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Jul
1
WSJ Video: Bike Fashion Loses Spandex
Filed Under Industry News, Interbike, Video | 2 Comments
Just caught this early this morning while reading the news online while eating a bowl of cereal. It’s a video from the Wall Street Journal on casual cycling apparel that they posted last week on their site. It’s a concept we know well: you don’t need to dress like a pro in Lycra and spandex just to ride your bike. In fact, the assumption that they will have to get kitted up like Lance actually turns people off to riding. We’re definitely bullish on the category, and have been featuring it in our annual urban fashion show at Interbike, returning for the fourth year in 2011. There are some great new bike-specific yet casual looking styles and brands out there to appeal to both the recreational and commuting cyclist that needs to look just as appropriately dressed off the bike as when on it.
WSJ journalist, passionate cyclist and frequent Interbike attendee, Reed Albergotti, steps in to comment from a cyclist’s perspective with the two other more mainstream journalists.
Cycling apparel brands: submit your pieces to be considered for this year’s Interbike City Style Fashion Show, produced in partnership with Momentum Magazine, by downloading a submission form here.
May
26
Levi’s Entering the Bike Apparel Market?
Filed Under Industry News | Comments Off
Saw an interesting post yesterday from the NYC Velo bike shop blog about Levi’s and bike-specific apparel. Since they’re both located in Manhattan, Levi’s invited the shop down to their meatpacking district company store to preview their line of commuter-focused jeans and to provide feedback on a new cycling jacket design. I think this is another great sign that bike commuting is becoming more mainstream and is a viable market for mainstream businesses to profit from. This also fits right into the theme for the urban fashion show we’ve been holding at Interbike for the last three years: casual, functional, everyday cycling apparel that looks just as good off the bike.
The writer of the post had a great quote about how Levi’s fits in the bike market:
Levi’s garments are so stitched into the fabric of our culture and work-a-day life that extending the brand to casual cycling was a no-brainer for us.
Also, seems like I missed Prolly’s post about the line and his involvement with it last month. Check it out here if you missed it, too.
Heard from Joe over at Paved Magazine who got a pair and they’re capri style. Anyone else know if they’ll all be capri’s? Seems like the company is basing the cycling line off their 511 skinny jeans.
One funny observation given the simple, “work-a-day”, durable, apparel-for-the-masses appeal that Levi’s jeans have, the technology that they’re incorporating in their bike line sounds suspiciously typical for a high-tech bike industry product: “Levi’s is utilizing Swiss fabric brand Schoeller Technologies, and their Nano Sphere Technology + 3X dry textile treatment.” Maybe that’s just tech sweet talk intended for us tech-obsessed cycling enthusiasts. Better living through over engineering, right?
Welcome, Levi’s.
To see some great bike-specific jeans from two companies that specialize in the category, check out Osloh from New York and Swrve who are based in Los Angeles.
May
17
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!
Aug
29
Urban Legend Fashion and Art Show
Filed Under Attendee News, Cycling, Exhibitor News, Industry News, Interbike | 5 Comments
So in a last minute flurry of creative activity here, we’ve managed to put together something that we’re really excited about. Check out the blurb below that was sent out to retailers yesterday by email as the first official announcement of our brand new “Urban Legend Fashion and Art Show” at Interbike this year:
Urban Legend
Presented by Momentum Magazine
Bikes, Art and Fashion in motion. A self propelled cycling art and fashion show that brings the cutting edge of urban bicycle culture to life. Cycling for transportation is one of the hottest sectors in the bike industry today. A change is happening on the streets and people are integrating bikes into their everyday lives. Urban Legend is about expanding our perceptions of what it looks like to ride a bike. Immerse yourself in the trends of the urban cycling category and join us for a unique preview of the latest products designed for practical cycling style and function. Witness the evolution of urban transport, enjoy a cold beer, some dj-spun tunes and take in art inspired by a passion for bicycles. This fashion show will highlight a range of stylish, smart, sexy and professional looks that fit into everyday life and work great on a bike.
“The urban cycling market is different than the ‘Ricky Racer’ crowd – the typical lycra scene is not exactly what appeals to the urban rider. The Urban Legend fashion show highlights the more accurate wants and needs of the urban cyclist and helps spotlight ideas to help retailers provide those items to the urban riders who are walking into their stores.” – Tim Jackson, Brand Manager, Masi Bicycles
Location: Venetian Ballroom G
Time: Thursday, September 25th, 5pm
For the last few years we’ve talked here in the office about trying to put on a fashion show at Interbike, but could never really come up with the right format. The traditional runway style with models in bike apparel walking a catwalk never seemed appropriate. We’ve also been talking about ways to feature all the great gear and bikes that have been cropping up for urban and transportation cycling, with no real success.
