The Taiwan Bicycle Exporters Association (TBEA) has committed $50,000 per year for three years to the Bikes Belong Foundation. The investment will go toward Bikes Belong’s Bicycling Design Best Practices Project, which works to increase bicycle use in America by adapting and implementing state-of-the art international best practices in infrastructure and urban design to make bicycling safer, more comfortable and more appealing. The SRAM Cycling Fund has matched this $50,000 contribution for 2010.

Read the rest of the news release here.

It’s (the official) Bike to Work Week! I know a few cities and areas have already held their own BTW days, but according to the League of American Bicyclists, this week is the real deal. As long as we’re talking official, Bike to Work Day is this Friday the 21st of May.

For most Americans, it’s time to break out the 10-speed or the old mountain bike for their annual bike commute effort. For most readers of this blog, though, I would assume either an existing regular or occasional bike commute or, as is the case with me, the kick-off event to “bike commute season.” My bike commuting is not so much weather influenced (San Diego/Orange County weather anyone?) as it is by the distance and kids’ schedules. School summer vacation schedules typically make my 44.8 mile (according to Google’s biking directions) each way commute possible. I throw in a Metrolink train between Oceanside and San Juan Capistrano to trim some time off Google’s estimated 4 hour and 8 minute ride to work (and actually enjoy the ride up the coast with views of the Pacific and the surfers and dolphins playing in it).

Speaking of Google biking directions, below is Google’s widget that you’re able to embed on your website. In the spirit of Bike To Work Week, I have it pre-populated with our office’s address in case you happen to be coming down to visit us and can use a bike. The widget’s also there to motivate/assist my co-workers planning to ride to work this week who don’t normally do so and help us do well in the Specialized Commuter Cup challenge. You can do it team!

It’s a decent show of the common sense aspect of using a bike to get to work. They even have an “expert” on who highlighted some important stats such as how most Americans live within 5 miles of work. The focus is more on the health benefits, but I’ll take whatever positive mention of cycling the mainstream media give us.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Self Magazine, featured in the video, has a “Biking Guide” up on their site with tips and product suggestions for new cyclists.

Also interesting to note that near the beginning, Roker says it’s time to “break out the Schwinn” when referring to bikes. I wonder if “break out the Trek (or Specialized) would mean more to people under 40?

BUT, the content more than makes up for it. I’d heard going into the this morning session at the annual spring gathering of the bike industry’s leaders that there was going to be an announcement made by one of the advocacy groups. When I saw Tim Blumenthal of Bikes Belong, Jenn Dice of IMBA and then the CEO’s of the two largest US bike companies, Mike Sinyard of Specialized and John Burke of Trek, walk up onto the stage, I had a feeling it would be something big. I reached for my little Sony point-and-click digital camera that also shoots video and captured the proceedings. Who knew it would be so compelling?

If you didn’t read the coverage or were not fortunate enough to be present, here’s the background. The BLC this year hosted about 200 “heads of state” of most of the major bike manufacturers and suppliers in the United States. Pretty much a who’s who of the industry including the presidents, CEO’s, general managers, owners and/or marketing directors of companies like the two listed already, plus Shimano, SRAM, Campagnolo, Raleigh, Dorel, Performance, Scott USA, Ritchey, Giant, Haro, Crank Brothers, SIDI… you get the idea. They all gather to network, improve the business climate, discuss the state of the industry and work on areas to improve conditions for cyclists and ultimately grow sales of bikes. It’s really an amazing event and, as is the case with many conferences, the time during the meals and breaks in between sessions are some of the most beneficial and gratifying. I make it a point to find a table during the meals with no one I know to force myself to make new acquaintances and contacts. With essentially everyone in the room being a client of ours in some way, you can understand the value in attending for us.

So, apparently, in the weeks leading up the BLC, Jenn Dice from IMBA had been discussing with John Burke about some serious new challenges that they were facing on access issues. John asked what IMBA needed to mount an effective defense and he in turn committed to supporting it. He also told her to reach out to “Mike over at Specialized.” With that base of initial support from the two big guns in the industry, they decided to formally announce the new Public Lands Initiative at the BLC and to take advantage of all the assembled people with enough authority to write big checks on behalf of their corporations to try to reach the funding goals for the program.

Following the introductions and speeches by Dice, Burke and Sinyard, was an amazing sign of industry solidarity, belief in the role of advocacy in growing the industry and more than a little peer pressure. While many companies committed right there on the spot, many more joined in throughout the rest of the day and the conference (after a quick call to their CFO back home, perhaps?), and the $300,000 first year goal was surpassed and approached the two-year $600,000 goal finishing up at $587,000. Pretty amazing.

The quality of the video is not great as a result of the device and the indoor lighting and sound, but the spirit is inspiring. I caught a number of companies making their on-the-spot pledges of support and tried to note them all during the video. I added the complete list of 38 companies (including us, of course!) at the end. And remember, it’s not too late to email Jenn and make a pledge if your company hasn’t already. Retailers: note in the video that your peers at Wheel & Sprocket and Performance join in with support in the video so don’t feel like this is only a supplier issue!

Here’s a link to IMBA’s official news release about the initiative.

Not one to avoid going back to the same well for more of the same traffic, I give you Design Your Dream Fixie 2.0: trendy fashion retailer Urban Outfitters has been selling bikes through its website–even going so far as to call it the “Urban Outfitters Bike Shop” and give it its own vanity url: bikes.urbanoutfitters.com.

