Now on to the final word on this carbon fiber crushed rock roller. Now it has a toe in the high-end market and the chance to show that itscapable of making quality stuff. Not just kooks either. For the hardtail mountain bike, thats a $2,000 frame, $2,400 GX Eagle build, $3,500 X01 build (which comes without a dropper), or a $6,000 XX1 option. Could always ride it and return it! Pinterest. All the frames are carbon fiber, and the gravel and road models fit solidly within current design trends that prize features like disc brakes and clearance for wider tires. 39w. The tires were Schwalbe Lugano which sell around $10 each. I'll bet. this will fail big time not just a little. For the last update and a link to the introductions, Click Here. We tested the brand's top-end M.1 Mountain Bike for 6 weeks to gain an. Andy T fitted the ShockStop stem and immediately felt the benefits. But if Viathon is going to have any real impact, its the next set of new bikes that will matter most. Thats a fine goal, but lets not kid ourselves: $2,300 is both a lot of money and also not appreciably cheaper than the pricing offered by a number of other brands. It uses four R12 bearings and everything is held together by the crank's 19mm spindle. But the bikes are neither crap nor cheap. Schedule a free call. Considering the Walmart shopper and what bike theyre on now, the answer is probably yes. Plus, Viathons graphics are a little bland, in my opinion, the pricing isnt so aggressive that its clearly better than bikes from established brands like Canyon or Giant (or Remot, for that matter), and the product marketing so far feels spare to the point that its pro forma. Ive already gotten questions for people internationally. If they somehow get interested in riding they will take what Wmart has to offer, and if they have a lot of money and want the "best", Wmart is now there for them. That wont set it apart in a highly competitive market or bring high-end tech to a new market of people. Andy T described the handling as stock as being razor sharp, so from that standpoint, riders looking for a more road racing leaning gravel bike should be satisfied with the G1. Por - 10 junio 2022. as all the other big brands. The difference is being wholly owned by US hypermarket chain Walmart. bikeit! The average person is a Walmart shopper, he says. The brake were the same Tektro brakes on a 2300 or Sora bike. The R.1 is a true road racing bike, the G.1 is for gravel and the M.1 hardtail is for cross-country riding. Viathon riders, like every other bike customer, will need service. Of course they will be. Shoppers will have four build choices per model. But don't count the traditional players out yet, on either the supply or retail ends of the supply chain. Bikes come equipped with well-recognized components such as SRAM, Zipp, and Stans' No Tubes, on a good/better/best three-point pricing structure, with all models starting below $2500. I wanted to make bikes that I would want to ride, says Spinhirne-Martin. That's a lot to love. Don't need. I will also say again that for the extra money, a RedShift ShockStop stem cures that front end issue. Time for competition to drive down the absurd prices on bikes. "Of course, there was some backlash with the Walmart connection,'' said Mark Jordan, whose CrankTank marketing group staged the Viathon launch and was quoted in Yobbi's original article. And its partnering with shops, mobile shops, and more, as well as creating an online fit calculator. Two Walmart heirs, Tom and Steuart Walton, are themselves highly enthusiastic riders who have invested in cycling companieslike Allied Cycle Works and Rapha, and they directed the trailbuilding grants that have helped transformWalmarts home base of Bentonville, Arkansas, into a world-class mountain-bikingdestination. But Im a little mystified that the mountain bike is a cross-country hardtail 29er, a style of bike thats pretty out of fashion at the moment. There's this scales of economy thing you should look into: Compare top end to top end, yeah you can get a budget moto for less than an s works, but that is simply because motos prices increase at a much more exponential rate. Hey Waltins: quit coming to aspen and stay in facking arkansas. The frames are customized for REI's product line and highly durable. We don't need a review. Shit, I'd probably buy one to beat up/lend out. Who am I kidding. Viathon equips the M.1 with two clever features that challenge the common definition of an elite cross-country bike. Um that copper color scheme on the pre-order bikes is also quite loveleh. Pretty sad that a brand new YZ250 cost thousands less than some of the bikes I come