Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

•• -,./IIJlJ ., Continued from page 24 overcome, and in that respect, it was very helpful. The last piece is, there are a lot of people who respect you when you go through something difficult and then come out of it. Becoming Bike of the Year - which we were very grateful for, really, and still are grateful - put us up on a pedestal to be knocked off of. The good part is, when we did get knocked off, it allowed us to go back up on the pedestal again. It's like the- Rocky movies: We all love to see people get knocked down and come back again. It's part of the American persona and the American dream. We love to root for the underdog, and it gave us that back. In that respect, it was painful, but it was good for us." Cannondale entered a couple of National Motocross rounds last year, and some problems cropped up. Was it a good idea to do what amounted to testing in the public eye? J.M.: "I think it was a good idea. The fact of the matter is, you can't duplicate that environment - anywhere. You just have to be in it. You can't learn to play football, or be any good at it, unless you scrimmage. It's just part of the routine, and it has made us a lot better. Unfortunately, again, some of the press drew conclusions, but we can't respond to that. We just stay focused on what we know is the objective, and feel confident that we can get there. And we've seen a tremendous response here, with this second generation ... It's a great rebound of sorts." With the MX400, Cannondale broke a lot of new ground in the dirtbike market, with some of the technology that you incorporated into it. Do you think it was a case of biting off more than you could chew? J.M.: "I would do it the same way, [although] I wouldn't do it outside, with the consultants. I just read an article on the KTM, and one of the things they liked the most was the electric start. The guy said, 'You've got to be nuts not to buy an electricstart bike.' And there are other things. I'm absolutely glad with the way we did it." S.M.: "I think, if you're going to be a newcomer and you're going to lead in performance and technology, you're going to have no choice but to innovate." J .M.: "Form follows function· always." Tom Armstrong: "I think what we should have done is say, 'This bike will be out in three years.' I think a lot of what we've gone through - a lot of the growing pains - has been selfinflicted, because we were overly optimistic or na'ive - whatever word you want to use· about when we would be able to bring it to market. Then it started to snowball, because it was late, and then we would miss another deadline. It gets attached with that label of 'It's late.' And the reason it's late isn't because it's going well; it's because you're 'having problems.' You can call problems a normal part of the development, but the whole way it's perceived is based on when you said we would introduce it. It's self-inflicted, of course, but I think we did ourselves a disservice by being a bit optimistic." J.M.: "We should have waited a year, absolutely." How has Cannondale's entry in the motorcycle market been perceived by your bicycle customers? J.M.: "Very positive. We just had an experience where a [bicycle] dealer on the west coast has been after us for a motorcycle. We finally delivered it to him, and the guy just went bananas. He puts it on his floor, and puts it on his website. The [bicycle] dealer has a motorcycle on the floor, and it just draws like flypaper. Then the local motorcycle dealer has a bicycle." B.R.: "It's a carbon-fiber Raven 4000 with a Lefty fork - a full-zoot bike, and a lot of the older motorcycle guys that really haven't paid that much attention to bicycling go in there and say, 'Wow, I can have a comfortable bicycle these days. Where can I get one of these?' So it's really a nice situation." People don't feel like you're forsaking the bicycle market? J.M.: "Of course our competitors say that, but it's just not true. We're the ones that want to go to the bicycle shows with the newest thing, and we're two or three generations ahead of our competition in a lot of T·S Iris 100% High-Quality White Cotton in Men's Sizes Large-XL-XXL (Dano Not Included) All-Star G.e. respects." S.M.: "We made mistakes, but that was one of our great foresights. Most of our c:ompetitors took their good times to buy other [bicycle) companies, and we took our good times to invest in new areas, and stay good in bikes. The early returns make it look like this will still be a much better investment for our employees' and shareholders' long term than buying other bike companies. That creates a whole other nest of problems that isn't really advantageous. We're still really glad with the strategy, and the brand. That was something we did beautifully, I think." Well that ties in perfectly with my next question, which is also my last one: You're currently three years into the motorcycle project. Where do you see Cannondale's motorcycle effort three years from now? J.M.: "I think it will apprOXimately double the size of the company. I think we'll have a line in motorsports - in both two-wheel and four-wheel areas. We'll have a number of products there - all niche-oriented. We're in this business to stay. We're a player." eN '-- -...J Wreach $14.95 each, includes FREE Shipping within the U.s. (CA Residents add 7.25% Sales Tax) To Order, Use the eN Products Form in the back of this issue Or call 714-751-7433 (9arn - 5prn PST, M-F) Order Online at www.cyclenews.com cue I e n e _ S • APRIL 11,2001 81

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