Re: Hein gericke
 

It wouldn't be the first time HG UK has gone under, either.

It'll be a shame if they do - they're far from the only place to buy a lid or a can of chain lube, but their clothing (boots, jackets, gloves, whatever) is really, really good, be it own-brand or otherwise. They're the *only* bike clothing brand I implicitly trust to not be rubbish and cut stupid corners.

Re: Hein gericke
 

This is interesting reading as I heard rumours 6 weeks ago that they were struggling. I wouldn't buy my textiles anywhere else and due to deals have bought my leathers and lid there too. Would be a real shame to lose them.

Re: Hein gericke
 

Agree totally. 2 1/2 years ago I retired my then 8 year old Gericke textiles, bought new Held ones and then gave the Gericke ones to my housemate's daughter to use on her dad's bike. Two weeks later I was regretting it as the Held gear, despite being in the same price bracket as current Gericke kit, proved itself to be less than good.

Three weeks ago my housemate asked me if I wanted the Gericke kit back as spares cos his daughter had hardly been on the bike and wasn't likely to again. I gratioulsy accepted his offer and they've become my winter clothing of choice. Ten years old and still waterproof and in perfect nick, unlike the 2 1/2 year old Held jacket that's got split seams on the collar, lost two pop-studs, has velcro that doesn't grip and isn't anywhere near as warm.

Re: Hein gericke
 

On the other hand, I'll be straight down my local HG, credit card in hand, for a Master V suit from the clearance sale.

FAIL, YOU ****ERS, FAIL!

Woooo hoooo, I'm here. Soz and all that. I've just been mega busy and forgot about my SV friends lol.

As a Shop Partner for HG, I can categorically say that we are not in administration or any kind of difficulty. If you are experiencing problems with the website then sorry but you should get down to your local store anyway and support your poor, self employed Shop Partner. They can order all the stock you need and can deal on the price unlike the website. Face to face customer service at its best and a person if you have a problem afterwards.

Unfortunately the webshop is under immense pressure with the weight of orders it's receiving. Added to that they advertise stock which is in short supply and sometimes by the time the order is processed the product is out of stock therefore needing to be refunded which, from what I've heard from customers, is taking some time to arrange.

I will say that due to the recent decline in the motorcycle industry as a whole, and the loss of businesses like George Whites and Polo, alot of our suppliers have pulled their credit terms, and rightly so! This has meant a cash flow problem for HG and as a domino effect a fact of tightening the old belts. As a result there have been redundancies and late payment but new 2012 stock as now arriving daily and we have in store a purchase order for ALL the new stock.

In short, yes a few cash issues but nothing serious, so pop down to your local and talk to the "manager" about all your biking needs whether a deal on 2011 stock or dates for brand new 2012 stock.

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

Yeah good luck on that score! Master V is pretty much sold out but there is a Master VI coming to stores in March.

Re: Hein gericke
 

Too steep for me - lovely kit, but ludicrously priced.

I've been using a Cruise GTX suit that I picked up in the end-of-range sale a couple of years back and it's still going strong. Got a few niggles - the velcro has always been crap, and the zips on the cuffs have never stayed zipped up from day one. And the zip sliders have gradually been replaced with keyrings as they've fallen apart. But it's been used pretty much every single day and it's only let water in once, in the worst conditions I've ever ridden in.

For the money (550 quid all in) it is/was absolutely superb. A Master VI suit will, I suspect, be at least double that. I can imagine BMW-branded kit from a BMW dealer being bought by someone picking up their new BMW bike at that price, but HG-branded kit from an HG shop, not so much.

What's the modern equivalent of the Cruise GTX suit? The II seems to have gone now.

Re: Hein gericke
 

If I could afford it right now, I'd be buying a Master VI Goretex suit. I was going to buy the Master III Goretex when I bought the Voyager III Sheltex I'm using now, but even with staff discount it was just that little bit too pricey by about 50 quid for me at the time.

Re: Hein gericke
 

If I had any money left after my recent spending spree I'd be tempted by the Voyage. I'd have to check the cuff zips though, the ones on the Cruise are seriously, er, *searches for appropriate term that won't get blocked by the profanity filter*... umm... liable to unzip.

I forget all the new names for the gear coming out "York" is one I think. There's definitely a new high vis jacket but being on holiday for a week I can't remember what is it. I DO however know that there is a new high vis glove coming out to match the jacket! EXCITING lol

The new 2012 FULL HG catalogue will be in stores about 2nd week of March so you can get all the heads up on the gear then.

On a side note look out for HG ProSports Exhausts coming some time in 2012. You design the spec and we make it in Germany. Turn around is about a week. I'll definitely be getting one for my Jack.