The site lets you design your own bike and preview how it will look as you go along. Once you’ve designed it–by selecting frame, wheel and component colors–and placed your order, they (or rather their partner Republic Bike) build it and ship it to you (some assembly required). All for the incredibly attractive price of $399.

Is this mass-merchant/big box-style bike selling or a popular and fashionable non-endemic retailer helping to spread the gospel of bikes to their customer base? Does the simple and straightforward nature of fixed gear bikes alleviate some of the concern that U.O. don’t have service departments in their stores at all? If fixies hadn’t developed into the trend that they are, would U.O. be selling any bikes at all? Is a fixie just a fashion accessory to the U.O. customer or are they being used in a very practical way as a means of transportation with some lasting impact on the buyer’s lifestyle?

Aside from the impressive number reached, I believe that the importance of this research is that it is a rare analysis of the role that cycling plays in a region’s economy. If we can’t win the argument for cycling with some skeptics based on all the well known benefits of the activity itself, then maybe we can win on its economic significance. And with the state of unemployment, currently, in the US, the figure below from the report has particular value:

In all, bicycling supports an estimated 13,193 jobs in the state.

I married into a family with strong ties to Wisconsin and am very familiar with “God’s Country,” as they lovingly refer to it. It truly is a beautiful place to ride a bike, and non-residents who spend over 6.4 million days a year cycling in WI seem to agree. I bring this point up to emphasize that this report focuses on the impact from recreational cycling, though it does seem to touch on the benefits of replacing short car trips with the bicycle. The report also includes some recommendations to increase bicycle use.

Another interesting figure from the report that will appeal to industry members is that the report quotes the “economic impact of manufacturing, sales, & services” to equal just under $594 million. Considering that that amount includes Trek’s, Pacific’s and all other manufacturers’ business plus the sales of all of the state’s bicycle retailers, does that sound small to anyone or is it about right? I’m curious because the only real reference I have for Trek’s sales would be to compare them to Specialized’s. Back in 2008, an article and video interview with Specialized’s Mike Sinyard on the CNN Money website mentioned that he had grown the company he began in an eight foot wide trailer into a $500 million a year business. I would assume Trek to be very similar in size if not a bit larger in sales than them. And Pacific is no slouch themselves in the sales department, so I would arrive at a noticeably larger total figure guesstimate.  Am I wrong?

And in closing, lest you think that all is rosy for cyclists in Wisconsin, if you read the comments section of any of the articles written about the study in the state’s newspaper sites, you’ll see the typical anti-bike attitude we all seem  to encounter, unfortunately, whenever bikes are described in a positive way.

You can read the full report here on the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin website in PDF format.

“Interesting,” I thought to myself and made a mental note to use it as a reason for a post here. Later, while skimming through the most popular articles area in the New York Times app on my iPhone during lunch, I saw that a piece on ebikes was in the top 10.

“An Electric Boost for Bicyclists – Born in China, Electric Bikes Gain a Toehold in the West” is the article featured in the Global Business section of the February 1 edition of the Times. Confirming the high popularity ranking, there are already 95 comments to the piece as of this writing.

The article by J. David Goodman is worth a read and features comments from some industry notables such as consultant Jay Townley and ebike expert Ed Benjamin who is quoted as saying that ebikes are a “gift from God” for bike makers. Sure seems like the industry is treating them like they are.

Proving that there’s always something left to learn, here are a few things I learned:

• Electric bicycles are not officially permitted on the streets of New York.
• While producing far fewer emissions, a typical Chinese ebike goes through five batteries in its lifetime – each containing 20 to 30 pounds of lead (!). Ouch.
• Two distinct types of bikes are emerging as their popularity grows: the very bicycle-like pedal-assist in the US and Europe and the more scooter-like variant in China.
• Government planners are seeking to address the challenges that the increase in ebikes on the streets are causing traditional cyclists: do they belong in bike lanes/paths?

And again I ask, considering that Best Buy is taking on the category, that specialty bicycle retail has a general lack of enthusiasm toward them (described here in a previous post), and that many traditional cyclists not exactly embracing the concept (according to the article), who will own the electric bike retail channel going forward?

Ms. Tu is the chief financial offer for Giant, the “godmother of bicycles” and a founder investor in the company along with chairman, King Liu. She has strong opinions about bikes, their role in society and specifically about bikes for women. Here’s a quote:

“To get more women on the road, we have to get them to think of these things as accessories,” she says. “Natural, everyday accessories, like handbags. All major brands claim they design specifically for women, but it’s not true. It means something when I say I’m the godmother — nobody should doubt that our women’s bikes are designed for women by women.”

Read the entire article.

Label Networks is a site that focuses on “youth culture intelligence and news” and is fairly well known in the more fashion-centric industries like those served by Interbike’s sister trade show, ASR. With that said, the bike industry’s young (in both tenure and demographic) fixie/urban category appears on their trend-spotting radar screens unlike our traditional “technical” bike apparel. Like my recent post on outdoor retailers and cycling, this is an interesting view into how this category is being exposed and explained to the non-endemic fashion community.

It’s a tad old, but still worth a read: The Urban Cycle Fashion Movement and the Cult of Transportation. The piece mentions cycling inspired apparel from Adidas, New Era and Outlier among others.

Note: Just noticed a more recent and updated version of the article from this Aug: Urban Cycling and How Fixies Are Transforming the Cult of Transportation Into a Lifestyle

As any strong movement grows, so too does a new industry, including of course the growth of bike shops in urban centers, and events such as Midnight Rides in various cities, plus art shows showcasing the creative energy of the of movement, and self-made videos and documentaries as seen during the touring Bicycle Film Festival.