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Apr
5
New The Spokesmen Podcast: WFSGI Takes on the UCI; P.J. O’Rourke; Venge Goes Viral and the Tour of Flanders
Filed Under Cycling, Industry News, Interbike | Comments Off
After too long a break I was finally able to participate in an edition of The Spokesmen Cycling Roundtable podcast this Sunday morning after a busy moth of traveling. With some of the other regulars also on some of those same trips – mainly the Taipei Cycle Show – there hasn’t been a new episode in about month. That’s a good thing since there was lots to talk about. This edition was hosted by Carlton Reid of BikeBiz.com and featured Tim Jackson, Chris Matthews and myself.
- The Tour of Flanders
- Specialized’s senior manager of global marketing, Chris Matthews, gave some behind-the-scenes info on their recent launch of the Venge aero road bike. Designed in partnership with legendary Formula One constructor, McLaren, the launch went viral.
- The World Federation of Sporting Goods Industries (WFSGI) has recently begun representing the bike industry as it attempts to deal with the UCI over the governing body’s rules compliance and “UCI-Approved” sticker program. At the Taipei Cycle Show, the WFSGI presented on what they bring to the table and what they’ve been able to achieve so far on behalf of the industry.
- Discussion about PJ O’Rourke’s Wall Street Journal column last Friday satirizing his displeasure with cyclists, bikes, helmets and bike lanes. Can we take the joke and will others realize it’s a joke?
- Some National Bike Summit comments
While Tim Jackson had some technical issues (and got to practice his speed typing skills as a result), it’s a good listen. Listen to it live here, or download and subscribe to the podcast on iTunes here
Sep
20
Outdoor Demo SetUp Day
Filed Under Interbike | 2 Comments
Just a few quick shots from Bootleg Canyon on set up day for the OutDoor Demo that opens today.
Giant’s fleet all set and ready to go.
Specialized has a few bikes for people to ride.
Felt has the first booth you see when walking into Bootleg Canyon.
Part of Felt’s fleet at the Demo.
Didn’t plan to only focus on the big guys, but when I was taking pictures, they were the only one’s all set up and presentable. Lots of great looking other displays were in the works and should be ready and humming already as I write this on Monday morning in the press room at the Sands.
If you’re heading out to the Demo, make sure to drink lots of water and wear a hat. Not that it’s ever cool out there, but it hit 104F on Sunday.
Mar
4
Specialized expands, stays in Salt Lake City
Filed Under Exhibitor News, Industry News, Interbike | 1 Comment
Newspaper business section mentions of bike industry companies make me happy. They show that the bicycle is having a noticeable impact on the economy and people’s lives. And like a few people commented (over on the Facebook cross-posting) on the post about the economic impact of bikes on the state of Wisconsin, money talks and makes even people who are apathetic about bikes pay attention.
The Salt Lake Tribune’s business section contains a story today about Specialized’s decision to remain–and expand their facility–in SLC when their original 10 year lease expired not too long ago.
Specialized first located their western distribution center on the west side of SLC back in 1999 and have been very pleased with what the state has offered them and their employees. This seems to be in line with what we’ve seen from many other cycling and outdoor recreation companies over the last ten years that have chosen to relocate or open DC’s in the SLC-Ogden area of Utah. Quality Bike Products (QBP) is a recent notable example from the bike industry, having chosen Ogden as the location for the new warehouse they plan to build.
In addition to the logistical benefits of SLC, Kim Petersen, Specialized’s corporate distribution manager is quoted in the article as saying:
“The icing on the cake is that Utah is a fantastic place to live and raise a family, with unlimited outdoor recreation possibilities. There’s also a great population of cyclists here. Specialized believes in cycling and the future of the sport and believes things will recover here. So we decided to make the investment and set up a new lease for a building with expansion capabilities.”
