Fezzari recently announced a massive rebrand to ARI bikes that seems to be making quite the statement in the bike world. We reached out to people in the bike industry to see how they felt about this and what their take is on the rebrand to ARI bikes. Mo has his own opinion piece coming out on this rebrand so stay tuned for that later this week!
Here is the bike industry’s response to their thoughts on ARI Bikes:
Mark Larson (Marketing Manager SR Suntour): “My first thought was that April fools day isn’t for four more weeks. I also feel like Fezzari has spent so much money on branding, athletes and brand ambassadors over the past 3 seasons so to me the timing is strange. But I also felt like the Fezzari name and logo wasn’t that great to begin with, just ok. Once I saw the logo on the bikes like the Nebo Peak and especially the blue Veyo it seems like a definite improvement while keeping a nod to the old Fezzari name.”
Nrml Mtber (Professional Content Creator): “In the wise words of the late Stephen Hawking “Intelligence is the ability to adapt and change.” I think rebranding is necessary for some companies to not just survive, but flourish. Some of the largest companies in history have had rebrands at some point in their past so seeing a bike brand follow suit is a reassuring feeling. I must commend them for doing it right now though. As we know the industry is steaming pile of poo currently, and seeing them make a big bold move like this at a time like this is extremely gutsy. So whoever had this idea at Ari Bikes has big balls, and I salute them.”
Jordan Boostmaster (Professional Content Creator): “hey man! ya I think it's a good name change, Fezzari was always too much like Ferrari! I think Ari will be a good name”
Thomas Seaman (Founder of Better Bolts): “Rebranding is an intimidating task for any brand, but starting with strategic simplification and maintaining similarity is a great foundation. The brand appears to be driven by direct consumer connections, process, and product rather than relying on brand image. We are eager to observe how ARI shapes the future appearance of the brand. We’ve noticed an uptick in aftermarket part requests for Fezzari bikes in the past year, showing that avid cyclists are considering this brand for complete or frame-up bike builds.”
Matty Greer (Professional Bike Mechanic at Pro Bike Supply): “I think that it is an interesting change that is following current trends of most retail companies of wanting to give the appearance of more minimalism and a cleaner external perception.
I’m keen to see how they follow up this rebrand with other changes in the company that hopefully reflect their desire to provide a better overall customer experience that’s driven by a campaign to live more simply.
I did find it interesting how they listed one of the reasons for change was the ability to say their name in Virtually any language, but never really thought of that as a barrier to begin with them being a mostly US spec bike.”
AJ van de Water @fotornr (Professional Photographer): “”FEZZ” would have been way cooler LOL”
Logan VonBokel (PR and Marketing Specialist at Hot Route Media) : “They lost me with regards to the Pinkbike propaganda comments from their employees. I don’t buy brands with bad PR. For the brand-formerly-known-as-Fezzari, call me."
Tommy Huynh T_Wrex_MTB (Professional Content Creator and Owner of Monarch 9 Cafe): “I honestly felt like Fezzari sounded like a Ferrari knock off, I think Ari is better but personally I think they should have gone with something stronger. Regardless they make really good bikes that have solid components.”
Arturno Burns aka MTB Flow (Professional Content Creator): “Well it definitely took me by surprise. I was personally a fan of the name Fezzari but just like anything change always takes a little getting used to. It was a bold move to rebrand in my opinion but I know they’re thinking long term. Either way they make great bikes and I’m sure they’ll do just fine. Props to Ari!”
Matty Active (Professional Content Creator): “I think it’s pretty cool actually, love the design and the name has a ring to it!”
Out Of Collective (Ski and MTB News Media Site / Podcast): “Was “fezzari” too much of a mouthful or something? I don’t get it lol”
Jason Fitzgibbon (Professional Environmentalist and Photographer): “I like it. It sounds a lot less like a private label road bike manufacturer, haha.”
Dale Stone (Professional Content Creator): “We rarely see Fezzaris north of the border, but from what I hear they have a pretty good lineup of bikes. I hope the rebrand is more successful than what happened in the Pinkbike comment section!”