across in the wild. Although from a bike industry perspective, the geometry is a few years outdated even for a hardtail. It's like the lineup are marketed just like any other Walmart products, and the bike prices don't make sense. But it is building out a platform not just with more and better bikes, but with video and editorial support. But there aren't enough spec details to tell what we're looking at. Viathon M.1 GX Eagle Mountain Bike Review | SRAM GX EagleI was amazed how light this bike was and how well it climbed!Viathon was kind enough to send me over. ruston city court hours; conventional tillage advantages and disadvantages; texas express lane payment; i can t pass the praxis core writing No mention of gearing. Get 40% off Select Items ViathonBicycles.com w/ Coupon (Activate). Its also important to note whats not in the current lineup: womens bikes, utility bikes, and e-bikes. Shop our Buy Direct collection for a new ride they'll love! Its almost impossible for Walmart to develop premium offerings with the Walmart name, which is synonymous with keen pricing and out-of-favour out-of-town malls. viAtHOntM is a systemic product. Having 29 wheels means that you need less fork travel, leading to a reduction of the pedal bob effect. Maybe. its true, For everyone else. But Ive never seen the numbers. And every single article, including this one, focuses on the Walmart ownership. @roma258: The development and progress is exciting but the concern is that the bike industry is nothing but development and process - all icing no cake. 'Box-store bike' takes on a whole new meaning as Walmart launches Viathonn, a private high-end cycling brand. Which raises the question who is the brand aiming to reach? As much as I agree with the general sentiment, there are some other factors that tend to get overlooked in this comparison: Wal-Mart has these pretzel bites with beer cheese for like $2 bucks, pretty freakin awesome after a ride. Viathon Bicycles announced today it will sponsor the Caffeine and Watts Club. The big-box retailer is trying to cater to cycling enthusiasts with a line of three new carbon rides. But Walmart. And while low, Viathon pricing was at parity with any number of other name-brand carbon models, including Trek, Specialized, Cannondale and Canyon. A year later, the bikes closed out for about $1,000 apiece, and I read at the time on various online consumer groups that sharp-eyed cyclists were snapping them up as preassembled build kits and flogging the framesets online for maybe a hundred bucks a copy. The impetus for Viathon didnt come from Tom and Steuart Walton, avid riders, Walmart heirs responsible for the trail network in Bentonville, Ark., and investors in Rapha and Allied Cycle Works. @roma258: It's a catch 22. The frame costs just the same as a TCR frame, without the TCR reputation. Browse our range of in stock and ready to ship road, gravel, mountain, hybrid and electric bikes. a buddy of mine, bought the g1 gravel bike to keep at his lakehouse (insert dentist joke, he's actually a cpa). Makes me think of the Walmart gaming pcs released a while back, which were so bad reviewers raised concerns about their safety, despite the presence name brand components. Meanwhile, the Waltons have put Millions? Or on the other hand, that lower price may be just the ticket to smooth out the ride. Since 1994 these are the words that continue to resonate within us. The SRAM components and Zipp cockpit pieces are quality bits that should last the rider quite some time. Thats a call youll have to make. The point is, a Viathon purchase does not include some intangibles that are benefits of buying in a traditional model. Its not the products: a three-frame range of MTBs, and gravel and road bikes. It's been just about four months since a line of consumer-direct carbon road, gravel and mountain bikes premiered from a new brand called Viathon, emerging out of the bright Sea Otter sunshine like the goddess Athena springing full-formed from the forehead of Zeus. Needs another $ 1,000 price drop still. In that sense, Viathon hit the nail on the head.. Good. Vitus Bikes offer an award winning range of Mountain Bikes, Road Bikes, Ebikes and more. Seems like an easy decision there. And cost of owenership for the V10 is probably about the same as for a 450. jim preston mchenry, il obituary. @alex There are better bikes in regard to front end compliance than the Viathon. All this went down in April and May of this year. Will these bikes be sold in a box and assembled by the owner? (if they care about value, they'll go YT or Canyon, etc.). Prices of big brand quality mountain bikes jumped the shark years ago. Sign up today. At