Steve Frothingham

Steve is in his second stint at BRAIN. He was here at the beginning in 1992 while still working for a bike shop in Santa Fe, N.M. He wrote several articles for BRAIN's first issue and later joined the staff, eventually becoming managing editor and then executive editor.

After leaving BRAIN in 1997 he worked for several news organizations including The Associated Press and VeloNews before rejoining BRAIN as web editor in 2011.

He is based in Longmont, Colorado, and is an enthusiastic (and slow) road, mountain bike and cyclocross rider.

sfrothingham@bicycleretailer.com
/twitter.com/#!/stevefroth

All articles by Steve Frothingham

Fox narrows its SRAM suit after review board invalidates its patent claims

July 2, 2025
Drawing from Fox's 8,550,223 patent related to bleed valves.

DENVER (BRAIN) — Fox Factory’s three-year-old patent lawsuit against SRAM will be fought over narrower ground after a Patent Office board sided with SRAM and found that all the relevant claims in a Fox patent are unpatentable.

Posted in Industry News

Pon's Mike's Bikes acquires Full Cycle in Colorado

June 19, 2025

BOULDER, Colo. (BRAIN) — Pon.Bike's Mike's Bikes retail chain acquired Boulder's Full Cycle on Tuesday. The location re-opened Thursday as a Mike's Bikes store — the fifth in Colorado and 19th in the country.

Posted in Retail News

Devinci offers OE production from Québec’s ‘aluminum valley’

June 16, 2025

CHICOUTIMI, Québec (BRAIN) — Some two hours north of the city of Québec, along the Saguenay River, is the so-called “aluminum valley,” a region that produces around a third of Canada’s aluminum, thanks to ample hydroelectric power.

Posted in Industry News

Bi-partisan lawmakers introduce bill that would boost US assembly and manufacturing

June 11, 2025

WASHINGTON (BRAIN) — Legislation introduced in Congress this week would eliminate tariffs on components used to assemble complete bikes in the U.S., long a major concerns of bike brands looking to add value in the U.S. without making the full step toward frame manufacturing.

Posted in Industry News

Chinese-made helmets and some bike trailers maintain tariff exclusions

June 6, 2025

WASHINGTON (BRAIN) — China-made helmets and bike trailers with aluminum frames will remain exempt from a 7.5% Section 301 tariff until at least the end of August.

Posted in Industry News

Giant's China sales grow as US sales decline in recent years

June 5, 2025
A deeper dive into Giant's annual report.
Giant Group American vs. Asian sales, 2019-2024.

TAICHUNG, Taiwan (BRAIN) — Giant Group's sales to America — under its own brand and to its original equipment customers — have declined steeply since the pandemic even as sales in Asia, China in particular, have grown significantly.

Posted in International

Specialized expands Morgan Hill footprint, relocates Colorado employees

May 29, 2025

MORGAN HILL, Calif. (BRAIN) — Specialized said it is expanding its facilities in Morgan Hill and relocating employees from Colorado to its longtime headquarters. 

Posted in Industry News

Kent tells state it will lay off 64 factory workers next month

May 29, 2025

MANNING, S.C. (BRAIN) — Kent International will lay off 64 workers at its Bicycle Corporation of America facility here, effective June 25. The company has filed a notice with the state of South Carolina on the layoffs, saying it was due to the "permanent closure" of the facility. 

Posted in Industry News

Canyon sales inch up in 2024, GBL depreciates value of investment

May 29, 2025

KOBLENZ, Germany (BRAIN) — Canyon Bicycles’ sales grew by 1 million euros last year, from 791 million euros in 2023, to 792 million euros ($900 million at today’s exchange rate) in 2024, according to an annual report from Groupe Bruxelles Lambert, which

Posted in International

Some sneak peeks from Bentonville

May 27, 2025
Posedla co-founders Jiri Duzar and Martin Rípa at the AGCA headquarters.

BENTONVILLE, Ark. (BRAIN) — Last week BRAIN was in Arkansas for the NBDA Dealer Summit as well as the Bentonville Bike Fest and the conclusion of the inaugural Arkansas Global Cycling Accelerator program. BRAIN is preparing stories for our July magazine about each of the 10 startup companies in the AGCA, but we thought we'd share some sneak peeks of some of the participants, as well as a few other new products on display at the festival and at the Summit.

Posted in Product/Tech

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