What happened to Shift?

MLewis72
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MLewis72
Edited Date/Time 5/22/2022 2:23pm
Probably old news but what happened to the gear company shift? Last Instagram post was august of 2021. I think I remember the geico Honda boys wearing their stuff and it always looked fresh.
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Jeremy Macduff 5/20/2022 7:56am
5/20/2022 7:56am
Good question. I used to love their gear as recently as two years ago, despite the fact it's paper thin and barely lasts one ride.

Perhaps Fox decided to sell it off, or sunset the whole brand entirely.
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early
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early 5/20/2022 8:08am
5/20/2022 8:08am Edited Date/Time 5/20/2022 8:09am
If I could piggy back on this thread with maybe another dumb question.

Why couldn't FOX run like a Classics line with versions of some of their most iconic looks with modern materials. No need to update them every year just have them as like a standard offering. I know there's production run costs and such but if you assume the life of the line to be like 5 years for 1 production run without having to discount it at retail it would probably work out, maybe not so much now with all the global supply crap but you get the idea.

The original SHIFT stuff is so timeless it would have always looked good since it came out. Maybe it's just product designers justifying their job with new designs and colorways every year. Maybe I'm just biased since I was about 15 years old when SHIFT hit the scene.
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ThePizzaCobra
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ThePizzaCobra 5/20/2022 8:30am
5/20/2022 8:30am
2022 Shift gear came out a couple months ago. It’s a little too edgy for me. Hillsack was one of their best riders as of late, but he jumped over to the Fox side. Between clipping riders and the lack of content, it seems like it’s gradually being phased out.

I love early’s idea of a heritage line with modern materials. That would sell like toilet paper in 2020.
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Kasims
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Kasims 5/20/2022 8:36am
5/20/2022 8:36am
You should check Shift Mx Australia, seems like they still keep carry on brand without any pause and they post all actual new designs, which is a bit strange, like someone in brand manager board in Shift Usa just left at one moment.
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stone881
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stone881 5/20/2022 9:01am
5/20/2022 9:01am
Fox was purchased by venture capitalists, who then brought in a team of people to run the company that came from the MTB world. The whole brand seems to me to be shifting , no pun intended, away from core moto, so Shift became an easy way to trim costs. Shift also represented a fraction of the sales compared to Fox, so a good business move in the grand scheme of things.

Looks to me like Alpinestars is gobbling up a lot of the moto gear market now and clearly made a commitment to being more involved in US mx.
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JazzyJJ
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JazzyJJ 5/20/2022 9:31am
5/20/2022 9:31am
stone881 wrote:
Fox was purchased by venture capitalists, who then brought in a team of people to run the company that came from the MTB world. The whole...
Fox was purchased by venture capitalists, who then brought in a team of people to run the company that came from the MTB world. The whole brand seems to me to be shifting , no pun intended, away from core moto, so Shift became an easy way to trim costs. Shift also represented a fraction of the sales compared to Fox, so a good business move in the grand scheme of things.

Looks to me like Alpinestars is gobbling up a lot of the moto gear market now and clearly made a commitment to being more involved in US mx.
How much would it cost them to put out retro 1998 gear sets every year with little/no advertising? Seems like it would still be a net positive if they continued the line with minimal investment. They are already spending the dollars on new tech with Fox, just use the same materials with shift classic designs and call it a day.
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stone881
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stone881 5/20/2022 9:42am
5/20/2022 9:42am
stone881 wrote:
Fox was purchased by venture capitalists, who then brought in a team of people to run the company that came from the MTB world. The whole...
Fox was purchased by venture capitalists, who then brought in a team of people to run the company that came from the MTB world. The whole brand seems to me to be shifting , no pun intended, away from core moto, so Shift became an easy way to trim costs. Shift also represented a fraction of the sales compared to Fox, so a good business move in the grand scheme of things.

Looks to me like Alpinestars is gobbling up a lot of the moto gear market now and clearly made a commitment to being more involved in US mx.
JazzyJJ wrote:
How much would it cost them to put out retro 1998 gear sets every year with little/no advertising? Seems like it would still be a net...
How much would it cost them to put out retro 1998 gear sets every year with little/no advertising? Seems like it would still be a net positive if they continued the line with minimal investment. They are already spending the dollars on new tech with Fox, just use the same materials with shift classic designs and call it a day.
I agree, that would be cool and I prefer the heavier textiles from the past over the yoga pants of today. Unless Pete Fox and family get control again, I suspect that the company continues to move towards MTB.
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AngryBear
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AngryBear 5/20/2022 9:57am
5/20/2022 9:57am
stone881 wrote:
Fox was purchased by venture capitalists, who then brought in a team of people to run the company that came from the MTB world. The whole...
Fox was purchased by venture capitalists, who then brought in a team of people to run the company that came from the MTB world. The whole brand seems to me to be shifting , no pun intended, away from core moto, so Shift became an easy way to trim costs. Shift also represented a fraction of the sales compared to Fox, so a good business move in the grand scheme of things.

