Industry News

DENVER, CO (BRAIN)—More than 1,400 convention delegates, visitors and Denver residents are ready to vote yes for Freewheelin.

ST. PAUL, MN (BRAIN)—With bike dealers starving for more service-oriented training, Park Tool is going to fill a void.

BEAVERTON, OR (BRAIN)—Yakima has hired Dan LeRose as regional sales director for the eastern region.

BLOOMINGTON, MN (BRAIN)—Quality Bicycle Products has created Handspun, a new wheel brand that will be marketed to dealers and consumers.

The company said in a press release issued Friday that the new business will respond to a growing demand for hand-trued production and custom bike wheels.

HOOD RIVER, OR (BRAIN)—Marking its fifth acquisition in the past five years, Billabong International Ltd. reached an agreement to buy surf, snow and bike accessories maker DaKine Hawaii Inc. for as much as $133 million.

WHISTLER, British Columbia (BRAIN)—The Crankworx crew churned out another successful event in Whistler, as bike industry vendors, professional riders and thousands of spectators swarmed the Canadian resort for the annual nine-day free ride festival.

BOULDER, CO (BRAIN)─Bikes Belong has just completed a survey of more than 150 bicycle retailers from nearly 40 states to see if their summer 2008 sales reflect an increase in the use of bicycles for transportation.

It's been almost a year since a crash left Tara paralyzed from the waist down. In that year, she has trained harder than ever to rehab and come back from her injury. Her dedication and drive, always unmatched, has been even more inspiring and unbelievable.

With BMX racing taking place in the Olympics right about now, it's got me feeling a bit nostalgic. So nostalgic, in fact, I had to go looking for pictures of my first freestyle bike in the '80s. I guess the only thing I regret is that I gave my Dyno D Tour to the neighbor kid when I left for college.