Diamondback’s ReadyRide program goes direct to consumer

Accell-Owned Diamondback has announced a new consumer direct sales channel for the U.S. market.

Set to offer pricing 30 to 40% lower than retail on premium road and triathlon bikes, the Ready Ride program will see bikes shipped 95% assembled, with further guidance now published to assist with the “10 minute” completion.

Though affecting only selected lines north of $450, the decision hasn’t been welcomed across the board by retail partners of Accell. The PBMA too reminds that “Going through a bicycle top to bottom will take more than 10 minutes, that’s fairly standard practice. Consumers assembling their own bicycle will simply result in their need for an actual certified mechanic in most cases. Maybe not on the day of arrival, but when their bar turns or their pedal falls off.”

Having linked with Beeline Bikes in North America, customers do have the option to add assembly to their basket at no extra charge.

“We completely overhauled our manufacturing, assembly and shipping process to create ReadyRide,” said Steve Westover, vice president of marketing for Diamondback. “While it typically takes a skilled bike mechanic over two hours to build a bike in a shop, Diamondback customers can now build their bikes within minutes. It eliminates a huge hurdle in the selling process and dramatically improves the overall online bike buying experience.”

Westover adds that the very same bike ridden in the National Championships by Brad Huff will now only cost consumers $3,700 for an Ultegra Di2 spec and Carbon Hed wheels.

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