How Can Bike Brands and Shops Grow the Cycling Market?

Question

How can bike brands and local shops go beyond following trends and actually contribute to the growth of the cycling market?

Answer 1

Bike brands and local shops have the power to expand the market for cycling by concentrating on the specific categories they desire to develop further. It means not only introducing goods with fanfare but also doing conscious efforts to enhance the markets of the shop by events, community building and creating local affiliates. For instance, large cities can help foster interest in family biking events that would show potential customers the kind of lifestyle and community they would fit into. There is thus a need for brands and shops to put resources towards the cycling categories they seek to develop as is the case in some other niches of bike industry.

Comments

Bike thefts are stratospheric, experienced cyclist's see fragile Alu bikes only in the shop and overpriced equally fragile carbon bikes. So they go for what is hard to steel or break, a Brompton for the commute /light shopping, a boutique light modern steel or titanium bike for day rides, all stored indoors.

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Excellent content. I have noticed everything you mentioned too. When I was a kid, the local Schwinn (real, Chicago USA made) dealer was the bike hub in our community. It was owned by a great guy who was down to earth and knew how to give customer service. His competition in those days was Sears and J.C. Penney. My career experience was in a different industry, but many of the same attitudes exist. So many brand retailers have become "boutique" places where if you ask the price, you can't afford it. One perspective I believe is being overlooked is that the ebikes being sold online seem to be cookie cutter models with private labels on them. Where are all these bikes going to be serviced? Before reading, I viewed one about a certain brand of ebike being reviewed. The focus of the demo was how to pair the bike's gear box with a smart phone. Really? Is that what is really needed in the bike industry? More tech being forced to pair everything with a phone? Tech driven and dependent on it. Bottom line, service and parts will be a nightmare for many. That's the business opportunity I believe is being ignored. On the other hand, the coming depression will make bikes the transportation norm.

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Sorry you experienced that. Just know that not all bike shops are like that and some welcome new riders. Getting the word out is difficult. If you figure it out let us know. We have been trying to figure it out for years. One thing we have noticed is the smaller number of young riders getting into the sport. It is very disturbing.

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I work in a bike shop doing sales and service. The money is down and we can't invest anything more than MORE of our own time to make these things happen. David vs Goliath, and we are throwing every stone we can. I love a lot of the points she made in her content.

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Consumers need to nudge manufacturers to adopt a sell direct-to-consumer model. Bike shops can be a better service to the community by providing top quality and reasonably priced mechanical support and refurbished bike sales.