Then a couple of weeks ago, I read on Tim Jackson of Masi Bicycles blog that he was planning a trip up to Vancouver which would include a visit with the Momentum Magazine team. It had been a while since I had checked in on Momentum and after reading about a small fashion sow they had done, I was really impressed with the format they came up with and thought it was perfect for both those things we had been wanting to put together in Vegas. I called up Mia at Momentum and introduced myself and we chatted for a bit about the concept she said they were interested in helping us do it on a bigger scale in Vegas.
So what’s the big deal about this fashion show? Well, for starters the models will be riding urban, folding, utilitarian and commuting bikes. Second, the outfits that Momentum will be selecting (not us – we trust Mia and her team’s eye for style more than ours) from industry apparel companies will be urban and casual cycling wear – not the enthusiast and racing-inspired attire like lycra shorts and euro-pro jerseys. We love those styles, but in the current climate of growing acceptance and use of bikes in everyday life, we believe that retailers and manufacturers would benefit most from seeing the latest in these styles and how they look in action.
OK, so the apparel theme is a bit different…what else? This is the coolest part, to me. Instead of a typical runway setup, there will be a course laid out on the floor of the ballroom in a loop. The attendees to the show will be standing in and around the loop and the models will ride essentially among the audience. This way, it shows the outfits in their designed-for use and allows most everyone there to have a front row seat. With the addition of the bicycle-inspired artwork displayed throughout the room, the feel should be very reminiscent of an art gallery showing – truly enhancing the presentation of the bikes and the fashion to a higher level that they deserve. There will be drinks served and a dj spinning tunes.
So that’s it in a nutshell. Since this really is a late addition to the schedule, expect more info and news very soon and as we get closer to the show. I think this will be an awesome addition to the show and a resource to the industry for this important and growing category. We’re really glad to have Momentum partnering with us on this and thankful for their inspiration. After the show, we can all head down to Mandalay Bay for some fast and furious (sorry) crit racing that night. What a week we’ve got ahead of us, huh?
Note: In his quote above and in our collateral about the fashion show, Tim followed his “Ricky Racer” comment with a “not that there’s anything wrong with that” type qualifier. I took it out for better flow, but just wanted to help Tim avoid any angry emails or digs directed at him from the Ricky Racer crowd, of which I am a proud member. I’m looking forward to the fashion show myself for some ideas on how to broaden my bike attire from all the primary colored polyester that fills my bike drawer. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, right?
Aug
25
Did anyone else see the bikers in the London 2012 portion the closing ceremonies on TV yesterday? When the double-decker London bus came out, 3 or so bikers rode past it as if they were commuting. From the brief time that they were on, I think one was a messenger type on a fixie style bike and at least one of the others were on a utilitarian city-type bike while another may have been on a small wheeled or folding bike. They rode right past the bus as if it were stuck in traffic just before the “bus stop” in the presentation.
No comments on London’s actual presentation. I’ll let the natives debate that one, though it would be tough to beat a show of the scale that China put on on Sunday – even with Jimmy Page playing “Whole Lotta Love.” (BTW, featuring that slice of British culture was a great decision in my opinion)
So did anyone else notice the bikes? That the London organizers/government decided to feature bikes on such a big stage is a great sign. London’s mayor – on hand to receive the Olympic flag from Beijing’s mayor – is a big proponent of cycling if I remember correctly. (Carlton?)
Just found this mention of the bikes and a photo of the moment on Copenhagenzine.
Update: Fritz over at Cyclelicio.us mentions that the guy on the folding bike is non other than UK gold medalist, Chris Hoy, while Victoria Pendleton rode dressed like a messenger and rode a fixie and Jamie Staff rode the city bike. Now that’s even cooler than just having bikes
Jul
11
LA Times Business Section on Commuting By Bike
Filed Under Advocacy, Attendee News, Cycling, Exhibitor News, Industry News, Interbike | Comments Off
I’ve been a bad blogger by going on 10 days since the last post… And it’s not for a shortage of topics – I’ve got a stack on interesting articles piled on my desk waiting for 30 minutes free time to write something coherent and marginally enjoyable to read about them (I gave up on being profound in my posts a while back…). More often than not, posts get written at home after the kids are in bed.
Case in point is this article in the LA Times by staff writer Leslie Earnest on commuting by bike that Lance pointed out to me on Tuesday (I live in San Diego County so I don’t get the LAT): “Bikes Help Commuters get around gas prices“. Now there’s been no shortage of articles in the mainstream, non-endemic media lately about the growth in cycling as a response to rising energy costs, but I think it’s important to highlight this exposure that our industry is getting – especially when it’s the cover story of the business section of such a widely read paper such as the LA Times.
