Recognized some interesting parallels to the motorcycle industry in this article.
We Don’t Need Better Bikes. We Need a Better Bike Industry. | GRAN FONDO Cycling Magazine We Don’t Need Better Bikes. We Need a Better Bike Industry. | GRAN FONDO Cycling Magazine
This was a much better read than I envisioned before starting.
I totally get behind the message of many LBS not providing an onboarding experience with fit, setting up systems like suspension, brakes and torque specs. We’re lucky to live where we do. There are a lot of shops that do the onboarding and even encourage weekly shop rides.
Simply exploring the goals and expectations of novice and even advanced riders as well as a conversation about how fitness has an immense impact on outcomes and can feel not great. Getting to an unvarnished truth can chase a buyer out of the shop’s door and into a competitor’s cash till because the convo was off putting as it tore down the ego of a customer’s perceived athleticism all in an effort to build a better beginning that engenders growth.
I thought the read was going to be about squashing innovation for the sake of standardization …which is a very slippery slope and largely not healthy. The ski industry has had DIN for boot binding skier interface well over 45 years. It’s extremely restrictive. And then you have telemark bindings that don’t release and cause no problem (certainly not enough worth tracking) to falling skiers. I digress.
I went for a hike today at Marshall Mesa (new parking lot across from Eldo is pretty sweet) and saw so many gravel bike riders doing the same thing as a rider on a fully sus’d 5" bike. Variety is awesome. I just wonder if the suspended riders had been thoughtful about their choice and if they had had an exploratory convo with their LBS and vice verse. I also saw three sets of parents with single digit midget offspring. I made that mistake too. The kids looked miserable and were doing a lot of dismounts instead of pedaling through…they were not very happy and I wouldn’t be surprised if 90% of them reject cycling as they grow older.
Onboarding indeed.
Well written article - thanks for sharing it!
And I like what Shifty said about the variety of bikes at a place like Marshall Mesa. In some cases that exists just because someone loves the purity of fewer gears and/or less suspension. But I also think people walk into a bike shop and don’t get asked a lot of questions other than “what brings you in today”?
My first consulting job in bicycle retail was for Vail Resorts Retail, who asked me for guidance in increasing attachment sales, because it’s profitable. My whole approach was towards improving the rider experience, not increasing sales, and it worked like gangbusters. I asked the sales people how many of them go for a real ride without the right shorts - the kind with a chamois. The newbs that were getting in to bike riding don’t have a toughened and seasoned taint yet, and they were riding off in their cotton boxers! I asked them how many of them top off their tires weekly or more with a floor pump, and how many did not own a floor pump. (They all do of course.) A couple years later I ended up co-owner of a few bike shops and it was super fun and quite profitable to take all that to the next level. Interested in a new mtb? Come out on the Wednesday ride at Blue Sky on one of our demo bikes, for free. We then got to set it up for them, adjust during the ride, etc. And find out if they even like mountain bike riding.
When I bought my KTM 350 in 2017, I wandered around the Fay Myers showroom forever without so much as a greeting. It pissed me off so bad! So bad that… I still went and found someone who would take my money and I bought the bike. I asked “are you a salesman?” and his answer was a slightly annoyed “uh yeah.” When I bought my Norden in '22, I was probably about the fifth customer to get one. My experience taking delivery was my salesman saying “I don’t really know much about these, so Bryan’s gonna take you through it.” That’s totally fine, except then Bryan didn’t know shit about it either. They WERE comfortable and knowledgable with taking my 14 thousand dollars though.
But we consumers train retailers that it’s ok. I allowed for the terrible customer service because I wanted one and the other dealer didn’t have any. I rode away with no set up help because I didn’t know any better. Later on, fellow riders would say “did you ask your dealer for help with that?” And I would laugh and say not likely. When I scheduled my 600-mile service AT THE HUSQVARNA DEALER, the service writer asks me what model I have and says “a what now?” He was not aware that Husky made an adventure bike.
I wonder how many people end up on the totally wrong motorcycle because the salesperson asks no use case questions. I met a fellow Norden owner a couple years ago who didn’t know about Explorer mode or Rally throttle, and he had owned it for months. I always get the feeling they only like working with someone like @motojason, who knows more than anyone in the building and doesn’t need help.
(moved this thread to BICYCLES)
As a casual observer, I find the bicycle industry to be hilarious.
Bigger wheels!
No, not that big!
One of each!
Right now, I am thoroughly entertained by the thousands of people that are now convinced they would rather ride dirt with drop bars, no suspension and skinny wheels.
A few weeks ago on a moto ride outside of Fruita we briefly shared the road with some sort of gravel bike event. Looked like about a 50 to 1 miserable/happy ratio.
People don’t ride gravel bikes to be happy, Saul. On brand!
Some savvy company needs to make a big push for the return of the Penny Farthing.
Simple is better! Be seen in traffic!
Plus it’s already a mullet bike, and can be marketed as a fixie too. There’s actually a dude in Longmont that commutes on a penny farthing.
There’s a dude here in Erie on a penny farthing. Of course.
Does he wear a modern cycling helmet and otherwise modern clothes? I wonder if it’s the same guy I see.
@Kurdz2408 almost built a penny farthing several years ago but decided to build 3 adult sized drift trikes instead.
I support this
Haha. These have been in the basement too long. May be time to get them out and ride. They are freewheel hubs since I’ve had them sideways near 40mph. Yeah my next dream was to lace the hub to a giant rim for a modern freewheel Penny Farthing with rim brake. I never got around to it. I may need to dust off the welder soon.
Im waiting to see some at trestle. Ive seen gravel bros everywhere else. Ill never be convinced either. I have a gravel bike… and its absolutely is garbage mountain biking except for how light it is.
WAIT. So you mean there’s one for me?!?
Also, where are the saddle bags and rally towers
Bro, this is Old Town Erie. There a rusty 1967 Impala on the front lawn down the street and Gandalf the Grey rode past my house on his lawn tractor earlier today. Helmet. Modern clothes. You’re funny.
OMG these are cool. I need to get some pro cyclists on these and host some big wheel crits.
IN
Absolutely!
