Power meter developer Brim Brothers ceases operations

I feel Brim Brothers tricked a lot of people to part with their cash.

I have also followed from the early days and was very disappointed at the point they then suddenly decided to offer them on Kickstarter (dropping their "early interest list", which I had a low numbered place on, in one fell swoop). I didn't then put my money down but more because I was annoyed I had gone from the front of a queue to purchase,  to being a fair way down it (The early bird delivery slots having gone before I noticed the e-mail declaring the change of approach). I decided if they treated loyality like that, I would go elsewhere with my money.

A lot of people are indicating above the dangers of Kickstarter and that is good. But I feel the use of Kickstarter for Brim Brothers was a far more calculated money extraction then you usually see on Kickstarter. The way Barry led the Early Interest List people onto Kickstarter to part with their money would have led many of them to think this was just a change of vehicle to purchase the product. There was no suggestion of risks that the product would not be delivered, in the way you usually see them on Kickstarter.

My remaining hope is that someone else with a pedal based product will now pick up the Speedplay format, which until now they had avoided due to the threat of this product appearing

Aah that's a shame. I wonder if their learnings will be picked up by any of the bigger companies.

And yes kckkstarter is a bit of a gamble. If you don't understand that you shouldn't be backing things.

It's a shame, hopefully they can implement what they learned somewhere.

I have one Stages left crank, and my road/CX/TT bikes all have 172.5mm Hollowtech II crankset. I can get power on 3 bikes, 2 different pedal systems in less than 5 minutes changeover time.

I followed the project from the start BUT didn't invest. I have some tech savvy and BB's idea was flawed. Cleats are too variable and flexible to be an accurate measure of power. When 'putty' was thrown into the mix, the game was over. 

After a bunch of delays ironing out the concept took it to Kickstarter thinking that they had a product and then hit a wall.

Shame really, I'd been following them from the start, they were clearly trying to do something different and it looked like they had made it.  I suspect thought that when everything was done they had a £1,000 product in a market that needed it to cost £650.

A real shame, I would have been very interested in this depending on the pricing. It would been ideal, as I hate swapping my Vector pedals between bikes.  Sadly, out of the 5 different Kickstarter campaigns that I've backed, none have come to fruition, so I didn't really confortable backing this time.

I hope someone else picks up on this idea, and manages to develop something.

It amazes me that Limits delivered something and these guys didn't.

I have been following Brim Bros from the start and it was a promising solution. I think Barry & the team have invested massive amounts of their own time &  money into it, were really dedicated and genuine people. They also seemed to resist the crowd funding route for a long time but did 'give in' at the end to try and finish the product.

Another factor is probably due to the plummeting value of power meters. When they started in 2012 it was SRM or PowerTap hub with a premium attached. Now every man and their bicycle are at it and the cost is tumbling with new entrants all the time. Even if they did get to market they probably struggle to recoup all of the outgoings.

It's cold comfort to those who put down the kickstarter cash but this world isn't perfect. Things go wrong and I do think it's the right decision for Barry to be clear about the end of the project rather then enter in to a Limits-esque communication method with a questionable product delivered at the end.

I have backed a few Kickstarter campaigns and so often you see people who treat Kickstarter like Amazon.  For me, it isn't a gamble, it's an investment.  Its an investment in a group of people who have a vision to bring a product to market.  I like the idea of supporting entrepreneurs in their business.  If there's a product for me at the end of the process, great, if not, then that's how it rolls, but I'm still happy that I invested in people to have a go at developing their ideas and their business.

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go ahead and invest

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 I am sorry that the investors

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but it is hardly the first kickstarter project to fail with investors losing all their money.

I wouldn't use the word "invest". Any transaction where the best possible outcome is you get exactly what you paid for isn't really an investment. I'd call it a gamble. These people took a gamble and lost.

That's a real shame, it was a great idea in concept. I suspect the idea will re-emerge in future when the tech is more developed. Serious bummer for those that lost out.

Kickstarter is essentially a gamble. It's hugely unfortunate for all those involved with this particular project, but it is hardly the first kickstarter project to fail with investors losing all their money.

Sad. Shame for everyone involved.

Must be tough Kickstarting a project like this - I'd always be thinking, "maybe Garmin has already R&D'd this and written it off as non-viable."

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“What this means for you as a customer is that we can’t deliver your power meter, and we can’t provide a refund,” said Barry Redmond. “For me personally this is what hurts most, and I wish there was something I could do to change it.

I bet it hurts the people who paid their money a whole lot more...

Seems like they should have done a great deal of extra testing before they went out and started taking orders and actual money.