Stages Cycling Sued for $13M, Lays Off Entire Staff

Power meter and indoor bike manufacturer Stages Cycling laid off its entire workforce, according to Escape Collective.

Stages, which has been in operation since 2009, helped popularize power meters and has been "100% cycling focused since its beginning," has halted orders with suppliers and stopped processing customer orders. Of the 127 items on the brand's website, almost all are listed as out of stock.

Bicycle Retailer also reported, "At least four former Stages Cycling executives have joined Giant Manufacturing…and Giant, which manufactures many Stages products in Taiwan, is suing Stages for about $14 million in unpaid invoices."

Like many brands in recent years, Stages experienced significant demands during the pandemic. Its studio exercise bikes, which ranged between $2,180.00 and $3,375.00 and were available in major gyms like SoulCycle, David Lloyd, and Equinox, supported over 110 million riders annually.

In 2022, Stages invested in the St. Augustine's University and Historically Black College and University (HBCU) Cycling Race Series—a 30-city race series that spanned the U.S. from February through July 2022.

Within a year, cycling behemoth Giant Group, was looking to invest $20 million into Stages—over 30% brand ownership.

According to Endurance Biz, "Giant is said to be optimistic about the long-term prospects for indoor cycling. This is despite economic headwinds in 2023 and a more challenging, post-Covid environment for companies in the sector."

Months later, the companies were at an impasse. Giant and Stages ended negotiations "The Company and the counterparties are unable to reach mutual consensus on the terms and conditions of definitive agreements," according to Bicycle Retailer.

Ahead of Stages giving its employees the pink slip, Giant Manufacturing subsidiary AIPS Technology filed a lawsuit in February, according to Bicycle Retailer, alleging that Stages "had 161 unpaid invoices that had come due between June 2022 and January 2024," worth $13.9 million.

A telephone hearing is scheduled for May 17.