The Business of Bikes
The world’s most famous bike race starts in France on Saturday, and the biggest bike industry tradeshow begins in Germany on Sunday. Both are a problem for the American Bicycle Industry. Let me explain*.
Win On Sunday, Sell On Monday
The Bike Industry sells bikes like the Automobile Industry sells cars. I happen to love both, but somehow most Americans equate freedom with four-wheels instead of two. I guess they’ve got better Marketing Agencies in Detroit.
But imagine if Ford only sold GT40s and Chevy just had the Corvette. That’s what is happening with the industry’s obsession over Le Tour. It’s just one Aero Road bike after another. All. Week. Long. When Porsche wins at Le Mans, they don’t actually try to sell you the LMP1 race car. They sell you a street legal 911 with the same golden badge. It works for Porsche. But it doesn’t work for Trek.
When Sagan, Kittel or Gaviria win in Fontenay-le-Comte (Stage 1), the Big S or Canyon will gladly sell you the exact same bike that crossed the line. How is that a problem you ask? We should be happy that we can buy them! Well, halo-bikes don’t sell because most cyclists are not Pros. And fewer and fewer of us can justify spending $12,999 for Yet Another New Bike. The Pros are paid to ride these superbikes, yet they don’t usually own the bikes they race on. Teal may be the new Gold, but Green is still hard to come by. Sorry, Cav.
Ebike Madness at Eurobike
While I’ve never had the legs or lungs to ride at the Pro Tour level, I did start a little bike startup a few years ago. I’m bummed to be missing out on the biggest tradeshow and another chance to eat and drink in Germany. Thanks to the Interwebz I’m fully expecting to see a ton of news about ebikes of every variety coming out of Friedrichshafen. There’s a bunch of reasons why ebikes have taken over the European bike industry. American Bike Brands are doing brisk ebike business overseas, but the incumbent Dutch, German and U.K. brands are reaping most of the rewards. Europe has rabid Pro-Cycling fans too, but they’re not so closed minded about ebikes. In some parts of Northern Europe, ebike have become the majority of retail sales. It’s not uncommon for bike shops to report that one out of every three or four bikes they sell is electric. Don’t ask your Local Bike Shop in America what their numbers look like, unless you’re willing to buy them a beer. We are so behind the curve, and it goes back to the Bike Industry’s obsession with competitive cycling, particularly for one single demographic. Luckily I’m the target market, but most people are not. And the bike industry is slowly dying like the Tour itself.
The Bike Media Mafia
Now I realize I’m not making any friends here, but it has to be said. The problem lies with us, not with “Those People Who Just Won’t Ride A Bike”. I’ve been a serious cyclist for over 25 years, and most people will ask me if I ride “that tour da france” <Bobke voice> when they make small talk at dinner parties. That’s the only thing most Americans know about Cycling. Well, there’s another thing. The rise and fall of the US Bike Sales can be directly traced to one man. Lance.
Regardless of what you think of him, the new lawsuit & his latest comeback; cycling in America has never evolved past the Yellow Jersey Guy from Texas. Trek is complicit in this, and yet they continue to use the same tired playbook. From Cancellara to Contador, to Cardoso — the names change, but the story is the same. I’d even venture a guess that the U.K. enthusiast market can trace it’s recent rise in popularity and sales to Bradley Wiggins (2012 Winner) and Chris Froome’s current reign (2013, ‘15, ‘16, ‘17 Winner). This too shall end.
We keep pushing the same product, in new colors, to the same people, of the same color. Nothing changes in the long run. Customers get older, so the industry makes new niches for them. Have you tried Gravel? It’s great! Here’s an event. Now it’s a race. Now buy this gravel racing bike. We never learn.
The bike media loves to write about these bikes, and these riders, but only reluctantly cover ebikes and their benefits to Americans. While a few outspoken reporters have called out the hypocrisy and bullshit of the UCI, WADA and the ASO, most are happy to cover La Grand Boucle and reap the ad-views, clicks and shares. And so the circle continues, and we keep riding round and round this endless loop, slowly but surely down the sinkhole.
All the while asking ourselves why*.
*Yes, the Giro Rosa started today, with little to no media coverage, but that’s another #bikeindustryproblem for us to debate another day