least 30-50% of surfers at my local breaks are on $200 Wavesorms and other "foamies" from Costco and the like. Outside's long reads email newsletter features our strongest writing, most ambitious reporting, and award-winning storytelling about the outdoors. It is aimed squarely at millennials and digital natives. In an interview last week at Sea Otter, a bicycling industry gathering in Monterey, Calif. I came to Walmart to grow the bike industry. Probably trying to compete with REI. Dollar-for-dollar there are other carbon-framed high-end bikes out there that undercut the Viathon offerings. Have your questions answered, get a virtual tour of our showroom, collect measurements, or talk about financing options. It's very hard to make it and also find decent paying work. All models are available exclusively at Walmart in-store and online. Viathon made a big splash when it announced its presence to the bicycle world back in April, leveraging the cost-efficiency muscle of its parent company, Walmart, into a line of carbon bikes that . It's not the frames: they aren't open-mould no-names, all three shapes were CAD designed by the legendary Kevin Quan Studios of Toronto, Canada. In road bikes, the R.1 comes as a frameset ($2,000), as well as in three complete bike options, all with Shimano groupsets - 105 ($2,300), Ultegra ($3,575) and Dura-Ace ($5,850), each equipped with disc brakes. No dropper on the GX spec? It doesnt have to adapt to the future, it is the future. @jason-99: With that logic, give everyone nukes. The wheels were Shimano RS100 or whatever is the wheelset that sells for about $100. Equipped with a SRAM XO1 Eagle drivetrain that shifts seamlessly, Stans 29 carbon wheels, and an FSA K-force carbon handlebar, this thing was designed to climb. Now, if Viathon frames were suddenly produced in the USA my American hands, with progressive geometry and class leading weights, that might be a different story - but a Taiwanese sourced frame that is pretty much identical to a Hong Fu or Workswell or whatever isn't really a selling point, especially when it costs a few grand. The finishing kit and drive train on the G1 option of the Viathon gravel bike is decent and should be seen as a good value. They seem to offer a solid value for a full carbon bike. what happened to viathon bikes There may be a slightly lower initial cost but damn, these are gonna have terrible resale value. I spoke with him at the recent Outerbike expo in Idaho, the second public outing for the brand. The Waltons own Moosejaw. Discussion of everything bicycle related. Giant Stance, pretty close to fitting this bill at 2k! They also have controlling interests in Rapha and Allied Cycles. See how long we last Shimano Consolidates Entry- to Mid-Level Groupsets With New CUES Drivetrains, Opinion: Five Things The Bike Industry Could Do Better, Throwback Thursday: A Brief History of Direct Mount Derailleurs, Buying a Bike From a Shop Versus Buying Online, DH Bike Review: Canfield's Jedi Masters Rough Terrain, Review: Mythos 3D-Printed Titanium Stem is My Kind of Excess, DH Bike Review: Orange 279 - A Staple of British Downhill Racing, www.singletracks.com/blog/mtb-gear/first-ride-review-deciphering-the-viathon-m1-hardtail-mtb, www.outsideonline.com/2295486/single-track-minds, www.diycarbonbikes.com/collections/hardtailframes. Look for Viathon bikes online at ViathonBicycles.com in mid-May, and soon after at Walmart.com. Mountain bike companies (and all sporting goods, for that matter) shoot themselves in the foot by changing their product every other year. Again- something we cannot make a call on. The bikes themselves, it was agreed, were competently designed and engineered, and marketed by respected industry professionals with big-brand credentials. Viathon is a new direct-to-consumer bike brand owned by Walmart that launched this week with a line of carbon bikes that sell between $2,300 and $6,000. We were not paid, nor bribed for this review. But when people saw these bikes here, it was like, 'Hey, these are real bikes! They were puzzled by it, because the market for a pure XC race bike is pretty small compared to more general modern geometry hardtails that are built for "fun.". This may have been mentioned already but Im not gonna read everything. Bike industry seems super healthy (at least outside looking in), coming from the moto world. The bike arrives 98 percent pre-assembled the customer has to tighten on pedals, install the front wheel, and attach the front face plate over the handlebar. By signing up for email newsletters, you agree to GearJunkie's, Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window). VIATHON M.1 MOUNTAIN BIKE PROMO VIDEO: M.1 | XX1 Eagleproduct description: One of the lightest, fastest mountain race machines that money can buy, the top-line M.1 delivers a SRAM XX1 Eagle drivetrain for race-proven, single-ring shifting performance. bicycles We could ship anywhere but Im concerned about customer service, because I dont have distributor partners globally. Wal-Mart shoppers are not going to spend 3-5 k for a bike! Walmart buying Rapha would be the latter. here is a whole range of styles with bikes for children all the way up through adults. The impetus for the brand was therefore personal, not corporate. Are bike shopsscary, elitist, and unwelcoming? ! 