In a nutshell it's my understanding that the well-known and well-regarded MTB brand Nukeproof, as well as their somewhat less-well-known-but-equally-well-regarded sibling Ragley are owned by the same struggling e-commerce group that until recently owned Chain Reaction Cycles and Wiggle.
It seems that disaster capitalist and all-round opportunistic scumbag Mike Ashley (of Sports Direct, Evans, House of Fraiser infamy) has bought the rights to the Wiggle and CRC brands. I'm not sure if this includes the two bike brands above; regardless, at best their ongoing existance appears to hang in the balance.
Having caught my eye in the past, I couldn't resist taking a punt on the Ragley Big Wig hardtail when CRC slashed their price in their fire sale at the back end of last year. Looking at the worst-case scenario that Ragley are defunkt, the biggest worry is arguably availabilty the mech / RD hanger - since, frame aside this is the only propriatory part on the bike.
Today I fired emails to all of the dealers listed on the Ragley website, requesting price and availbilty on said mech hanger. The short story is that the surprisingly significant number responded came back with a hard nope; however the longer story is more nuanced and potentially positive..
Firstly I was surprised that many responded within minuites of my message's ejection into the ether. Perhaps a sad reflection of the desperation of the industry, but those who replied were upbeat and very helpful.
While all sadly confirmed both a lack of stock and ability to source any more, a few went out of their way to volunteer valuable information that might help - honourable mentions below:
Paul from Team wet rock n'ride was super helpful in informing me that apparently aftermarket brand BETD are now offering a compatable hanger for the Ragley MTB range. At £33 it's a fair wedge more than the £20 of the original, but seems well made and the premium's a minimal concern if you've snapped your existing hanger and the bike's a write-off without a replacement.
Matt at Stage 1 Cycles also alluded to the BETD hanger, and linked to it on their website.
Matt from Leisure Lakes Daventry suggested that the Ragley MTB hangers are the same as those listed for the Nikeproof Cub Scout; although sadly I can't find any of these listed either. Interestingly I did find them touted on a number of suspiciously similar "retailer" sites that simply redirect to CRC.. which seemed a little shifty.
In addition Nick an Bikeshredz suggested that Wheels Manufacturing might also be knocking up some replacements, however as yet there's nothing relevant on their website.
Ultimately this was a really positive experience - not only did it result in a couple of potential sources for replacement hangers but I had some really positive interactions with some helpful and genuinely sound individuals. One person (Alex from Firetrail) even bothered to respond to let me know that they'd ceased trading; which I though was well above and beyond since most probably wouldn't bother.
On top of all that I'd like to mention fellow CC member @JonBuoy, who posted in the CRC thread to let me know that some enterprising individual on Singletrack is making Ragley mech hangers.
So, good news for Ragley and a few Nukeproof owners; although those with more complex full-sus Nukeproof offerings might still find themselves up sh*t creek with regard to propriatory consumable components... Of the two this brand stands the most chance of being resurrected - however in what form that might be is anyone's guess...
Anyway, I hope the positive fallout of my Saturday afternoon spent bothering retailers might be of use to some; along with the knowledge that all is not yet lost
It seems that disaster capitalist and all-round opportunistic scumbag Mike Ashley (of Sports Direct, Evans, House of Fraiser infamy) has bought the rights to the Wiggle and CRC brands. I'm not sure if this includes the two bike brands above; regardless, at best their ongoing existance appears to hang in the balance.
Having caught my eye in the past, I couldn't resist taking a punt on the Ragley Big Wig hardtail when CRC slashed their price in their fire sale at the back end of last year. Looking at the worst-case scenario that Ragley are defunkt, the biggest worry is arguably availabilty the mech / RD hanger - since, frame aside this is the only propriatory part on the bike.
Today I fired emails to all of the dealers listed on the Ragley website, requesting price and availbilty on said mech hanger. The short story is that the surprisingly significant number responded came back with a hard nope; however the longer story is more nuanced and potentially positive..
Firstly I was surprised that many responded within minuites of my message's ejection into the ether. Perhaps a sad reflection of the desperation of the industry, but those who replied were upbeat and very helpful.
While all sadly confirmed both a lack of stock and ability to source any more, a few went out of their way to volunteer valuable information that might help - honourable mentions below:
Paul from Team wet rock n'ride was super helpful in informing me that apparently aftermarket brand BETD are now offering a compatable hanger for the Ragley MTB range. At £33 it's a fair wedge more than the £20 of the original, but seems well made and the premium's a minimal concern if you've snapped your existing hanger and the bike's a write-off without a replacement.
Matt at Stage 1 Cycles also alluded to the BETD hanger, and linked to it on their website.
Matt from Leisure Lakes Daventry suggested that the Ragley MTB hangers are the same as those listed for the Nikeproof Cub Scout; although sadly I can't find any of these listed either. Interestingly I did find them touted on a number of suspiciously similar "retailer" sites that simply redirect to CRC.. which seemed a little shifty.
In addition Nick an Bikeshredz suggested that Wheels Manufacturing might also be knocking up some replacements, however as yet there's nothing relevant on their website.
Ultimately this was a really positive experience - not only did it result in a couple of potential sources for replacement hangers but I had some really positive interactions with some helpful and genuinely sound individuals. One person (Alex from Firetrail) even bothered to respond to let me know that they'd ceased trading; which I though was well above and beyond since most probably wouldn't bother.
On top of all that I'd like to mention fellow CC member @JonBuoy, who posted in the CRC thread to let me know that some enterprising individual on Singletrack is making Ragley mech hangers.
So, good news for Ragley and a few Nukeproof owners; although those with more complex full-sus Nukeproof offerings might still find themselves up sh*t creek with regard to propriatory consumable components... Of the two this brand stands the most chance of being resurrected - however in what form that might be is anyone's guess...
Anyway, I hope the positive fallout of my Saturday afternoon spent bothering retailers might be of use to some; along with the knowledge that all is not yet lost
Last edited:
