Nov
20
Urban Cyclists and the Outdoor Retailer
Filed Under Cycling, Deep Thoughts, Industry News, Interbike | 1 Comment
I’m always on the look out for coverage of cycling in the non-endemic media, and am especially interested in non-endemic trade media mentions, which are rare. Well, I just had one of these rare sightings and it’s an valuable read for bike dealers.
The September/October issue of SGB (Sporting Goods Business) magazine has an interesting article by Kate Siber entitled, “The New Morning Commute – Thrift, Gas Prices and Urban Style Make Cycling Hip Again.” The point of the article, given the reader audience of SGB–sporting goods and outdoor retailers–is to enlighten them to the evolution and growth of transportation and utilitarian cycling of the last few years that we in the bike industry are well aware of, AND the business opportunities they present to the outdoor retail channel. The article causes a lot of questions to be raised about what the existing bike retail channel is doing to serve or not serve the new cyclists’ needs.
“The take away is that now is an excellent time to tap the burgeoning bike-commuter market.”
The logic seems solid: who among us cyclists doesn’t also frequent outdoor goods stores? REI and, recently, Canada’s Mountain Equipment Coop have very visibly figured this out. What’s happening now is that the growth of the non-enthusiast urban cyclist means that potentially even more of the outdoor stores’ existing customer base are cyclists and in the market for gear and apparel to meet their new riding and style needs.
Is this a warning to the bike industry that someone else is looking to take advantage of a cycling segment that, as we’ve discussed in the past, we’re not adequately serving? Or, conversely, would the prospect of wider availability of cycling related goods help to broaden the “brand awareness” of the bicycle? That would help grow the pie for all of us. And make the world a better place. Right?
This opportunity is being missed by many outdoor stores, the article states. Despite the growth in urban cycling, “many outdoor stores do not identify the bike commuter as one of their core customers.” Upon calling a downtown Portland, OR, outdoor store, the author was told that they “weren’t involved with bike commuters.” I love her response to that:
“No bike commuters in an outdoor store in downtown Portland? Perhaps they were in disguise as regular old customers.”
The article goes on to say that many independent bike dealers are on to this trend and have begun to take advantage of this market. It’s good to hear that what had previously existed mostly outside of the manufacturer-to-retailer-to-cyclist ecosystem has started to move to the dealer channel best equipped to service the cyclist. Boston’s Wheelworks and Denver’s Salvagetti are IBD success stories called out by the magazine. Personally, I’ve also noticed many new “urban-centric” and “fixie-centric” shops opening up over the last couple of years to serve this market, answering the question that Bicycle Retailer asked last year, “Are bike shops selling the bikes new bikers want to buy?”. And for anyone who visited the Electra booth at this year’s show and saw their new Ticino line of components, it’s clear that manufacturers are really starting to step it up with gear to help IBD’s serve these emerging and trendy categories better.
Ms. Siber also discusses the growth of fixed gear bikes and fixie culture and lifestyle. The importance of style to the category, she writes, could be very well addressed by outdoor retailers because of their experience with selling fashion and apparel. The perception of different store types’ strengths by casual and urban cyclists is critical to note. IBD’s are still perceived, for the most part, as purveyors of lycra and spandex. As apparel maker Sheila Moon is quoted in the article:
“These customers tend not to expect these types of duds in bike shops. Whenever they think of bike shops and clothing, they think of spandex.”
We definitely saw a noticeable increase in attendance by non-bike dealers this year at Interbike in the form of outdoor recreation and performance sports stores. Bikes continue to be sold in bike shops, mainly, but customers will look to a variety of other stores for apparel. At Interbike, we have tried to directly target this situation with the launch of the Urban Legend fashion show. The concept was to put these casual, urban apparel brands and styles and bikes in front of the industry and retailers to educate them on what’s happening out there.
