Before their Ziggy Link was even cool from the forge, Forbidden Bikes have launched their complete bikes with an SLX and XT build options.
What does it take for a small brand of four people to get complete bikes in hand? We caught up with the Forbidden Bikes guys to chat getting a complete Druid to market.
Had you always planned on offering complete bikes?
It was always a goal of ours and the most logical next step for the brand, and something that was certainly spurred by consumer demand. We love seeing the amazing custom builds our dealers and their customers come up with, but that route isn’t for everyone.
Budgetary restraints aside, a lot of riders simply don’t have the time or inclination to take the custom route and just want a solid bike to shred on, out-of-the-box. We’ve always wanted to offer riders who fall into that category a bike and that’s what we’ve done with the Druid XT and SLX.
Why now?
The amount of planning that goes into launching a complete bike range is significant for a large brand with an extensive team of product managers and resources at their disposal, let alone a small brand that was until a few weeks ago, comprised of only four people. We have recently expanded and almost doubled our staff, but to answer your question, this was the earliest we could do it and had we been able to, we’d have done it much sooner.
How did you narrow the options down to two builds?
We’re big fans of both Shimano and SRAM components, but Shimano’s XT and SLX 12-speed groupsets impressed us significantly; enough to build two bikes around them. Beyond drivetrains, we’re riders first and foremost so we know what does and doesn’t work and we like to think that we also know the kinds of trails people [who buy our bikes] tend to ride them on. Ultimately, we wanted a consistent and lasting experience, regardless of bike or budget.
Was it easy enough to settle on SLX and XT options?
Settling on those two groupsets was very easy. They have always been held in high regard by core riders who know what they want and what works for them, and that resonated with us. Upon testing them for ourselves and reading reviews from the press only helped make the decision final. There are other options out there that we’re fans of, but to kick-start our entry into the complete bike market, having a reliable mix of parts that would echo the Druid’s abilities was at the forefront of our strategy.
Did the design of the bike dictate any spec options?
Aside from the longer than average chain (plus 2 links on a large and plus 4 links on an X-Large), building a Druid is easier than you would think to look at it. The only custom part is the top chainguide which the team at ethirteen kindly engineered for us last year. It’s all standard stuff; a threaded BB, a 148mm rear axle, a 31.6mm post. Nothing crazy here, just a slightly long chain…
Are there plans to offer Deore and/or XTR or SRAM builds in the future?
We are exploring what we could do with the new Deore stuff, but then who isn’t? Those new groupsets are insane and a ‘Druid XTR’ very nearly happened too, but we’d rather our dealers were the ones creating those special builds with high-end parts like that. As for SRAM, well, that’s an option we’re exploring too. Watch this space.
Did you mull any custom spec options?
Originally, when we first started looking at completes, it was on our wishlist of things to achieve because we could see the demand for custom builds. However, we quickly realised that we can better serve our customers by steering them to the experts, our IBD partners, who have consistently delivered since we hit the market
last April.
This is why we’ve gone for a ‘hybrid sales’ model. We can spec a solid bike and send it to a customer hundreds of miles away in a matter of days, but for some riders, that’s not what they’re after. There’s a defined line between the custom build customer with a rad shop close by and the customer who’s pretty far removed from the kind of modern mountain bike shops we see now and just wants a rad bike, regardless.
What influenced the decision to keep frames selling through dealers and complete bikes direct?
Many of us at Forbidden are ex-shop employees, so it’s important that we do what we can to keep dealers in the mix, especially the good ones we’re proud to call partners. But we can’t ignore that the tide of ‘direct to consumer’ brands is on the rise and if we ignore it, we’ll be left behind in its wake.
To that end, we wanted a sales model that directed custom build customers to our dealers and for those who aren’t after an EXT shock, ENVE wheels, a full Burgtec setup and some shiny red RockShox Lyrik forks, for example, can buy a complete bike from us that hopefully fits their budget.
Was it difficult to choose what colours to offer?
It was quite possibly the hardest thing we had to choose to be honest. The process of choosing paint colours, graphics colours and indeed, finishes, is pretty extensive. There are just so many options. We’ll get samples in, often months in advance, to see how they look in person. We do have an amazingly talented graphic designer who we work with on Vancouver Island, who’s responsible for much of the amazing graphics and iconography associated with the brand.
How did COVID affect the release of the bikes?
Quite considerably and especially so for those of us in the UK and Europe who won’t be seeing complete Druids until late August. Increased demand of late, travel bans during the height of the pandemic and supply chains, which are under significant strain across the bike industry, have impacted most brands in some way shape or form. But for a small brand like Forbidden, it’s meant delays and some challenging times for sure, but nothing we can’t handle.
