jonny chat atmo -

[e-RICHIE]

i was surprised by the news. weird shit - and not right either atmo.

he did creative stuff, was enthusiastic about it, and a good virtual presence, and atmo
did everything right that a guy with not that much background could do and not ever have
a bad day in public. so many others have posted crap pictures, or made stupid material and
design choices, but jonny always was on the safe side of the aisle. plus - he never tried to
be the framebuilder he wasn't. he was just jonny, not jonny the next ben serotta, or the next
columbine, or ____ .

sadmo. i had him pegged as one of the few cats that would make it to the other side.

[rphetteplace]

really sad. Nice, nice guy. Built super cool stuff. Sad. :( Reading his blog he's going to work for Cronometro which is a top notch shop in Madison, in fact they are the only guys I trust to work on my bikes. Living in Wisconsin I've had the opportunity to see a lot of stuff that he's done. Really cool bikes imho. He has a very good eye for design. Jonny has always seemed a very quiet, humble man and I wish him and his family the best.

[EnginCycles]

Based on his writings i will stand behind my statement that people who do not own their building will be the first to suffer. Owning the building is both an investment and a great stabilization for the company.

It is a shame but from the sounds of it (again his words) he seems fine with the decision if not happy.

-Drew

[steve garro]

Based on his writings i will stand behind my statement that people who do not own their building will be the first to suffer. Owning the building is both an investment and a great stabilization for the company.

It is a shame but from the sounds of it (again his words) he seems fine with the decision if not happy.

-Drew

in total agreement with Drew, and i'll add: I would not want to try to bust into the high end lugged road bike market. Whitney Moyer comes to mind as well. being somewhat fresh to the scene and charging what the "old guard" are seems like a hard check to write {not that his quality wasn't there - it most certainly was} you are gonna have to draw off of a small pool of consumers who already have a set group of framebuilders who's work they aspire to some day own. just my dos centavos. i most certainly wish him all the best in his new endeavours, good luck, Johnny. rock on, steve.

[mjbabcock]

His work is good enough that it seems that he could keep the business license while working somewhere else until the economy clears up. Why ditch the business when you could drop it to a part time endeavor?

[e-RICHIE]

His work is good enough that it seems that he could keep the business license while working somewhere else until the economy clears up. Why ditch the business when you could drop it to a part time endeavor?

good point atmo. it would be a perfect time and opportunity to walk
away from the bench and get a decent job at a production shop such
as waterford, IF, or that ilk and really get the chops dialed in. he'd
need little training compared to a noob, could see how it's done, hone
some incredible skills, and come back stronger than ever.

[mschol17]

I got the feeling from his blog postings that he decided he didn't want it enough to have to go through what he was going to have to go through.

Which is fine, and I hope him the best. He built some beautiful bikes for sure.

[Dazza]

I got the feeling from his blog postings that he decided he didn't want it enough to have to go through what he was going to have to go through.

Which is fine, and I hope him the best. He built some beautiful bikes for sure.

Yep, some times one just has to be a tragic
to toil and persevre through the storms
to good sailing and make a firm establishment.



I also wish Jonny all the best in his chosen directions.
It will all work out for him.

Cheers Dazza

[BryanF]

Taken from his blog....

....no free time, not a lot of money, the stress of a small business owner - and that was all before the economy went to seed. If you don't have that "I was born to do this" feeling, I can certainly understand. Being a one-man workforce is tough stuff, even in good times.

[ericspin]

I had always hoped to own one of his beautiful stems one day. The last time I had checked he would only sell them with his frames.

Check out his website for some of the stems in his gallery. Beautiful!

Maybe some day down the road...........

[Tyler Evans]

I guess that voids the warranty....

http://jonnycycles.com/warranty.pdf

I always liked his bikes. It really seemed like he was having a good time making them. There seemed to be a lot of love built into them.

But.... buyers assume a risk when buying from a small operation and loose sight of certain other values in a frame because they get swept up in the novelty of buying something unique or rare. There is value in reputation and the ability for a company to survive through the hard times and be there until the warranty expires, at least.

Things are tough now in the world, but we (I.F.) have had much harder times than these and are optimistic about 2009.

Tyler.

