I guess he would be in a better postition to know...better than most of us mortals anyway.tscheezy said:
Sad and odd news. Chris Cocalis is leaving Titus...
Turner content? Well, DT broke the news.
Any silver lining? Well, this sounded good for Turner owners...
Any silver lining? Well, this sounded good for Turner owners...
DT said:Maybe that is why I am in such shock, that I cannot imagine the pain of walking away from the company I started.
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Well, that's a bummer. Hopefully he got a nice deal out of it. I wouldn't feel to bad for him, though. I bet he's got a garage full of sweet bikes and now he's going to have more time to ride them. Fifteen years is a pretty darn good run for a small business. He probably needed a break, and I'm sure things will work out for him.
A loss to the industry.
The man designed great bikes.
The man designed great bikes.
If he gets to leave the sprawling heat baked hell that is Phoenix metro, this is a very good thing. 
He leaves what appears to be a very strong Titus with well regarded products and happy, loyal customers. Not bad at all.
He leaves what appears to be a very strong Titus with well regarded products and happy, loyal customers. Not bad at all.
Very true and yet it is a huge loss for the industry and Titus.cowDawg said:If he gets to leave the sprawling heat baked hell that is Phoenix metro, this is a very good thing.
He leaves what appears to be a very strong Titus with well regarded products and happy, loyal customers. Not bad at all.
He surely will be missed.
the bike world somehow has chased one of its own out the door and into the night. such a sad day, even if ya dont realize it yet, the impact will be felt somewhere down the road. i wish him and titus cycles al the best.
thanx for the smile bling. i can see why the gal in front posed on the bike with the big ones.
why assume the worst? maybe vyatek was sucking up too much money. who knows. on one hand I'm with fat elvis. maybe he's got some coin and he is going to ride his bike for a while...cactuscorn said:the bike world somehow has chased one of its own out the door and into the night. such a sad day, even if ya dont realize it yet, the impact will be felt somewhere down the road. i wish him and titus cycles al the best.
I just hope its not an ibis thing and i don't have to wait a million years to buy another Cocalis designed bike.
it was only words. no intent meant. yer readin to much into it demo. ive no idea what the terms or reason of his leaving titus are. at some point soon i hope to hear back from him and maybe hell choose to fill me in, maybe not. if so, i may be able to tell you guys, maybe not. in the end hes one smart cookie and he wont sit idle for long but i doubt well see him start another frame or carbon bike component company anytime soon.
Who are those 2 hotties??
I've always drooled over one of his ti hardtails, or his ti roadbike. Classy of DT to post that, this website is such an incredible source of info for us "outside the industry" cycling junkies.
I've always drooled over one of his ti hardtails, or his ti roadbike. Classy of DT to post that, this website is such an incredible source of info for us "outside the industry" cycling junkies.
Why is everyone mourning this "great loss" as if the guy will never design another bike? I view this as a golden opportunity for the biking industry, since we can continue to ride his old designs labeled as Titus, and hopefully some new ones under a different name. Who knows what design nuggets he was storing during the last few (likely unhappy) years at Titus! Maybe he even has a Horst design with proper cable routing and no chain suck!
That's keeping the sunny side up Dusty.
Still shocking news. I wish Chris C. well and hope he returns to the industry quickly.
Still shocking news. I wish Chris C. well and hope he returns to the industry quickly.
I'm sure he'll be back...
Titus was my plan B if I hadn't landed the 5-Spot when I did a few years back. If the original Motolite had a real seattube it may have been plan A.
Francois originally posted this in the thread DT started on the Titus board...
Bicycle Retailer article July 6:
Titus Founder Chris Cocalis Departs After 16 Years
JULY 06, 2006 --
TEMPE, AZ (BRAIN)-Chris Cocalis, Titus Cycles' founder and president, left the company June 30.
Cocalis founded the company in 1991 with the vision of developing flexible manufacturing processes for building high-quality custom titanium frames. In 2001 Titus Cycles merged with composites technology firm Vyatek Sports. Cocalis retained equity in both companies and secured a five-year contract as part of the deal.
Cocalis decided to leave when negotiations over a new contract failed last month.
"The things that they proposed in the new contract were not really in my best interest. For me it was better to sell my interest in both companies now than to agree to basically stay there as an employee. I owned and developed and ran the place for 15 years, and it was time for me to explore other opportunities," Cocalis said.
"Of course, after 15 years here, I regret that we couldn't come to an agreement that will work for both companies," he added.
Pat Hus, Titus Cycles' chief executive officer, said the company would miss Cocalis' product development expertise.
"For the past year and a half we worked together in tandem really well," said Hus, who joined Titus last April. "Unfortunately, we couldn't get past the contractual terms. Chris had wealth of knowledge in terms of product and we're going to miss him around here."
Cocalis plans to stay in the industry in some capacity. He can be reached at (480) 753-0153 or [email protected].
Titus was my plan B if I hadn't landed the 5-Spot when I did a few years back. If the original Motolite had a real seattube it may have been plan A.
Francois originally posted this in the thread DT started on the Titus board...