439mm size large w/ no XLactually dont care, but love an opportunity for a Zoolander quote!! Read Review. Walmart is the largest retailer for bikes in America by a good margin. Spesh's Fuse 27.5 comes to mind, costing ~$1200. If successful, Viathon can be rolled out widely, claimed Spinhirne-Martin. Y'all talk a big game about wanting more low-priced options but no one is out there actually buying them - I do P&A analysis for a bike distributors, I would know. They tasked a few well known bike designers with creating a new brand. Viathon has chosen a RockShox SID RLC with 120mm of travel. I'm honestly surprised by how many people don't realize the Walton family is already waist deep in the cycling industry. You can buy the same frames on aliexpress for under $300, or if you're more risk-adverse you can buy them through this guy: Perhaps we'll see a revolution that surfing seems to be having. The bikes look fine. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. Walmart will sell bikes under this brand soon with price tags up to $6,000. You could get a 450 for the same as a well optioned V10. They have dumped millions into cycling in AK, even helping to fund the Arkansas High Country Route. This is not meant to be in support or against Viathon or Walmart, but there's a few things people here are missing. REI bikes are made by the largest manufacturer in the industry, Giant. yup. If successful, Viathon can be rolled out widely, claimed Spinhirne-Martin.With the backing of Walmart, we can scale very quickly., Im focusing on the US right now. I'd like to know how it rides, how well it's assembled, quality of the frame, etc. We got bills to pay and we work our asses off for you ya jergoffs. By July, barely 90 days from its glitzy premiere, Viathon had announced via direct mail and on its website that it was dropping prices on all models by as much as $1,000 per bike, to as low as $1,998. Im guessing thatwithout the connection to the largest retailer in the world, Viathon wouldnt be getting nearly this level of attention. The simple answer is: because it can. reviewed it. Press J to jump to the feed. He doesnt have a marketing team: he outsources that to Idaho-based Cranktank, the PR and marketing outfit led by Adrian Montgomery, ex of Scott, and Scott Montgomery, ex of both Cannondale and Scott and who is also the current president of Reynolds Cycling. And that right there is the problem with any form of cycling, "my bike is better than yours" bullshit mantra. And the bikes look good! Certainly Viathon's not to that point yet, but time will tell. As technical editor Dan Cavallari pointed out in our sister publication VeloNews, "Viathon ticks almost all the high-end boxes for a bike with a lower pricepoint. Your email address will not be published. When everyones selling a $3,500-ish Shimano Ultegra disc-equipped carbon gravel bike with an oversize headtube, asymmetric rear triangle, and scads of tire clearance, its a little hard to stand apart from the crowdeven when there are real differences. Sold exclusively through Wiggle and Chain Reaction Cycles. Viathon Bikes - Walmart.com. I'm a kiter, and that industry is even worse. MTB, Black 648 3+ day shipping Best seller $91.14 16" Marvel Spider-Man Bike for Boys' by Huffy 435 The shifters and RD were DA and that was it. Katie Compton. You cannot buy a Viathon bike from one of Walmarts 4000 plus US stores (or from Asda supermarkets in the UK). Kev has 43,000 subscribers. Like Remot, Viathon debuts with three offerings: one frame each in road, gravel, and mountain, with three levels of build kit. Whether as an agile bike for everyday rides, a robust partner for city and countryside or as sports equipment for touring and off-road action, the MTB guarantees lots of riding fun. GearJunkie Copyright 2013 2023. Wed like to see fork mounts for extra water bottles, for instance. Why would pile-em-high-sell-em-cheap Walmart be interested in such a high-end part of the bicycle market when the market-dominating retailer is already