I came across this 1988 catalog, Zipp’s first, while I was getting underway with a new project. I’ve been thinking and writing lately about the recent proliferation of color options in the bike industry, so it’s ironic to see a 20-year-old wheel that was available in blue, white, yellow and red. Pretty cool, no?

Michael Z from SRAM was telling me in Philly about a private fundraiser for Barack Obama that was organized by Stan or F.K. Day. (I forget which, sorry guys). It turns out that at the event, Obama promised to “increase funding for cycling and pedestrian projects,” according to Bicycle Retailer & Industry News. My girlfriend pointed out that it’s just another example of money driving politics, but at least money is driving politics in the right direction.

Anyways, something in the BRAIN article that jumped out at me was Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Oregon) saying that “it’s important for [the bike] industry to understand that it is a force.” Even in a strong economy, the rising cost of gas alone would make cycling more attractive. But when the economy’s bad, everything else that makes cars so expensive becomes more of a concern for drivers: car payments, insurance, repairs, etc. Then there’s the whole “green” thing, which is quickly becoming a mainstream value. Also, urban living is coming back into style and bikes are getting to be pretty fashionable.

Those are powerful economic, social, and cultural forces coming together that favor the use of bicycles, so it’s smart for Obama to align himself now with the bike industry and show everyone that it’s ok to look dorky on a bike.

picture via LAist

I caught the final Giro d’Italia broadcast on Versus today. Liggett and Sherwin tried their best to add some drama to the race for the pink jersey but there was really no chance of Alberto Contador losing time to Ricardo Ricco in a flat time trial. It was great to see SRAM going 1-2 overall!

Whenever I watch cycling on TV, I keep a running list of who’s advertising. A lot of the spots go to advertisers that make broader buys on Versus, but Cyclysm Sundays is clearly a target for a few brands. Hampton Hotels, whose USOC push also includes a sponsorship of USA Cycling, was a sponsor of the broadcast and had plenty of spots. Because grass is green, Scotts sponsored a “Green Jersey Update” covering the Giro’s KOM jersey. Specialized was the only Versus advertiser from the bike industry, with spots featuring Tom Boonen and Paolo Bettini. I noticed that Garmin sponsored the Giro itself, with good signage around the time trial start house. Then there was Captain Morgan as a broadcast sponsor.

Cycling makes sense for the first four brands. Hampton and Scotts presumably like the demographics. Specialized and Garmin make applicable products. But Captain Morgan? I understand why they’d sponsor a contest to party at the Playboy Mansion on Halloween, but I’d love to hear the rationale for their interest in cycling. If anyone from Diageo is reading this, hit me up!

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

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.

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 more often in the bike world. RVCA and Cinelli are planning a similar show for later this year with a track bike theme. And, of course, there’s my friends MASH getting big in Japan.

Not so long ago, bikes were for families, hippies and bike dorks. Today, bikes are fashionable, trendy, edgy, and legitimately cool… and we have the art shows to prove it.

via Cool Hunting

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 for the US market.

I couldn’t agree more. That’s why I suggested in the latest of my ROAD columns that, “instead of the gatekeeper to the Olympics being in charge of professional cycling, the people that run the Tour de France would be in charge of professional cycling.”

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 last year. Down and to the right is Computers, with 0.2% of spending and a 12% drop from last yeat.

I’m not sure what to make of this.

via PSFK

There was much hoopla surrounding the opening weekend of Lance Armstrong’s bike shop/coffee shop/training center in Austin. MASH got to be a part of it, which was huge.

There are loads of articles and blogs to link to, but here is the most important (at least over time): Yelp

In 1987, 5-time Tour de France winner Bernard Hinault and legendary NBA disappointment Derrick Coleman both used products that were recently released in a colorway inspired by Dutch artist Piet Mondrian. For Coleman, it was the Nike Dunk sneaker. For Hinault, it was a Look bike. Here are the current versions:

More thoughts on this in my upcoming ROAD Magazine column…

via VeloNews, Sneakerfiles and SoleFresh

Now that Toyota won’t be renewing the biggest sponsorship in domestic cycling, it will be interesting to see what happens to United Pro Cycling Team, LLC. When they launched at the end of 2005, they were talking about revolutionizing the sport by promoting the United brand (as opposed to that of their sponsor) to generate revenue through merchandising, their fan club, a bike company, and so forth. They came hard out of the gate in 2006, with J.J. Haedo winning the first stage of the inaugural Tour of California, and they’ve had some great moments since, like Dom Rollin’s stage win this year. They’ve run a well-marketed, winning program, so you can’t say that they’ve been a bust. But they haven’t met their own expectations, either.

At least initially, their sponsorship prices were based on some lofty projections. At Interbike in 2005, Kurt Stockton and I had a meeting with a clothing company right after United’s team owner Sean Tucker met with them. When our meeting started, the first thing we heard from the company was, “That guy just asked us for more pieces as part of the sponsorship than we sold in North America this year.”

I won’t guess at how well their jerseys have sold, other than to say that I’ve never seen one not on a team member. United Bicycles flopped amid rumors that sales were in the single digits. The 25,000 registered fans mentioned in the release is 25,000 more than most teams, but a fraction of the six-figure membership that Sean originally envisioned.

Not to knock Sean - he’s run a good race team and done a solid job of building the United brand (thankfully dropping the faceless rider who graced the original logo); I just think he bumped up against a lower ceiling than he anticipated. Looking at the United program, it’s not so differentiated from other domestic teams but an attractive sponsorship property nonetheless.

Starting right away, I’ll be working with SRAM Corporation’s marketing team on web strategy and content with an emphasis on social media. I worked closely with them in 2006 when Kodak Gallery/Sierra Nevada was one of the first two teams in the world to ride their road components, and I’m really excited about this project. We have lots of great things in the works.

More info to come…