Bicycle Retailer article July 6:
Titus Founder Chris Cocalis Departs After 16 Years
JULY 06, 2006 --
TEMPE, AZ (BRAIN)-Chris Cocalis, Titus Cycles' founder and president, left the company June 30.
Cocalis founded the company in 1991 with the vision of developing flexible manufacturing processes for building high-quality custom titanium frames. In 2001 Titus Cycles merged with composites technology firm Vyatek Sports. Cocalis retained equity in both companies and secured a five-year contract as part of the deal.
Cocalis decided to leave when negotiations over a new contract failed last month.
"The things that they proposed in the new contract were not really in my best interest. For me it was better to sell my interest in both companies now than to agree to basically stay there as an employee. I owned and developed and ran the place for 15 years, and it was time for me to explore other opportunities," Cocalis said.
"Of course, after 15 years here, I regret that we couldn't come to an agreement that will work for both companies," he added.
Pat Hus, Titus Cycles' chief executive officer, said the company would miss Cocalis' product development expertise.
"For the past year and a half we worked together in tandem really well," said Hus, who joined Titus last April. "Unfortunately, we couldn't get past the contractual terms. Chris had wealth of knowledge in terms of product and we're going to miss him around here."
Cocalis plans to stay in the industry in some capacity. He can be reached at (480) 753-0153 or [email protected].
Divorce
What it comes down to is that Chris got cheated on then looses the house the kids and all the toys in an ugly sounding divorce. Emotionally that is the only thing I can compare this too. When I heard the news yesterday I was shocked to the point of almost being speechless. Rocked to the core. As a small biz owner we are married to our business', and in most cases far more time and energy is spent on the biz than a spouse, think of the long days, the 4am sweats, the issues popping into your head every time you close your eyes and on and on. Then to be treated like an employee, whatever that meant to Chris, was bad enough to push Chris out of HIS house. I meant NO disrespect to all the people that have made Titus what it is today, but each one of them was hired by Chris, trained by Chris and every day Chris sat down and drove in whichever direction he thought was right after processing riders ideas and industry information and business facts that Chris gathered so that months and years down the road Chris might still have a job for all the people Chris was responsible for and that his own family would be taken care of. After re-reading all the "statements" it sounds all to familiar. When the new money or investment group or umbrella partner or CEO or whatever takes over they let the founder run for awhile then when they "see" how it is done they axe him. I will miss Chris under the blue and white this fall, I know he will end up on his feet running in the direction he wants but for now his knees and palms are bleeding from the endo.
David Turner
What it comes down to is that Chris got cheated on then looses the house the kids and all the toys in an ugly sounding divorce. Emotionally that is the only thing I can compare this too. When I heard the news yesterday I was shocked to the point of almost being speechless. Rocked to the core. As a small biz owner we are married to our business', and in most cases far more time and energy is spent on the biz than a spouse, think of the long days, the 4am sweats, the issues popping into your head every time you close your eyes and on and on. Then to be treated like an employee, whatever that meant to Chris, was bad enough to push Chris out of HIS house. I meant NO disrespect to all the people that have made Titus what it is today, but each one of them was hired by Chris, trained by Chris and every day Chris sat down and drove in whichever direction he thought was right after processing riders ideas and industry information and business facts that Chris gathered so that months and years down the road Chris might still have a job for all the people Chris was responsible for and that his own family would be taken care of. After re-reading all the "statements" it sounds all to familiar. When the new money or investment group or umbrella partner or CEO or whatever takes over they let the founder run for awhile then when they "see" how it is done they axe him. I will miss Chris under the blue and white this fall, I know he will end up on his feet running in the direction he wants but for now his knees and palms are bleeding from the endo.
David Turner
Wow, that's crazy...seems like the other company screwed him over if you ask me.
sh!tpizzfockdam. this is exactly what i was afraid of. i hoped he just had other ideas and a fat check to do them with but deep down i knew that couldnt be true. the press release was the zoo keepers yells to get in the cage and this is pretty much the gate slamming shut. what a shame.turnerbikes said:When the new money or investment group or umbrella partner or CEO or whatever takes over they let the founder run for awhile then when they "see" how it is done they axe him.
David Turner
Many people speculated this would be the case, especially when certain people joined the company. It's really too bad for Chris, considering he was probably putting up with a lot of **** over the last few months.
Chris at least walks out of it with the most important thing, his reputation. Those in the industry know who designed the bikes, who built the company, who takes care of the customers. At the end of the day, there is no value that can be put on this reputation and it is what represents the heart and soul of Titus. I love(d) Titus, their bikes, their design, enough that I own two (don't feel bad, a roadbike and a hardtail to complement my Burner). With Chris gone, I will not buy another Titus because the person I know would take care of me if there was a problem is gone. Will the new CEO act the same way, I don't know, but I know that the spirit of the company has left, the same as if Dave Turner sold Turner Bikes and left.turnerbikes said:After re-reading all the "statements" it sounds all to familiar. When the new money or investment group or umbrella partner or CEO or whatever takes over they let the founder run for awhile then when they "see" how it is done they axe him. I will miss Chris under the blue and white this fall, I know he will end up on his feet running in the direction he wants but for now his knees and palms are bleeding from the endo.
David Turner
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