[SteveP]

i wish jonny the best. mebbe he'll be back.

he wont be the first or the last small builder to close the doors.
a lot of medium and large bike companies have also over the years... so no one is without risk.
i wont bore with a list... but its long.

fortunes change. its like any other business.

[e-RICHIE]

i wont bore with a list... but its long.

and fat too atmo.

[Archibald]

I guess that voids the warranty....

http://jonnycycles.com/warranty.pdf

I always liked his bikes. It really seemed like he was having a good time making them. There seemed to be a lot of love built into them.

But.... buyers assume a risk when buying from a small operation and loose sight of certain other values in a frame because they get swept up in the novelty of buying something unique or rare. There is value in reputation and the ability for a company to survive through the hard times and be there until the warranty expires, at least.

Things are tough now in the world, but we (I.F.) have had much harder times than these and are optimistic about 2009.

Tyler.

Poor form.

[mjbabcock]

I guess that voids the warranty....

http://jonnycycles.com/warranty.pdf

I always liked his bikes. It really seemed like he was having a good time making them. There seemed to be a lot of love built into them.

But.... buyers assume a risk when buying from a small operation and loose sight of certain other values in a frame because they get swept up in the novelty of buying something unique or rare. There is value in reputation and the ability for a company to survive through the hard times and be there until the warranty expires, at least.

Things are tough now in the world, but we (I.F.) have had much harder times than these and are optimistic about 2009.

Tyler.

My guess is that he would gladly repair anything he's made were it to fail. If he didn't, I am thinking that the guys he worked with would honor his warranty. Guys aren't in this to rip people off, they are in this 'cause they love bikes and the corresponding community.

[Tyler Evans]

I was just thinking out loud when I heard the news that he was shutting down the business. I had other thoughts first but this one left me thinking, less about Jonny and more about small framebuilders in general.

I imagine he will do his best to hold true to his warranty, he seems to be an honorable man.

I wish him the best and hope that he does return to the craft, I admire his style and attention to details.

But I've just been thinking a lot about warranties lately and how those costs are worked into the bikes, if at all in some cases. It is a customer service business after all (about as much as it is manufacturing). We are making performance products and warranties are important, both to the builder and the customer. There are lots of other issues surrounding a shop closing down that that are important too, but I suppose that should be for another thread.... I guess I should have just said:

Good luck Jonny.

[Dave Kirk]

I was just thinking out loud when I heard the news that he was shutting down the business. I had other thoughts first but this one left me thinking, less about Jonny and more about small framebuilders in general.

I imagine he will do his best to hold true to his warranty, he seems to be an honorable man.

I wish him the best and hope that he does return to the craft, I admire his style and attention to details.

But I've just been thinking a lot about warranties lately and how those costs are worked into the bikes, if at all in some cases. It is a customer service business after all (about as much as it is manufacturing). We are making performance products and warranties are important, both to the builder and the customer. There are lots of other issues surrounding a shop closing down that that are important too, but I suppose that should be for another thread.... I guess I should have just said:

Good luck Jonny.

I suppose one could argue that as far as a warrantee is concerned it might be best to steer clear of the medium sized shops because they will be more vulnerable than the big guys like Trek.

IMO the size of the shop doesn't matter, it's how well it's run. Build good stuff that doesn't fall apart and run the business lean so that it stays in the black and the customers have nothing to worry about - regardless of how many folks hit the time clock each morning.

dave

[Dazza]

I was just thinking out loud when I heard the news that he was shutting down the business. I had other thoughts first but this one left me thinking, less about Jonny and more about small framebuilders in general.

I imagine he will do his best to hold true to his warranty, he seems to be an honorable man.

I wish him the best and hope that he does return to the craft, I admire his style and attention to details.

But I've just been thinking a lot about warranties lately and how those costs are worked into the bikes, if at all in some cases. It is a customer service business after all (about as much as it is manufacturing). We are making performance products and warranties are important, both to the builder and the customer. There are lots of other issues surrounding a shop closing down that that are important too, but I suppose that should be for another thread.... I guess I should have just said:

Good luck Jonny.

if the builder or shop is doing good work
good material choices
using time proven methods
good designs

what warranty?


Cheers Dazza

[Archibald]

I guess I should have just said:

Good luck Jonny.

Agree & thanks.