New Carbon Wheel Company

[simonds08]

Hey guys, with cyclocross season approaching, I thought some of you may be interested in this new wheel company.

http://www.cadencecycles.com

 

[frameforum]

When will the website be finished? It looks like a junior school end-of-term project right now.

Are Cadence buying directly from Taiwan or have they tagged on to the end of a bigger order being placed by another importer?

 

[RDV4ROUBAIX]

Well, looks like I don't have to worry about these guys setting the bar any higher. My friend's 8 year old could have designed a better website. You can teach a monkey how to OEM wheels, least they could do is up the ante in the marketing dept.

 

[RDV4ROUBAIX]

I'd have to agree with frameforum, you've got a serious image problem. I understand the premise behind what you're doing, but image trumps everything. Something to seriously consider, otherwise you'll get lost in a very large sea of OEM.

 

[simonds08]

For full disclosure sake, I am one of the guys behind the company. To answer some of your questions, the wheels are sourced from Taiwan, and we have a relationship with the manufacturer, so its not an eBay buy and regret type thing. Customer service is priority and we want to work with our consumers to fit their needs.

I am not trying to spam here, just wanted to get the word out. I appreciate your criticism on the website. I took a look at yours, and it looks really professional. As a web designer/website owner, what specifically do you think needs improvement on my part? Certainly pictures need to be added, what else would you like to see?

Thanks for your help,

Steve Simonds

P.S. if you want to keep this off the board, anyone can contact me directly at stephen@cadencecycles.com

 

[RDV4ROUBAIX]

As a web designer/website owner, what specifically d you think needs improvement on my part? Certainly pictures need to be added, what else would you like to see?

Are you sure that you're a designer? There's almost no design element to your site, no personality, no continuity in your main logo, boring fonts, no color, horrible gallery, etc. etc. Sorry to say, it looks utterly hurried. I would suggest to take a look at your competitors and come up with something else, not suggesting gimmickry, just more substance.

And since you're not truly a wheel builder, you really need to separate yourself from the dirty dozen OEMs that are doing exactly the same thing. Like I said before, you'll get lost in a sea of OEM unless you do something different. Best suggestion would be to read some marketing books on how to create a brand.

Good luck.

 

[simonds08]

I didn't claim to be a designer, I was referring to frameforums post.

 

[RDV4ROUBAIX]

Yeah, I realize that now. Budgets are tough these days, but your web site is the most important marketing aspect to doing biz. It's the one thing that shouldn't be done half-assed.

 

[runninboy]

Yeah, I realize that now. Budgets are tough these days, but your web site is the most important marketing aspect to doing biz. It's the one thing that shouldn't be done half-assed.

agreed. Right or wrong, the quality of your product will be partially judged by the appearance of your website.
As far as marketing goes, you can also get some decent mileage by providing a small team with wheels. I would look into giving some wheels to junior teams in different markets. First, they are happy to get a freebie, so u wont have to cough up money, just a little product. Second it will give u some exposure and if your product is good you can be sure those juniors will tweet about it., then people who want to be a little unique might buy some. If nothing else older riders enjoy the "conversation factor" of having something no one else has. Lastly people appreciate the fact that someone is supporting the juniors so if nothing else you should get alittle business just out of sheer goodwill & appreciation.
Good luck

 

[simonds08]

Thanks for all of the help guys, it gives me some good starting points to work on. If any of you are in the NY/Tri-State area, I have a couple of demo wheelsets you are welcome to try.

 

[nightfend]

Seriously, hire an ad agency or at least a web designer (and not a teenager or family friend). Trying to do your own brand image almost always turns out badly. It's like the criminal that goes to court and tries to be his own lawyer. It never works out well for the defendant.

In my opinion your wheels look okay, but they basically have a similar build and weight to many other Tawainese manufactured wheels out there. The 50mm extrusion is a dead give-away. It's basically the same rim that companies like Williams and Neuvation use on their carbon tubulars.

 

[Daniel Benson]

Leave the personal insults out please.

Daniel