The photo above shows Specialized-SLC employees’ bikes racked in the warehouse. Just like their counterparts in Morgan Hill, California, lunch time rides seem to be a regular part of the workday. That’s great to hear, but I’m guessing that the weather in Morgan Hill is a tad more pleasant this time of year for those rides…
“There’s also a great population
of cyclists here,” he added. “Specialized believes in cycling and the future of the sport and believes things will recover here. So we decided to make the investment and set up a new lease for a building with expansion capabilities.”
Jun
25
Wired Mag: Bikes as Geek Tech
Filed Under Exhibitor News, Gear, Industry News, Interbike | 3 Comments
I love Wired Magazine. Love the tech, the science, the design, the snarkiness and the utter geek-coolness that permeates each issue. And Wired seems to love bikes, too. They do an inordinate amount of bike-related stories for a techie magazine and attend Interbike each year. I did a search for ‘bike‘ at their website and got over 4800 links to articles. Love that bikes fit right in with iPhones, Drobos, Star Wars fanboy movie reviews, geoengineering solutions to climate change and Wii’s.
In the spirit of the magazine’s review style, here’s the July 2008 issue of Wired that just arrived in the mail:
Wired: They dedicate two whole pages to bikes: the first to Specialized’s Tarmac SL2 (‘Olympic Gear’), and the second to a test of four cyclo-cross bikes: the Moots Psychlo-X, Cannondale’s XTJ, the Specialized S-Works Tricross and Redline’s Conquest Pro. Are you guys planning to be at Cross Vegas his year?
Tired: They get the colors of the world champion rainbow stripes flowing through the article right, but they get the order wrong. Nice gesture guys, but it’s blue – red – black – yellow – green. I stand corrected: Mark from Wired commented (below) that the colors are actually intended to represent the Olympic ring colors which are the same but in the printed order. Sorry!
The feature doesn’t seem to be online yet since the issue’s still fresh, so pick up a copy at your newsstand.
Jun
2
The Story of Specialized in CNNMoney
Filed Under Exhibitor News, Industry News, Interbike | Comments Off
Robert here at our office just forwarded me a link to a CNNMoney article on the history of Specialized. The reporter interviewed founder Mike Sinyard for the story of how he began Specialized and grew it into a “profitable $500-million-a-year-company.” The article came out on May 20, but I haven’t seen it posted anywhere else so here it is. It’s a very interesting read.
Here’s a funny story of how he dealt with a customer who bounced a check back in the early days when Specialized was still struggling and starting out:
It wasn’t always easy. I insisted that the stores pay COD, because I didn’t have extra money. One time a $1,000 check from a store near San Francisco bounced. When I called the owner about it, he gave me some big story about how he’d eventually get around to paying it. I knew he was lying, and he refused to return the merchandise. I sent my roommate up there with a check to buy the shipment I had just sold to the store and then had him cancel my check. I called the owner and said, “That great sale you made? Well, that was my roommate, and now my check has the same value as the one you gave me.”
Make sure you read through the many comments as there is one from industry insider Rick Vosper (ex-Specialized and Veltec Sports) and one from Ron Jamis, founder of the Jamis brand.
There’s also a video interview with Mike here.
Mar
31
GM Buys Specialized?
Filed Under Exhibitor News, humor | 2 Comments
Elaborate April Fools hoax with BikeBiz.com, the San Jose Business Journal and Specialized all in on it? See BikeBiz’s news flash on the historic announcement on the Northern California bike company here.
The dead giveaway is the quote from supposed GM VP, “Flora Lopi” – an anagram of the words April fool.
Carlton at BikeBiz sent his news flash out just after midnight in the UK, so he’s safe, but what about the SJBJ sending there’s out on the 31st? Did they jump the gun or did they fall for it (like I was for a bit I’ll admit)?
If it were true, that would be quite the little family of brands: GMC, Buick, Pontiac, Hummer, Specialized…
At least we got an Interbike mention circulating out there.
Update: Looks like the hoax is more elaborate: the url given for the SJBC is fake. A certain bike blogger has been pretty sneaky. Nice job…