Now that I have your attention, let’s talk Ice Cream Truck. Yep, that bad boy is in the house. We began shipping Ice Cream Truck Ops (4”) last week. It’s in open stock and ready for your dealer to order if they don’t already have it. Which they should. The Ice Cream Truck (5”) in sparkly jacques frost bleu is arriving at Port Surly as you read this. It will soon be available for your giggly, trail-shredding, curb-stomping, bar-cruising pleasure.
Now, keep in mind that we sell bikes in many places around the world. Some of those spots got their deliveries of Ice Cream Truck before we did. We, uh, sorta planned it that way. Anyway, you should be aware that folks all over the Internetosphere may already be riding these lovely new machines while posting pictures of their exploits. Never fear, your ship … err, truck … has come in as well. Go bug your local bike shop to get some.
As the fortune cookie once read: “Learn Chinese Banana”
Now, let’s chat just a moment about rubber. Get to the meat of the issue. I’m talking tires. Surly tires. I originally titled this essay “Where the Rubber Meats Erode.” But my editor struck that. Unimaginative dolt.
We lowered tire prices back in July. Because we could. We’ve been in this fat bike biz a while. We’ve paid off some tooling costs. We order smarter. Our supplier opened a second factory. Cliff Notes version: Our costs went down, so we lowered prices. Oh, the scandal!
I heard tale that maneuver sparked some to conjecture all manner of accusations. A few nefarious ones, even.
I relish yarns that spin Surly as some profit-grabbing machine. My favorite part of this scenario is ego-driven. I mean, complete strangers want to accuse us of being awake and aware enough to orchestrate elaborate price-gouging schemes? That’s rich.
Personally, I do well to keep up with the Post-It notes I use to record my new passwords.
I like to humbly remind folks that Surly did a lot to innovate and drive this fat bike thing. While many were laughing at us we were tackling the realities of creating the stuff that made it possible – tire machines, molds, and all the investment that goes along with it. That takes a little cash. Isn’t it refreshing that things often cost what they need to cost? At Surly, we strive to make sure that is always the case. Capisce?
Call me crazy, but I’m thrilled when we can pass along cost savings in the form of lower prices. I hope you all like that, too.
Someone is calling me to bed now. Gotta go. Talk again soon!
Hugs,
Fleck
Surly Besenmeister & Macrame Instructor