Archive for May, 2008

Is the Giro too hard?

Posted on 27. May, 2008 by Josh in Bike Racing | No Comments

Is the Giro too hard?

Enrico Gasparotto (Barloword), Jens Voigt (CSC) David Millar (Slipstream), and presumably other riders were pretty adamant that yesterday’s uphill time trial at the Giro d’Italia, which featured over 5km of dirt roads and grades up to 24%, was too difficult. “Impossible”, said Gasparotto.

But, clearly, the stage was possible. Only 6 riders out 152 missed the [...]

Maybe a bit too cool

Posted on 23. May, 2008 by Josh in Bike industry, Trends | No Comments

Maybe a bit too cool

More evidence that bikes are cool, this time courtesy of Cannondale and jeans maker G-Star Raw. They get a little carried away talking about coolness (“The Cannondale BAD BOY, cycling’s original benchmark in coolness just got cooler.”) but this bike is really, really fresh. Check out the microsite.

This video, however, is not so fresh.
via PSFK

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Michael Rasmussen’s vacation rentals!

Posted on 22. May, 2008 by Josh in Blog | No Comments

With the news today that Michael Rasmussen is suing Rabobank for wrongful termination, I went looking for his website to see if he had any specifics about the suit. While, it doesn’t have any recent news, it does have a listing for his vacation rental properties near Lake Garda! Check out the map:
View Larger Map
He’s [...]

Don’t forget to say where the race is

Posted on 21. May, 2008 by Josh in Bike Racing | No Comments

Don't forget to say where the race is

Just got this flier emailed from Swagger LLC:

It took me a while to figure out that the race is in Stuart, Florida. The town is only apparent because it’s part of the name of the sponsoring car dealership, and the state is only named as part of the “Florida Cup”. I’m just saying…

Update: bikes are still cool

Posted on 21. May, 2008 by Josh in Bike industry, Trends | No Comments

Update: bikes are still cool

Check out Cool Hunting’s list of “12 Bikes for Girls“, as selected by Sarah Huston. I’m not sure that the flat, swept-back handlebars on this Specialized Langster Seattle “scream racing style” as she claims, but it’s nice to see another notch in cycling’s Coolness Belt.

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It’s official: bikes are cool

Posted on 20. May, 2008 by Josh in Bike industry, Trends | No Comments

It's official: bikes are cool

Nike and BMX legend Bob Haro have put together BMX-inspired art show, currently on display in Beijing as part of the buildup to BMX’s Olympic debut.

This kind of themed art show is a standard practice in skateboard and streetwear circles, so it’s great to see that sense of creativity, aesthetics and individuality make its way [...]

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Levi’s tweaks offline media buys to accomodate online success

Posted on 19. May, 2008 by Josh in Marketing, New Media | No Comments

Brandweek has a story about how Levi’s has instructed its lead ad agency to change course in order to accomodate the success of this video:

“[Jumpin' In] was supposed to be a small seeding activity,” said Robert Cameron, vp-marketing at Levi Strauss, San Francisco. “We didn’t know it was going to blow up. So we’re meeting [...]

The Olympics elicit yawns from the bike industry

Posted on 19. May, 2008 by Josh in Bike Racing, Bike industry, ROAD Magazine, Sports Business | No Comments

The Olympics elicit yawns from the bike industry

BRAIN had a quick story last week about how the Olympics aren’t really on the radar for the bike industry, except for the debut of BMX. The hypothesis seems to be that road racing revolves around the Tour de France even in Olympic years, while mountain biking has moved away from racing altogether, at least [...]

We spend more on bicycles than computers?

Posted on 16. May, 2008 by Josh in Bike industry | No Comments

PSFK has a link to a New York Times piece with a really cool visual breakdown of US consumer spending according to official Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
Go to NYT piece and zoom in on the lower left corner of Recreation (about 10 o’clock) – that’s Bicycles, with 0.3% of spending and holding steady from [...]