Americas biggest seller of keenly priced bicycles? They want tech, they want new features, they want new stuff. price sold by type electric assist +. And no im not interested in your bicycle either. Despite this pedigree, Tom and Steuart Walton had no hand in launching Viathon. Some of that is a function of the homogeneity of the modern bike-enthusiast business. The brand is starting with three models: the R1 road bike, the G1 gravel bike, and the M1 hardtail mountain bike. Very glad for your fair judgement and perspective. Trail systems even in coastal areas are getting so well-built (and relatively easy due to limited elevation, at least on the US east coast) that a lot of people can easily get into the sport if they have a bike. bicycles As a straight-up road bike, wed have no issues with the Viathon G1. So we have the greatest potential to reach a larger subset of the American population than any bike shop, or any other brand, he claims. refresh results with search filters open search menu. I'm cheering for you walmart!!! bike For less. The Bike Forum. Schedule a one-on-one call today! Walmart.com, of course, is an internet behemoth with hundreds of millions of visitor sessions each month with peak holiday traffic topping half a billion, according to analyses by industry research firms SimilarWeb and Statista. @MDZ Thanks for checking out Riding Gravel and for that feedback. I would love to see good reviews on them, but KevCentral's just don't cut it for me for actual riding. (The Walmart connection can be found only on the sites copyright line.) Does REI make their own bikes? When flexing the wheels on hard pedaling, I get some rubbing which viathon attributed to spokes being out of tension, but the clearance is ridiculously minimal. And its not as though it was even that expensive to create, at least not in Walmart terms. Crickets. $2000 is still steep for an entry level hardtail, especially without at 27.5+ option. That makes sense. The value from Viathon is good- not a spectacular deal but decent. Certainly, there are many Walmart shoppers among us, though likely few who have bought a bike there. That's a common argument in PB comments and everyone blows up saying you can't actually get a good mx bike for that price so why did I see one like you mentioned for 6k at my dealership? There are a lot of reasons why our bikes are so expensive first thought, offerings in multiple sizes. Now on to the final word on this carbon fiber crushed rock roller. Little info you may want to know about the Waltons. Its exploding right now because people are afraid of riding in traffic. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts, http://www.walmart.com/cp/viathon-bikes/8471299, https://www.viathonbicycles.com/products/road-bike-r1-105. But like you say: prices and perceptions of value vary. Unlike, say, the car industry, its relatively cheap to launch into the world of making bicycles, even bespoke framed ones. If it's the latter, I hear the bikes will be spec'd with negative-51mm offset forks Another thing to note is high-end mountain bikes is still a tiny market when compared to motorcycles/cars/etc. Or assembled in store by Walmart employees???? They also have their own brands, among which there's their B-Twin brand of bikes and bike accessories brand. They are currently in a process of rebranding it because they realized it's forever associated in people's minds with entry level or even below entry-level (BSO) bikes. The brand is starting with three models: the R1 road bike, the G1 gravel bike, and the M1 29er MTB. If nothing else, we've been surviving in this business for decades and we know the "easiest way to make a small fortune" in it a lesson which even the best-heeled outsiders have yet to learn. Viathon bikes are not yet available, but appear set to retail through a direct to consumer model, rather than stocked in Walmart stores. Good, we need more of this competition. It just so happened that I have one of these stems to spare so that Andy T could check it out on the Viathon G1 to see if that might tame the harshness of the massive carbon front fork. Viathons G.1 gravel bike requires the same build. However, 29 wheels will make your bike react slower to obstacles you may encounter. Its to do with the fact that you can get 200kg of world rounding desert crossing Yamaha Tenere T7 2019 for less than a lot of mtbs now. Yeah I'm in Australia and I know this, along with they do a bit for some mtb community's and trails. The new G.1 is their top-tier carbon gravel bike, with a loaded spec including Zipp cockpit, Fizik saddle, HED wheels, and SRAM Red electronic shifting. Years ago a friend of mine bought a