Customer being helped at Cynergy Cycles in Santa Monica, California
The gist of the article is pretty typical: more people are riding bikes because of high gas prices. The quality parts of the article are that it focuses on the business aspect and how sales are up as a result of the energy situation and features quotes from a variety of industry members on the subject including Tim Blumenthal of Bikes Belong, Amanda Schulze of Burley Design, Fred Clements of the NBDA and Bruno Maier of Cannondale Sports Group.
The article is accompanied by a couple of photos taken at Santa Monica’s Cynergy Cycles, and also has interviews with retailer Rock N’ Road Cyclery of Orange County. Matt Ford of RNR comments at the close of the article that bike sales are “up double digits.” Jim Whitsett of Cynergy states similarly that he’s seen a jump of 20% just over the last 30 days. Good news for the industry for sure, but Clements of the NBDA cautions that the majority of sales in shops are still from recreational purchases and that segment is sensitive to the bad economy and people watching their spending more carefully.
Similar situation across the country?
Jul
1
This video arrived in my inbox yesterday and originated from industry good guy and host of Good Morning Interbike, Richard Fries. Pretty amazing little film to watch of children and parents biking to school in the Netherlands on an amazing network of bike paths totally separate from any automobiles. Is this what we are aspiring to?
Jun
30
The Bike Racing Community and Advocacy
Filed Under Advocacy, Deep Thoughts, Interbike, Racing | 3 Comments
I’ve had a feeling for some time now that there is a very large wasted resource in the cycling family when it comes to bike advocacy issues. Maybe “wasted” is too harsh a word, but the fact is, though, that there is a huge group of cyclists that are as passionate about cycling as the most fervent and active advocate, but that don’t appreciate how important – and relevant to them – advocacy efforts are.
I count myself as a part of that group who has seen the light. My entry into cycling was just about riding my college roommate’s bike for fitness, but quickly evolved into cycling competitively. Cycling was a sport – a recreational activity. A very serious one, though, that I devoted an insane percentage of my waking hours thinking – no, obsessing – about, and invested too many dollars in. You may know the feeling…
Racers complain about unsafe drivers, or poor road conditions, but for the most part, our contribution to advocacy has been limited to complaining to the police officer who has pulled us over for not riding single file. Riding, most of the time, involved loading up the roof rack with your bike and driving to a training ride or race. Commuting to work on your bike was a way of getting a few more training miles in.
I’ve given passing thought on how the industry could harness the racing community or at least open their eyes to how impactful and important advocacy is to all cyclists. I remember getting mail from the League of American Wheelmen (the old name of the League of American Bicyclists) back in the day and actually thinking that it had nothing to do with me. That was for those wacky bike nuts. It just never clicked until much later. Advocacy was for those wacky bike nuts. There was and still is a big disconnect between the passion of the typical racer and that of the advocate for cycling rights, access issues and cycling friendly legislation.
So about a week ago, a friend of mine at LeMond Fitness, Eric Stobin, forwarded me a link to an interesting article on VeloNews.com that struck a chord. Rick Crawford, who wrote the article (Circles: Wasting energy in an energy challenged world), expressed a similar train of thought in his piece.
With gas prices so high, I’m looking at the bike quite differently these days. For 32 years now, I have viewed the bike as my sporting medium; my racing tool and speed fix. Rarely have I viewed it as the extremely viable form of transportation that it really is. Now that regular unleaded is more than four bucks a gallon, I don’t take the car for granted. From sheer necessity, the bike has become my primary form of transportation.
Rick goes off on a different tangent from me at this point here about harnessing the power generated by cyclists on exercise bikes and trainers as a new source of renewable energy (sort of like Lance Armstrong in that old ESPN Sports Center ad), but his initial comment on how a bike racer views the purpose of his bike is spot on. So, too, his description of the epiphany that has happened with so many casual or sport cyclists recently. I have to say that many of the new commuters that I notice on the roads are cyclists on road bikes wearing racing outfits. I guess that’s somewhat logical as a cyclist would be more naturally inclined to switch to his bike as a mode of transportation before a non-biker. He also already owns a bike – an important detail if you plan on riding one to work.
I’m not sure of the latest membership numbers for USACycling (the governing boady of racing in the US), but I’m sure that it’s in the multiple tens of thousands. Wouldn’t it be great to get them all involved?
Jun
16
27″ Tire Sales Are Up – 10 Speeds Brought Back to Life?