Looks to me like Alpinestars is gobbling up a lot of the moto gear market now and clearly made a commitment to being more involved in US mx.
JazzyJJ wrote:
How much would it cost them to put out retro 1998 gear sets every year with little/no advertising? Seems like it would still be a net...
How much would it cost them to put out retro 1998 gear sets every year with little/no advertising? Seems like it would still be a net positive if they continued the line with minimal investment. They are already spending the dollars on new tech with Fox, just use the same materials with shift classic designs and call it a day.
stone881 wrote:
I agree, that would be cool and I prefer the heavier textiles from the past over the yoga pants of today. Unless Pete Fox and family...
I agree, that would be cool and I prefer the heavier textiles from the past over the yoga pants of today. Unless Pete Fox and family get control again, I suspect that the company continues to move towards MTB.
they changed the website this spring to default to MTB instead of MX for all the primary navigation. thats beyond telling of whats being prioritized moving forward...




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731chopper
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731chopper 5/20/2022 10:03am
5/20/2022 10:03am
When did the VC come into the picture? There’s been a noticeable shift (zinggg) in their design and focus over the last few years. I’m not a fan of their current direction and that sucks because they’re so iconic in moto. I’ve also noticed Oakley push moto further and further back over the years.
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stone881
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stone881 5/20/2022 11:21am
5/20/2022 11:21am
731chopper wrote:
When did the VC come into the picture? There’s been a noticeable shift (zinggg) in their design and focus over the last few years. I’m not...
When did the VC come into the picture? There’s been a noticeable shift (zinggg) in their design and focus over the last few years. I’m not a fan of their current direction and that sucks because they’re so iconic in moto. I’ve also noticed Oakley push moto further and further back over the years.
Its been a couple/three years now I think.
JazzyJJ
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JazzyJJ 5/20/2022 3:31pm
5/20/2022 3:31pm
731chopper wrote:
When did the VC come into the picture? There’s been a noticeable shift (zinggg) in their design and focus over the last few years. I’m not...
When did the VC come into the picture? There’s been a noticeable shift (zinggg) in their design and focus over the last few years. I’m not a fan of their current direction and that sucks because they’re so iconic in moto. I’ve also noticed Oakley push moto further and further back over the years.
Could probably work backwards from whenever Pete launched Rennen. Likely was paid to sit on the couch for a year, so deal probably happened 12 months prior to that.
ML512
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ML512 5/20/2022 3:39pm
5/20/2022 3:39pm
731chopper wrote:
When did the VC come into the picture? There’s been a noticeable shift (zinggg) in their design and focus over the last few years. I’m not...
When did the VC come into the picture? There’s been a noticeable shift (zinggg) in their design and focus over the last few years. I’m not a fan of their current direction and that sucks because they’re so iconic in moto. I’ve also noticed Oakley push moto further and further back over the years.
JazzyJJ wrote:
Could probably work backwards from whenever Pete launched Rennen. Likely was paid to sit on the couch for a year, so deal probably happened 12 months...
Could probably work backwards from whenever Pete launched Rennen. Likely was paid to sit on the couch for a year, so deal probably happened 12 months prior to that.
It was first sold in 2014.
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Moto Nomad
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Moto Nomad 5/20/2022 3:53pm
5/20/2022 3:53pm
stone881 wrote:
Fox was purchased by venture capitalists, who then brought in a team of people to run the company that came from the MTB world. The whole...
Fox was purchased by venture capitalists, who then brought in a team of people to run the company that came from the MTB world. The whole brand seems to me to be shifting , no pun intended, away from core moto, so Shift became an easy way to trim costs. Shift also represented a fraction of the sales compared to Fox, so a good business move in the grand scheme of things.

