Experience with Vari-Wall?

[David Tollefson]

Seems they're trying to put themselves in the position to take True Temper's place as USA tubing maker. I'd never heard of them until I saw a thread on the MTBR F'builder forum. Anyone here have any experience with them? How did they compare to others, quality wise?

Vari-Wall

[fortyfour]

HI David.

A handful of professional builders are in talks with Vari-Wall presently to aid in the development of a line of USA sourced bicycle tubing. "Vari-Wall" has a pretty good history behind the scenes drawing tubes from a laundry list of bicycle manufacturers in the industry. There's a lot of history and even more experience/knowledge at Vari-Wall. They're making 3 trial runs of tubes with the first trial run delivered to a selection of builders in June. A second is scheduled in July and then a third in August. They're presently adding more tooling to their facilities to expand their range of tubing profiles. That first run is in the process of gathering feedback from builders to hone in the specs for the line. But right now, patience is required as the line is under development. I've spoken with both Katelynn (Operations Manager) and Randy (Owner) on a handful of occasions and will be getting sample tubes for the next round to provide feedback as I was just a little late to get on the list for the first run. I didn't realize they were moving that quickly.

If you had any specific questions, feel free to ask me. If I can't get the answer, I can also call them on your behalf.

Honestly, the enthusiasm, knowledge and experience from everyone at Vari-Wall is really reassuring. I think we may be setting ourselves up to be in an even better place than we were before.

[David Tollefson]

Are they setting up to supply to small builders directly, or more through a Henry James-like supplier?

[fortyfour]

This will be Vari-Wall direct. No middle man.

What's really paramount about this relationship: Feedback goes directly to the professional staff AT VARI-WALL. There's no filter applied. Professional builders will have a direct line to the manufacturer. Like I said, I think in many ways we'll be in a really good spot moving forward.

If you have not, read their about section.

Also read their butted-bicycle tubing section if you have not.

[dinucci]

This will be Vari-Wall direct. No middle man.

What's really paramount about this relationship: Feedback goes directly to the professional staff AT VARI-WALL. There's no filter applied. Professional builders will have a direct line to the manufacturer. Like I said, I think in many ways we'll be in a really good spot moving forward.

If you have not, read their about section.

Also read their butted-bicycle tubing section if you have not.

I have known Randy for many years. He has built a beautiful company and he is as honest as the workday is long.

Regarding the idea that you presented "This will be Vari-Wall direct. No middle man."

This may not be true as it has not been decided yet. If it is found to be more profitable to use a distributor then Vari-Wall will follow that path. They will come to a decision regarding distribution in the next month or so.

They currently have 1, 1 1/8 and 1 1/4 inch diameters being produced with 1 3/8 and 1 1/2 coming next. They have produced walls from 1.2mm to 0.4mm in the air hardening material.

They have produced a high strength tube with good elongation. Some folks who have received samples have said that they think the tube is hard but I have found it is no more difficult to machine than the 853 that Reynolds have produced for me. If some folks want a tube with more elongation (softer) they may produce that if there is enough demand.

So far the tubes look to be of very high quality. They show a beautiful finish on the inside, as well as the outside, dimensions are extremely close to spec., and they are straight. Looks very promising. Let's just hope there is enough demand to add another high quality supplier to our quiver.

A reminder to the folks who have received sample tubes. Please give your feedback to Vari-Wall ASAP.

Thanks.

[fortyfour]

<SNIP>

Regarding the idea that you presented "This will be Vari-Wall direct. No middle man."

This may not be true as it has not been decided yet. If it is found to be more profitable to use a distributor then Vari-Wall will follow that path. They will come to a decision regarding distribution in the next month or so.

HI Mark,

Yes, you are technically correct. I spoke too soon as it is true they are still determining what will be the best choice moving forward. My conversations with both Randy and Katelynn only spoke to Vari-Wall direct.

I'm looking forward to providing my feedback with the second sample run as well as providing some specs / thoughts regarding mountain specific tube profiles in the coming days.

My best-

[David Tollefson]

Katelynn posted this on the MTBR forum:

Hello All!

This is Katelynn, Operations Manager, at Vari-Wall! To answer some of the questions above, we have been manufacturing butted bicycles tubing since 1985 and have worked with many bicycle companies in our 31 years. It may seem that we were under the radar as we have previously had little to no web presence. However, we are now actively managing our web inquiries, Facebook and Instagram pages.

Over the last 31 years, we have worked with many companies that no longer produce bikes made in the USA. Therefore, many of our past customers have not spoken up as their companies and our prior contacts are no longer interested buying high quality American made steel tubing for bicycles.

We have been working with Chris Moeller for years and as our website says, last year we started providing a similar, yet better Superthem product. From Chris Moeller’s Instagram post on June 29, 2016 about our product: “This is air hardening material that's stronger than TT which allows us to make straight frames.”

Before we announce stock pricing and a distribution plan, we are going to complete three sample runs. The first run occurred in June and we are in the middle of our second run (July). We have one final run that we will be completing in August. We are planning to begin shipping in Q1 2017. At that time, we will be ready and able to support large and small orders. We are currently thinking through distribution and in the process of determining the best way to get our product into our customer’s hands.

Our current tooling will produce the following diameters: 25.4, 28.6, 31.8, 34.9, 38.1, and 44. Additionally, our planned wall thicknesses are .7/.4/.7 to 1/.7/1, however, we can go to thicker walls as required by the industry. We appreciate any and all comments on size requirements as we continue our planning!

Finally, if you would like additional information or would like to get added to our distribution list, please fill out our contact us form on our website: Contact Us | Vari-Wall Tube Specialists.

Katelynn

Not sure whether "ready and able to support large and small orders" means dealing directly with small builders, but regardless this is good news.