I love the phrase : “a liquidity-enhancing transaction” !
Reminds me of Cuba Gooding Jr…
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I’m sure this was already mentioned, but as the clouds continue to darken… I can’t help but envision a future where Wahoo files for chapter 11/12/? and ends up with Zwift as part or whole owner. Probably crazy and not practical since I have no idea in matters like this, but there’d be a certain irony to it with all that has happened around and between them.
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I wonder how much the Speedplay acquisition affected Wahoo’s overall financial situation? It probably also doesn’t help that the company was shipping heavy items like Kickrs back and forth to customers experiencing technical problems for free.
Speedplay alone probably wasn’t that bad, but all of the acquisitions together is a different story (Speedplay + Sufferfest + RGT).
Further thought on this: It’s not a bad idea to want to make a total ecosystem. It just requires a lot of cash, resources, and time. It probably wasn’t the best time coupled with past decisions to do such a thing. The past is past though.
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Don’t forget their watch. I’m sure they had to pump a bunch of money into getting that started.
i installed rgt today to give it another try. between all their roads there are fewer than 200 active users, doesn’t bode well, i think
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This is true but honestly this is one of the reasons I love Wahoo: they were always quick to warranty devices.
I probably warrantied 3-4 Tickrs and a pair of Powerlnk power meter pedals in the past 18 months. Along with several requests for free dispensable parts (washers, axle adapters, etc) for my V5 Kickr. I wish more companies did that but understand it comes at great expense.
We’ll likely never know (or at least not anytime soon) what impact the acquisitions had on their financials.
BUT…one thing to add into this would be the development cost of the new line of Speedplay pedals, especially the Powerlink pedals. They completely redesigned the core line and then also would have had to spend a LOT of money developing the power meter version. That could not have been cheap.
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That and RGT.
It looked very desperate from the outside as well…
I have a professional relationship with a guy who we pay to have an opinion on my company. This individual knows I am a cyclist and use Wahoo products as I had the TdF on behind me over the summer during a zoom call. Coincidentally, he also gets paid to have an opinion on Wahoo. I’ll see if I can get any shareable information.
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So, sounds like a new product coming out? BNKRPTCY
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The idea of combining Sufferfest and RGT to compete against Zwift is a good one. Wahoo seemed to miss the boat by not doing more to bring users over. Because ultimately, people are on zwift because everyone else is. Overcoming that will require a focused effort, and probably a loss leader way to attract them. LIke a better racing ecosystem, for free for some period of time, until a critical mass of users is attained. I’m not a sufferfest/RGT user but I sure want them to survive, because I think a strong competitor is needed to keep zwift from stagnating.
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Seems like people are always quick to praise wahoo customer service. What would really be great is if their products didn’t require contacting customer service. My computrainer for instance, was in use more than 10 years with no issue. It was still going strong, I just switched to a wahoo to get direct drive. I am on my second kickr core, and second climb. Both replaced under warranty. Plus countless HR straps. The only wahoo product I have that hasn’t failed is their fan, and despite being a long time speedplay user, I’m wary of trusting wahoo with all the issues reported with their version of speedplay pedals. IMO their customer service isn’t a plus, it’s the least they can do to deal with poor quality.
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Will have to agree to disagree. Tickr is definitely a polarizing product but I got my Powerlnk pedals replaced within a month of purchasing and haven’t had any issues since. All my other Wahoo products (Bolt v2, Headwind, Kickr) have been wonderful.
And Wahoo makes their warranty process extremely easy, which is not exactly the norm today.
There are certainly synergies between RGT (virtual riding) and SufferFest (training) combined with selling hometrainers. But yeah - the networking effect of Zwift is really hard to beat at this point.
I wonder how much of it was a defensive moved based on the risk of Zwift moving into the trainer space? In any case, I really struggle to see Wahoo take on Zwift in a major way right now.
Not to say that Zwift is invulnerable in the long run. Technically they are innovating pretty slowly, and I think they might be constrained by using a home grown graphics engine.
Is it Giant?, i was under the impression Merida made Specialised middle to top range frames to spec, as they hold a 40+% share in Specialized. I could be wrong though…
Also, if their products were reliable, it would help. I gave up on Tickrs. I was using them for both inside and outside rides, but after having multiple break or not work, I gave up on warrantying them and switched back to garmin. It also pushed me to buy the 1040 instead because I was kind of done with my Elemnt. I did buy a gen 1 kickr bike, so let’s hope they can support that.
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Sort of unrelated and at risk of jinxing myself the current Tickr I have has definitely lasted the longest and still going strong. The common issue I would experience is after months of use the HR reading would stagnate or drop. What I am doing differently is when I finish my workout I take the sensor off the chest strap and wipe it dry. Then I store them separately. My running theory is that corrosion, etc. has effected my previously Tickrs.
Should a HRM be robust to sweat and salt: sure. But whatever.
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I think the problem for Wahoo is it will take spending if they want to go up against Zwift. And they don’t have cash to spend. And if they can’t grow that portion of the business, its probably a cash burn instead of a cash generator for them.
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Absolutely 