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I don’t think it’s been publicized at all, but word is Cane Creek just laid off a good amount of people and seems to be feeling the overall bike crunch. I’m not sure they are at risk of going under, but they have made some significant cuts.

Harry Potter fans, of course. In all seriousness, the fact that someone at YT was manic enough to say, “...and we’ll get the Harry Potter set designer to do the displays!”, and then actually made it happen, says everything you need to know about the culture. I mean, I can kind of understand the Christopher Walken bike launch video. I'd never agree to it, but at least I sort of get it. This? HA! Nobody cares about bike displays, let alone cares so much to pay a top tier (I assume) set developer to build one. Bonkers.

Of all the things being auctioned off as a result of YT's closure, this one really spoke to me.

Same thing hotels and Tim Hortons does in BC. Charge people a fee to get a job. Charge them a fee to get a visa. Charge them a fee above and beyond the PR costs and have them work off that amount. Fire them unannounced and stop their PR application so they can’t come back. Really a shame to see it get so much attention in Taiwan and yet it goes on daily here at home.

The glowing language about the dorm upgrade being accompanied by the photo of said dorm is hilarious. Is that supposed to be the improved version? It’s also interesting that Trek claims they did an audit of GTM earlier this year and didn’t find any evidence of CBPs allegations, so who is Giant paying back?

This is a pretty cool move by Reynolds, amidst the gloom: Reynolds Steps Up for Riders Left Behind by CSS / Forge+Bond Closure Reynolds Cycling is taking action to support riders affected by the recent shutdown of CSS Composites, the company behind Forge+Bond and a number of white-label rim brands including those used by Chris King, Revel, and others. With the closure of CSS and the discontinuation of warranty and crash replacement support for their carbon wheels, many riders have found themselves without options. Reynolds Cycling — a brand with one of the longest histories in composite manufacturing and carbon...

I was told 15 years ago by a member of the owning family of Bromont that biking was just under 1% of their income. As others mentioned, it’s about property development. Create a four season mountain and the value goes up.

Too bad I tanked the market for Fox Podiums or I'd sell my fork to buy an entire bike. Insane deal. Still may buy.

This marks an interesting shift in the thread, from product to experience. One of the most fascinating things about bikes is that the experience itself is (usually) free. You find a trail, ride it, and that’s it. That dynamic underpins the entire culture of cycling and, using some very special “boy math,” justifies spending far more on bikes each year than logic might otherwise allow. (ask me if you need help in this category lol) Personally, I haven’t ridden in a bike park in years, outside of races. But this thread pushed me to build a quick model to see...

No one has a goal to lose money. Tax write offs just decrease losses by the effective tax rate, they do not somehow make you money. This is a common refrain that the ultra wealthy somehow make money by losing money, but math says nope.

I was in Morzine/area for two weeks this summer and the number of non-riders who were still all over the mountain was quite striking vs in Canada. I'm sure part of that is population density, but I also think the way the lifts and towns and restaurants, etc are laid out make a big difference. While some ski resorts/bike parks have a "village" (Whistler, Sun Peaks, etc), many are stand alone operations separate from the town which makes it way less enticing for families who aren't into biking/skiing. In the alps, you've got the lift (located in the middle of...

I can't speak for the other side of the Atlantic, but I've spent the last few summers on family holidays in Morzine and resorts near Annecy (with the bike of course). And sure, Morzine has a lot of bikes, but all the resorts are positioning themselves for families and "events" such as Harley owners meets. The lifts are promoted for hikers, and in some places actually exclude bikes. The towns have their pools, golf courses and tennis courts, as well as markets and kiddie play areas, and lots of them are really busy. Us mountain bikers are just a part...

Just listened to the 2yr anniversary pod of this post, so many crazy parallels to a PE backed industry I was in at the time you posted: carwash both retail and mfg/services (aka platform) sides are heavily leveraged bc of low interest rates, membership models grew retail millionaires everywhere in the US and a Bain study that said we have room for another 11K full tunnel washes across US alone (as opposed to rollovers or convenience stores)… it was all on fire…(I came in in 2022 to lead people and culture for NCS) our ability to create margins on the...

I caught the podcast today and thought it was one of the best I've listened to in a while, very informative and I appreciated the discussion. I'm not in the bike industry but I am a bike geek who works with municipal governments on capital projects and I spend a lot of time analyzing how organizations make decisions and the parallels regardless of industry are undeniable. I am amazed that anything gets built and I'm always pretty sure shit is going to start to fail at any minute. 😅

Hilarious this is now hidden due to downvotes 🤣

Strava is a social media platform.. The only difference is that you generally have to go do something to post there..

Happy two-year anniversary. @jeff.brines got on the horn with @TEAMROBOT and I to discuss what's happened in the bike industry over the last two years. The podcast is below, but I can't thank all of you enough for such an incredible discussion. The knowledge and courtesy in this thread makes me proud to be involved with Vital, and as I say a few times in the podcast, this thread in particular has felt like receiving a free education. We all hope anyone who has lost a bike industry job in the last two years is back on their feet or...

Your experience makes sense. 4 years ago, for the first time, I rented an ebike at Kanuga. Aside from having a wicked-good-time, I couldn't noticing that there were these small groups of riders: maybe an 8 yr. old kid, a teenager, and an older man or woman, all riding together. They were families, actually all riding together, UPHILL. I checked memory, and realized how seldom I'd seen this in my 40 years of biking. Ebikes are a great tool for families to enjoy mountain biking together. Full stop. If Ebike manufacturers haven't taken advantage of this marketing opportunity, well, here's...

I do think the warranty discussion is super interesting and worthy of its own thread. I have my own thoughts, but I'll save them for if (when) that thread is spawned. I'm sure most of you have seen the YT video from the other site, if not, its worth the watch. I'll likely publish some thoughts over the next 24-48 hours. There is still a fair bit of confusion around what is happening there.

CSS Composites > Future Comp > Christensen Arms > Ancor Capital Future Comp founder and CEO are Christensens. Christensen Arms was acquired by Ancor in 2019. Did Roland just use some of the funds from selling his firearms company to start a new project? I don't know, but if that was the case, then it may not make sense to keep sinking his own cash in. If Future/CSS were owned under CA, then maybe Ancor had enough of the bike industry.