Super bummed to hear this — my Nature Boy 853 remains my favorite bike I’ve ever ridden.
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Makes me want to pick up a few of the closeout frames at a lbs.
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Well, that’s just sad. I have watched and admired the brand for years. The style & colors they used were often unique and something with more flare than some other stuff in that genre. I just happened to buy their ti gravel bike frameset and am half way through the build.
Seems they couldn’t rebound after the boom and get their feet on the ground. I am skimming some of the current bikes still available and may snag one more for the collection to grab some limited edition steel.
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Yeah, agreed — they’ve made some really cool bikes over the years and they were always eye-catching. I’d love to get my hands on another one, maybe one of the current Nature Crosses and convert it to geared as I love the color combo on it.
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I think it was a matter of economics, and maybe a lack of differentiation from their sister brands, specifically Surly.
Here’s a recent news release from QBP, their corporate parent about downsizing their staff:
https://www.qbp.com/news/quality-bicycle-products-reduces-workforce-to-stay-agile-against-industry-surplus
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Dang. Back when I was in grad school I really wanted to get the purple Nature Boy but it was a little out of my budget at the time:
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Checking QBP, it seems most the current stock is on sale, which is seemingly the “old” gear. They are pretty low on frameset stock, but there are quite a few complete models in many sizes available.
Mentions of new 2024 release is interesting so I wonder if we will see new colorways only, some new/different specs or some combo? Will be interesting to see pricing on any new stuff and whether it sells much initially.
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My sense would be that there’s a niche they definitely fill, so maybe the new stuff gets snapped up quick? But if demand is soft overall it’s hard to say.
I’m wondering if this means we see more nice steel Salsas…that would be cool too I guess.
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Yeah, not sure if them sticking with Salsa & Surly means some of the A-C ideas will migrate or not. I could almost see something like a steel Stormchaser (instead of the current aluminum) or maybe step down to the entry level gravel stuff. But there is still a need to differentiate from Surly in ways as well to prevent overlap.
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Just in case you’re not already aware, Jeff Frane, the long-time product manager of All-City left QBP a few years ago. Now he’s starting his own brand, Wilde Bikes. Seems like a lot of the original spirit that was part of AC is now being funneled into his new venture.
I’ve been saving my pennies, but wanted to give them a close look as I get closer to my next bike purchase.
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Good shout. I did some research recently and found that along with two great interviews (covering some common ground) but well worth the time for anyone interested in the A-C or Wilde story. Jeff seems like an interesting guy and I really like his ideas on geometry for gravel in particular (hence why I ended up with the Cosmic Stallion Ti 
).
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Yeah, Jeff was super cool to me when I worked at Q for a couple years while he was running AC, and I was sad to see him leave the brand. It felt (imho) like they lost their way/vision/swagger a bit after he left.
A neighbor of mine has a steel Wilde Earthship and he really, really likes it! He was riding a carbon Warbird previously, but I haven’t asked how he’d compare them.
Edit: sp
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I’d been considering mentioning Wilde in one of these ‘best gravel bikes’ threads, but hesitated to do so becuase lordy, the last thing we need is more choices to make.
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Nah, well worth the mention IMO. Most important because they have some geometry options that are rather rare. My personal gripe about MTB-Inspired gravel is well countered with the A-C & Wilde offerings due to Jeff specifically. Keeping more Road-like options available is something I value and currently fear for the loss in the future.
I think keeping these types of bikes in the minds of shoppers is well worth it, so they know there is more than just drop bar MTB’s to choose from out there.
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I don’t know Jeff personally, but he gives off very strong ‘bike lover’s bike guy’ vibes.
On his Instagram channel, you’ll hear him talk glowingly about 90s Bridgestone MTBs and Tom Ritchey. He also refurbishes a lot of bikes he comes across and puts them up for sale.
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The paint on the Wildes I’ve seen in person has been, well, wild haha. They definitely carried that forward from AC.
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Such a bummer, All City always seemed to have what everyone else didn’t. I remember the Gorilla Monsoon coming out and thinking “what in the world is this!!” and now ATBs are everywhere.
My Cosmic Stallion is one of few bikes I can’t imagine selling.
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