Looks to me like Alpinestars is gobbling up a lot of the moto gear market now and clearly made a commitment to being more involved in US mx.
I see more Alpinestars logos around NorCal than I do Fox these days.
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8tensolutions
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8tensolutions 5/20/2022 3:58pm
5/20/2022 3:58pm
JazzyJJ wrote:
How much would it cost them to put out retro 1998 gear sets every year with little/no advertising? Seems like it would still be a net...
How much would it cost them to put out retro 1998 gear sets every year with little/no advertising? Seems like it would still be a net positive if they continued the line with minimal investment. They are already spending the dollars on new tech with Fox, just use the same materials with shift classic designs and call it a day.
stone881 wrote:
I agree, that would be cool and I prefer the heavier textiles from the past over the yoga pants of today. Unless Pete Fox and family...
I agree, that would be cool and I prefer the heavier textiles from the past over the yoga pants of today. Unless Pete Fox and family get control again, I suspect that the company continues to move towards MTB.
AngryBear wrote:
they changed the website this spring to default to MTB instead of MX for all the primary navigation. thats beyond telling of whats being prioritized moving...
they changed the website this spring to default to MTB instead of MX for all the primary navigation. thats beyond telling of whats being prioritized moving forward...




This is no surprise. The MTB market is roughly 10-20 times the moto market as far as participants/potential customers.
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NorCalRedRyder 5/21/2022 1:30am
5/21/2022 1:30am
I'm way biased as Fro is my favorite all time rider and Shift gear is my all time favorite gear, followed closely by SMP. Yes I know but the ladies loved it. His 1997 gear is imo the best looking of all time and didn't have a cheeseball name like "No Fear" lol. It was still underground and catered to racing and FMX.




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blockhead17
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blockhead17 5/21/2022 2:42am
5/21/2022 2:42am
I still have an old set of the Two Two shift gear that I wear sometimes, just because I love it so much..

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Premix
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Premix 5/21/2022 4:23am
5/21/2022 4:23am
Fox went way downhill. Had a couple of buddies that were reps for them, moved on because the management sucked.
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motoarmageddon 5/21/2022 7:33am
5/21/2022 7:33am
Fox is ran by corporate douches now. Just like Jokeley
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Cygrace74
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Cygrace74 5/21/2022 7:56am
5/21/2022 7:56am
New gear came out this spring, they’re not advertising and putting about 1% of there effort into it
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TbonesPop 5/21/2022 8:15am
5/21/2022 8:15am
They should change the name to Shaft, because that's what they got.
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Johnny Ringo
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Johnny Ringo 5/21/2022 8:41am
5/21/2022 8:41am
Sucks. They had two really good runs with the Fro Years and the Chad years.

Just like One Ind getting bought and shut down. Corporate assholes
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sandtrack315
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sandtrack315 5/21/2022 11:26am
5/21/2022 11:26am
Ran Shift gear on and off for 20 years. Just switched the AStars, really happy with it overall. Sad to see the Shift brand dying off.
731chopper
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731chopper 5/21/2022 1:23pm
5/21/2022 1:23pm
AngryBear wrote:
they changed the website this spring to default to MTB instead of MX for all the primary navigation. thats beyond telling of whats being prioritized moving...
they changed the website this spring to default to MTB instead of MX for all the primary navigation. thats beyond telling of whats being prioritized moving forward...




Have you been on the Oakley website lately? MX goggles aren’t even in the sub menus. They’re buried in a sub section of the mountain bike page.

I know Oakley was sold a long time ago but it sucks seeing these iconic brands abandon their motocross heritage.
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chasetwo79
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chasetwo79 5/21/2022 2:55pm
5/21/2022 2:55pm
Riding as a small kid in the 90s I though Fox was rad. By the time I was a little older I thought of Fox as really only supporting the top tier guys, having no support programs, and appealing to mass casual wear fans over good gear. Fox hasn’t been all in on Moto for almost 20 years.
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CPR
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CPR 5/21/2022 4:24pm
5/21/2022 4:24pm
To me the Emig and Twotwo Shift era’s are as iconic as RJ and Fox.



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Moto520
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Moto520 5/21/2022 5:35pm
5/21/2022 5:35pm
The Blue Lable stuff felt amazing. They didn’t last but that gear is very comfortable and athletic
zookrider62!
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zookrider62! 5/21/2022 8:08pm
5/21/2022 8:08pm
BigDaddyG wrote:
Seems to me they’re still going on…. They have Raha and Emig among others still representing.
https://www.shiftmx.com/
Don’t think they have raha anymore, his last YouTube video I saw didn’t look like shift

Emig and hanny only now?
Rickyisms 5/22/2022 8:26am
5/22/2022 8:26am
I think Raha started producing his own gear like Axel.
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