Opinion/Analysis

We all know 2020–2021 were good years for retailers. The shocking part is just how good.

The bike industry is changing fast. But so is the rate of change itself.

Tagged Mergers, Acquisitions & Investments
Yogi didn't say all the things he said.

Here's the future: It will be next year before discounting and terms will bring brand inventories down to reasonable and balanced levels.

Getty image.

Buckle up, bicycle industry. We're in for a(nother) wild ride.

The 2020-2021 boost in ridership is undeniably real. But what happens next is anybody's guess.

As brands get into the D2C and retailer ownership businesses, they control more and more of the end-user’s dollars and fundamentally alter the specialty retail landscape.

Retail veteran Pete van Nuys says the industry needs to respond to e-bikes that fall outside the three-class system.

Tagged Electric bike

Not only are D2C e-bikes eating into what were once IBD price points, they have the long-term possibility of disrupting the entire specialty retail channel

Tagged Electric bike
Getty photo.

While the number of dealers for the top four brands remain stable, a closer look behind the numbers invites some interesting conjectures about the brands' strategy.

Heather Mason

The president of the National Bicycle Dealers Association has tips on keeping the bike boom alive.

Retailer James Moore says as gas prices quickly increase to unprecedented levels, the industry needs to prepare to serve people needing inexpensive transportation.

Dirk Sorenson

Retailers and manufacturers must set their sights on four critical initiatives that will lead the industry to another banner year in 2022.

Specialized has changed the rules for selling bikes through the specialty retail channel. But can consumer-direct make up for its loss of dealer-based revenue?

Experts disagree all the time. It’s when they start agreeing that you need to watch out.

We’ve just closed our second year of record COVID-driven bike sales, and the question everyone is asking is whether the boom will stay in place for 2022 or dial itself back to 2019 levels.

The only thing we know for sure is that nobody knows for sure.

Industry-watchers may be missing out on the biggest story of the decade.

We may never know how much GM spent developing its e-bike.

On Thursday Rad Power announced that with its latest $154 million financing round, it has brought in a total of $329 million in investments since its inception. The company claims that makes it the best-funded e-bike brand, at least in the direct-to-consumer market. While strictly speaking that's likely true, there are some other giant players in the e-bike space, with the power to further disrupt the market for regular and electric bikes, if they choose.

There is a massive reassessment of work from both the employer and employee standpoint.

Why college Economics professors teach the bicycle business as an example of Perfect Competition.

There is only the future!
Jay Townley

As well as accepting the facts, it's time to give up on getting back to normal and face the reality that there is no normal to return to.

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