farkin reviewed a bike which is the best free promo you can get, especially as they loved it, but printed adverts and event 'stuff' costs cold hard cash, there is no way around it
dealer network is the only way forward for sure to get the awesome Cove products available to everyone, but as we have said, products need to be out there