Öhlins USA has transitioned to a distributor-only mannequin for its mountain bike division, partnering completely with Bicycle Applied sciences Inc. (BTI) and High quality Bicycle Merchandise (QBP).
If you happen to’re a store wrench or seller, meaning no extra direct orders from Öhlins. As a substitute, BTI and QBP will deal with all U.S. seller distribution, streamlining entry to Öhlins forks, shocks, service kits, and small elements.
“By working with BTI and QBP, we’re making certain that Öhlins merchandise are simpler than ever for sellers to entry,” stated Jake Thompson, MTB Supervisor at Öhlins USA. “Our workforce stays targeted on innovation and rider help whereas our companions deal with logistics with velocity and effectivity.”
Why It Issues
Offloading distribution to 2 of the largest names within the U.S. offers Öhlins extra bandwidth to refine the merchandise that riders obsess over: the buttery-smooth TTX Air, the ultra-precise RXF36, and the total vary of coil and air suspension techniques which have made their means onto every part from World Cup DH bikes to weekend path rigs.
What’s Altering
- Sellers will now place all Öhlins MTB orders by means of BTI or QBP.
- BTI and QBP will inventory the entire Öhlins catalog, together with forks, shocks, service kits, and instruments.
- Guarantee and repair will proceed by means of Öhlins’ present service-center community.
- BTI will add factory-level fork and shock repairs, whereas QBP expands its in-house suspension service.
- Finish prospects can now order by means of most native bike retailers, reducing lead instances and lowering prices.
For riders, this implies much less ready and extra using —a win for anybody who has ever been caught mid-season ready on a shock rebuild or alternative damper.
The Greater Image
The announcement comes at a time when Öhlins has been steadily increasing its mountain bike choices, mixing its motorsport pedigree with trail-ready refinement. It additionally comes shortly after it was introduced that Brembo bought Ohlins Racing, and refreshed their MTB growth targets. Whereas the discharge mentions nothing about Brembo MTB brakes being included, it appears probably that if the Brembo prototype brakes that they’ve been engaged on with the Specialised Gravity workforce ever materialize, they too might be supplied by means of this partnership.
This transfer permits them to deal with product growth and testing, fairly than managing warehouse operations.
Considerably, nothing modifications inside Öhlins USA’s Hendersonville, NC headquarters; the identical workers, service crew, and suspension wizards are nonetheless spinning knobs and pushing efficiency ahead.
“With new possession, new merchandise, and new distribution channels, the longer term for Öhlins mountain bike is stronger than ever,” Thompson added.