Filed Under Attendee News, Industry News | 7 Comments
I had the pleasure of having lunch today with a group that included Fred Clements, the head of the National Bicycle Dealers Association (NBDA). On the walk over to the restaurant here in San Juan Capistrano, I was picking his brain for feedback on what he’s been hearing from his constituents about the price of gas and it’s effect on their businesses. He said that it’s been mostly positive with strong interest in hybrids and cruisers. Then he added that he’d heard a curious thing from one of the biggest bicycle parts distributors in the US: sales of 27″ tires are through the roof this year. That can only mean one thing, in my opinion: people are pulling their old 10-speed bikes from the 70’s and 80’s down from the rafters of their garages or out of their basements and trying to get them back into riding shape – 27″ being the dominant wheel size for those bikes.
It’s been a while since I worked in a shop, but I believe that the 27″ inch size is just a bit larger in diameter than the 700c that is the current road bike standard. I’m sure the quality of 27″ tires is much better now, but it seems like all the 27″ tires I remember replacing at the shop ages ago had sidewalls made of cheap gum rubber that had totally dry rotted.
Any bike retailers out there reading this seeing many older bikes that haven’t seen action for awhile coming in for rejuvenation treatments to become commuters?
Jun
13
Are Bike Shops Selling the Bikes New Bikers Want?
Filed Under Deep Thoughts, Gear, Green Efforts, Interbike | 14 Comments
Great new article (actually, a “Special Report”) in the latest BRAIN that came in a couple of days ago. Matt Wiebe’s story is titled “Alternative Retail Channels Cater to New Cyclists.” It’s a very well written article that brings up some great points for retailers – and manufacturers – some things to chew on. Make sure you read it when it arrives in the mail – it doesn’t seem to exist on BRAIN’s website.
Matt begins with an observation that is probably a very widely held assumption across the industry and biking community currently:
A perfect storm is building of people who cannot afford gas, who realize they have to change their lifestyle to save the planet and believe bikes are the answer.
We’ve all witnessed it: the train in the morning is overflowing with bikes, buses are turning bikers away because the Sportworks on the front is full, and retailers are seeing more people dusting off old bikes and bringing them in for service to start riding to work. More and more politicians and celebrities are being photographed on their bikes and Barack Obama just granted a private meeting with bike industry leaders last night. These are new riders from the proverbial 161 million non-riders we’ve all been trying to reach, right?
As Matt goes on to write, though, the “storm wind should be blowing these new consumers into the nation’s bike shops … but it’s not happening.”
Tim Parr of Swobo supports that statement early in the article by saying, “these new customers cannot find the product they want because it’s not an enthusiast’s bike.” Bicycle dealers are great at serving the needs of enthusiasts but not so much the needs of these new bikers.
I think we can all agree with Matt’s line that “the enthusiast market is not where the growth and excitement is now.”
In addition, alternative retailers and retail channels have sprung up to serve this new, market. These include surf and skate shops, apparel boutiques and – brace yourself – internet direct sales. That last one is a taste of a topic for a whole other post: how retailers are still not fully embracing the internet to grow their businesses and how certain manufacturers are “holding back” retailers from taking advantage of the internet. Talk about a hot button issue…
So what are these bikes that these “neo-bikers” are looking for? How about the urban fixie trend? We’ve all read enough BikeSnobNYC posts and have seen fixies turn up under suburban teens farther and farther away from the city centers where the category was born to know that these are huge. While a few manufacturers have stepped up with models to serve this market (and their dealers with product), for the most part, consumers are forced to look to alternative channels to get what they want. The fixie trend is also bringing with it an opportunity that the bike industry has longed for for eons: a lifestyle market, the likes of which the surf and skate industries have enjoyed since the dawn of their sports. Non-enthusiasts are not going to – or even thinking about – bike shops for this.
Another type of bike that the neo-biker is not finding is a $300-$500 “just-a-bike” bike. Many bike shops have been profiting from $8,000 custom road bike sales over the last 10 years or so and can’t serve the needs of the neo-biker. I can remember my dad balking at paying the $800 for a mountain bike that the shop salesperson proposed years ago when I convinced him to try cycling. He told me that $300 was about what he wanted to pay for a bike to ride around town. We enthusiasts and industry members would consider $800 about right for an entry-level bike. How many people are turned away by the higher than expected prices for bikes.
I don’t want to give away the whole article before you have a chance to read it, but I tend to agree with Matt on so many of these aspects that contribute to the challenge that bike shops apparently are facing in addressing this surge of new riders. From manufacturers increasingly encouraging dealers to make larger commitments to their brands that in turn causes the dealers to lose the ability to change quickly with the market place to non-cycling brands like RVCA (and here from a non-bike blog) and Paul Frank making inroads into the bike market through their networks of non-traditional bike retailers, there are some great points to think about.
What I have seen in my limited exposure to this market is that on the train every day that I commute, I see alot of inappropriate bikes being used. Obviously, they’re all bikes and it’s great that they are being ridden, but I think we can do better for these neo-bikers.
I don’t know, am I wrong?