Now I don’t necessarily take the knee jerk reaction that these new sellers of bike gear are bad for the IBD. As I mentioned earlier here and in previous posts, I think that we need to put bikes in front of the non-cyclists in the places they shop because that’s not necessarily in bike shops. I think we also need to continue to work to soften some of the enthusiast focus of retailers if we want to appeal to a broader audience. That’s not to say that there’s no place for our beloved pro shops. But as for taking advantage of new categories of riders (customers!), we need to address the aspects of our existing retail experience that may be intimidating, at best, or off-putting, at worst, to them. Maybe Shimano’s Coasting project uncovered the right challenges that we need to address, but ended up with the wrong solution. Instead of new displays inside of existing bike dealers, maybe they should have been placed in the habitats of the non-cyclists that we all want to reach. (Heresy?)
I’ll leave with a final quote from the article that is encouraging if only because it seems to equate bike lifestyle with that holy-grail of predominantly non-enthusiast customer categories: surf wear. Only a few short years ago, this statement would have been laughable.
“Much like the surf market, bike style appeals to a demographic far broader than just the enthusiasts. It represents an ethos.”
Nov
13
BikeHugger and Russell the Nippletwister
Filed Under Gear, Interbike, Photos, Rides | 2 Comments
Arriving back at my cube yesterday morning after a trip to visit a client, I was pleasantly surprised to find a box with the Sun-Ringle logo on it waiting for me. I guess I knew the wheels were coming, I just didn’t know what model to expect. Turns out that the wheels I won at BikeHugger.com’s Interbike Mobile Social raffle are a set of Sun-Ringle Accelerator X2.0 wheels. In swanky gold, no less!
I’ve always had good luck with Sun’s rims, so I can’t wait to throw a cassette and some tires on them this weekend and take them out for a spin. SR’s website describes the intended use of this model as “cyclocross or performance commuter riding conditions.” From the tough looking design and build and the kind of riding I do, I’d put them in the “spring classics riding conditions” category. I don’t race any more, but I still like to ride like I do. I also don’t plan on running with a bike over my shoulder anytime soon, so the cross use is out the picture. And having a tougher set of wheels on the bike for when I commute will be very welcome, too.
I can’t say I’m familiar with their hubs, but they look solid and feel smooth.
While I don’t consider their just over 1,800-and-change gram weight unreasonable, I think most reviewers today would fall into the trap of calling them heavy because of the seeming abundance of sub 1,500 gram aluminum rimmed wheels on the market. The X2.0’s look like they’ll be able to take anything you throw their way without complaint: wide rim, eyelets, 32 14gauge db Wheelsmith spokes in a classic reliable lacing pattern. And while I can’t confirm this at the moment, from the hand-written sign included in the box, it looks like the wheels were built by one “Russell the Nippletwister.” A wheelbuilder with a name like that guarantees a quality build, right? Anyways, I like the personal touch, Sun-Ringle.
And that’s the kind of component I like on my bike: reliable, reasonably light, attractive and tough. I also like having some insight into the people behind the brand and design (like Russell here). I drool over the cool high end stuff as much as the most passionate bike geek (I still have to post my review of Shimano’s Di2 that I rode at the OutDoor Demo), but I’ve been pretty good at reigning myself back in to what I should be riding. Oh, and it shouldn’t cost an arm and a leg (I have two kids and a mortgage, you know?). Come to think of it, before I get a bruise from patting myself on the back too much for my practicality, maybe economics play the biggest role in the selection of parts that I ride.
On a fun note, you can see in the photo that Sun-Ringle include a bunch of stickers with the wheels. This is a nice unexpected touch that I’d recommend to all manufacturers. It’s a small gesture, but adds to the overall experience of buying something in a not too expensive way. They’ll be going right up on my tool chest at home.
Much to my surprise, I was the lucky winner of one of the many raffles that the BikeHugger crew held at their tent at the USA Crits Finals, part of their Mobile Social ride down the Strip from the Sands Expo Center to Mandalay bay. By the time I realized I was free to do the ride, it was too late to secure a bike. I ended up just watching and photographing the start of the ride and then meeting up with them at the crit. Someone handed me a raffle ticket, and lo-and-behold, they called out my number. Can’t rememebr the last time I won anything – much less something as nice as a set of wheels!
