Bike industry

More on bikes and social media

Posted on 07. Apr, 2009 by in Bike industry, New Media, Trends | 7 Comments

More on bikes and social media

The bicycle isn’t something about which we have a common cultural understanding in the same way that many of us instinctively understand cars or baseball or that you’re not supposed to eat ice cream for breakfast. Beyond simply learning how to ride as a kid, cyclists rely on sharing individual experiences with each other. That’s why social media has been so significant in both professional cycling and the more utilitarian uses of bicycles.

Towards an urban cycling identity

Posted on 07. Mar, 2009 by in Bike industry, Client News, Trends | 1 Comment

Towards an urban cycling identity

… fashion’s attraction to bicycles is another signal that urban cycling has arrived as a distinct lifestyle. People in the communities that give birth to broader trends in fashion and culture have begun to see the bicycle as part of their self-identity. Essentially, it’s the idea that tastemakers (a word that I dislike) are now saying, “I am a bicyclist.”

Twitter and pro cycling’s human element

Posted on 27. Feb, 2009 by in Bike Racing, Bike industry, New Media, Sponsors, Sports Business | 3 Comments

Twitter and pro cycling’s human element

More than any other pro sport, cycling has taken to Twitter like a fish to water. I believe it’s because the approachability of the tweet fits with the already approachable nature of the sport. As Twitter and other social tools permeate our everyday lives, myths will become human and a pre-humanized sport like cycling will adapt more quickly and naturally than its larger counterparts. In other words, we’ll benefit from the convergence of what Mike refers to as the road version and the raw version.

On profits and passion in the bike industry

Posted on 29. Jan, 2009 by in Bike Racing, Bike industry | 1 Comment

On profits and passion in the bike industry

…
If the industry valued efficient spending above all else, I think we’d see less money going to pro racing and more along the lines of commercialized versions the SRAM Cycling Fund. Presumably, greater efficiency would lead to greater profitability. But, one way or another, pretty much everyone from your local shop owner to the president of Specialized got in the game for the love of the bike, not the profits. So why do the relatively relaxed business practices in the industry bother some of us so much?

It is now ok to be a bike dork

Posted on 23. Jan, 2009 by in Bike industry | No Comments

It is now ok to be a bike dork

… regardless of the policies and programs enacted by the new administration, I’m thinking that the Obama era will get more people on bikes through his image alone. President Bush liked his mountain biking, and people in the industry saw that as a good thing. It may have been, but it also perpetuated the idea that the bicycle is just a toy. Even if Obama doesn’t ride, his cerebral, worldly personality will create a new form of American self-image in which it’s acceptable to do what might have been considered too effete and intellectual – like putting on your helmet, strapping up your pant leg, and biking to work.

Redesigns: ESPN.com vs. Cyclingnews

Posted on 07. Jan, 2009 by in Bike industry, Marketing, New Media | 3 Comments

Redesigns: ESPN.com vs. Cyclingnews

Within the last two days, the world’s #1 sports site and #1 cycling site both launched redesigns. ESPN.com’s was a complete rebuild with entirely new strategies for user experience and advertising options. Cyclingnews, on the other hand, accommodated a new ad display strategy with fairly small code tweak that significantly alters the user experience. A [...]

Punditry

Posted on 22. Dec, 2008 by in Bike industry, Trends | 1 Comment

Punditry

I just did this interview for Ed Cotton’s Influx Insights blog about trends in urban bicycling. Ed and I met at the PSFK San Francsico conference; he’s the director of strategy at BSSP, which happens to be Columbia Sportswear’s ad agency. Let me know what you think.

Kadisco Interview with Puma CMO Antonio Bertone

Posted on 17. Dec, 2008 by in Bike industry, Marketing, Trends | 3 Comments

Kadisco Interview with Puma CMO Antonio Bertone

(A follow-up post about Puma’s 2010 bike  line is here.)
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the increasing role that companies outside the bike industry have in shaping the way that people think about bicycles. I want to explore that trend and share what I find, so I’ll be posting a series of conversations with [...]

Track bike art

Posted on 15. Dec, 2008 by in Bike industry, Trends | No Comments

Track bike art

… but not the usual graffiti/skate/hipster stuff. These pieces are the work of Marco Cingolani, sent my way by Antonio Colombo, art gallery owner and president of Gruppo SpA (aka Columbus and Cinelli).

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