carbon fiber Dura Ace bike. Note: Viathon sent over the Rival 1 G1 bicycle for test and review at no charge to Riding Gravel. They knew about it prior to launch only because I happened to meet Steuart in our office in January so I was able to show him a couple of pictures. Then theres the idiots who think they can get 1500 for their POS 1988 cr125. For the last update and a link to the introductions, Click Here. All Viathon bikes come with a 2-year warranty. Right? The Viathon M.1 GX Eagle Carbon Mountain Bike is a mountain bike with a versatile design for better performance anywhere on the trails. But Viathon's G.1 GRX 800 is light, fast, and sporty, and costs much less than its competitors. Viathon is a new direct-to-consumer bike brand owned by Walmart that launched this week with a line of carbon bikes that sell between $2,300 and $6,000. At least i know enough to tip my waitress. c'mon. Apt analogy. We highly recommend retaining the original shipping box & protective packaging for future use. 207 bikes I'm seeing an unbranded power meter, but no mention of it. Will people buy them? And failing. Bike MSRP vs. what people actually pay is a whole nother conversation. I just pay the numbers. I think it's time for a Field Test review on this bike to dispel or confirm all the controversy. They travel by private jet, stay in luxury hotelshave huge parties And never tip anybody anything EVER. Bikes cost more than motos, makes no sense at all. And just like any other reality, outsiders ignore ours at their peril. Mountain bikes that rival the cost of motorcycles, silly parts that cost $30 for a $5 part, extremely expensive tools (because Park Tools is worse than Snap-On), etc. Walmart hopes its own expensive bike will be proof of concept to attract mainstream brands to that marketplace brands that previously opted out, like Evil and Niner, which are both sold at Walmart-owned Moosejaw.com. The gravel scene is important for that. So far, Viathon isnt saying much about what makes its bikes different, nor is it telling much of a brand story. Viathon Bicycles Promo Codes, Coupons & Deals for February 2023. Spinhirne-Martin says Walmart is launching with the hardtail to fill in holes in what they already offer on the Walmart.com marketplace. Browse. The Viathon website has more specs: https://www.viathonbicycles.com/products/road-bike-r1-105. The load is transmitted through four large bearings and a large 19mm chunk of steel. And other direct-to-consumer brands like Canyon have a big head start on Viathon in terms of reputation. And then you have a full Dura disc model for 5G. Just go to Bentonville, ride those trails, a lot of which is paid for w/ money from Wam-Lart, and I think you suddenly like the idea of their bikes a lot more. Complete builds start at $2,300, and top out at $3,500 for the gravel models and around $6,000 for the road and mountain bikes. Don't think too fast. Walmart takes their terrible gun selection out then adds this ballbuster. If in the next 6 months new bikes stopped selling and P&A upgrades shot through the rough, you bet your ass the industry would respond. Compare prices, components, suspension, reviews, images and more on current and past MTB's. You can even share reviews, comments and questions on mountain bikes. There are many many people for whom Wmart is their entire mass produced goods consumption experience. But Viathon is a Walmart corporatenot Waltonproject, intended to expand Walmarts current bike offerings to the specialty market. The multi-tier distribution model of sporting goods companies doesn't help either but it's a reality that's likely not going to change. WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT? If These guys could take a similar (or slightly better) spec and cut $200 off of it, and I'd bet it'd be a huge seller. Calling all PB keyboard warriors: to the watch forums! Or at least, hasn't happened yet. It's funny - as a surfer, I'm seeing a lot of people who typically spend mediocre wave days in the water scrapping for a lousy ride now turn towards mountain biking as their go-to activity when the waves are garbage. So how much cheaper are these complete builds? A 69.5-degree head angle and 73.6-degree seat tube angle are what many brands had a few years ago. Many people are the same, I guess the rebranding isn't for nothing. As mentioned, this is the lowest-cost complete bike in Viathon's G.1 range, but that doesn't mean the parts are low-cost. Cue the cheap-crap jokes. Viathon bikes. I want high-level quality customer service to begin with, and I can control that in the US.. Not a fan of Walmart. Brand manager Zack Spinhirne-Martin doesnt see it that way.