Byron and his team at BikeHugger had some great schwag to give away and I came back home with a Breezer Bikes t-shirt and cool mini Swiss Army Knife/USB flash drive along with the promise that they would ship me the wheels I had won. I felt a little funny as the “Interbike Guy” winning a prize, but everyone good naturedly insisted that I accept. As the host of the event, I don’t ask for or get much schwag (everyone there is my customer, essentially, and it’s best reserved for the retailers in attendance), so to actually come away with something like this was a real treat and definitely appreciated. I also remember seeing a set of Hed wheels and a Novara bike raffled off that night to happy attendees.
Despite the somewhat bewildering summary of Interbike 2009 in theirwrap-up story, I like what BikeHugger.com is trying to do and had a lot of fun the crew at the Mobile Social this year. You should visit their site and read up about their M.S. MoSo events that they piggyback off of various trade shows and conferences around the country like Interbike and South-By-Southwest. As the intersection of social media and riding, they’re a blast and a great way to bring passionate cyclists together.
I’ll end by saying thanks to Byron and the BikeHugger team once more for a great event and a big thanks to Sun-Ringle for supporting the Mobile Social with these wheels – I’m really looking forward to enjoying the fruits of Russell’s handiwork!
Nov
4
Electric Bikes Fill the Void at Tokyo Motor Show
Filed Under Cycling, Gear, Industry News, Video | 3 Comments
Yesterday I had the pleasure of speaking with a very knowledgeable industry expert and the topic of electric bikes came up – as it seems to more and more often lately. We chatted a bit about the opportunities in the category, and he mentioned how Yamaha had made a splash a few weeks back at the Tokyo Motor Show with their line of e-bikes. Not having been aware of the famous motorcycle (and piano, stereo and flute) maker’s e-bikes, I did a quick search for coverage. Here’s what I found.
It turns out that many car makers decided to not exhibit at this year’s big Tokyo Motor Show due to the effect the economic slowdown has had on that industry, and electric bikes helped fill the void on the show floor. Click the image to watch a brief video report from the show by CCTV. The video mentions that Yamaha actually created the first electric assist bicycle back in 1993. I can’t vouch for that claim, but it’s encouraging that the company sees great potential for e-bikes in the near future.
On a side note, it’s interesting that these electric bicycles are on display at the Motor Show. I caught a glimpse at an industry survey, recently, of IBD’s and their interest (or lack of, as it turns out) in selling electric bikes and have to wonder if the specialty bicycle dealer channel will be seen as the place to go for e-bikes in the future or if it will be served by others as well in a significant way. These could be motorcycle dealers or mass merchant electronics dealers like Best Buy. I know there has been a debate in the bicycle community about whether e-bikes should be considered bikes or essentially the equivalent of motorcycles that happen to run on batteries. Designed the proper way, I believe that they can fit into the bicycle category.
I have to say, I finally got to seriously try out an electric assist bike (a Giant) at our East Coast Demo event in Providence a few weeks ago, and I’m now convinced of the potential for the category. If a dealer can get the right customer on one, it’s an instant eye opening experience. Providence’s Mayor David Ciclline (in the photo below talking to Brad Klipping from Giant) came out to the event to try some bikes and I had to really talk him into trying the Giant. The mayor is a cyclist himself, and I think his pride was preventing him from giving the bike a try. He gave in and the smile came across his face right after the first electric-assisted pedal stroke as it did for me. To give him full credit as a cyclist, after the e-bike ride we hit the demo trails on a pair of the new Breezer MTB’s.
I would recommend a deliberate look into e-bikes for bike dealers out there who are on the fence. And give them a second chance if you have had less than stellar experiences with them in the past – it’s a whole new ball game with some high quality innovations by many companies.