“Bike shops are the worst”: E-bike subscription service founder slams “gatekeeping” shops that “reject normal people” and enable the car to “keep winning” – but others claim “bad take” ignores role of bike shops in growing cycling + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Garmin celebrates record revenue as wearable fitness tech continues to boom
After their weird, short-lived legal wranglings with Strava, it’s all good news on the Garmin front this week:
> Garmin celebrates record revenue as wearable fitness tech continues to boom
Struggling for Halloween costume ideas for your kids? Well, here’s the perfect cycling-themed solution – and it’s properly scary (especially if you live next door to a Telegraph reporter)
This gem comes courtesy of Australian satirical news site, The Betoota Advocate:
To be fair, I could see this causing a stir in the Daily Mail press room. Maybe satire really is dead.
“You’re giving it your all, and this guy takes off like nothing happened”: Egan Bernal admits Tadej Pogačar’s dominance “makes me angry” – but Colombian concedes it’s “cool” to witness the Pogi era
For a brief period at the turn of the 2020s, it looked like Egan Bernal was set to dominate professional cycling for the next decade.
After winning a chaotic edition of the Tour de France in 2019, Bernal – despite an injury-marred defence of his yellow jersey the following year – backed that breakthrough success up with a second grand tour win at the 2021 Giro d’Italia.
And, with Tadej Pogačar announcing himself as the sport’s next superstar in the interim, the scene looked set for a prolonged grand tour showdown between the precocious Slovenian and the Colombian pairing.
Bernal’s horrific training crash in early 2022, however, scuppered those grand plans, the Ineos rider’s long, difficult road to recovery meaning he has never been able to properly challenge Pogačar’s now well-established pre-eminence at the Tour.
Unipublic / Cxcling / Antonio Baixauli
Nevertheless, this season the 28-year-old did record his best grand tour GC performance since his crash, finishing seventh overall at the Giro, while also winning a protest-impacted Vuelta stage in the mountains, outsprinting Mikel Landa to a makeshift finish line.
This autumn, Bernal took on Pogačar at the world championships, Tre Valli Varesine, and Il Lombardia, the Ineos rider’s eighth place at the Race of the Falling Leaves his best showing as the Slovenian stormed to yet more glory at all three races.
And, speaking on Colombian television show Despierta Win this week, Bernal conceded that those races offered a frightening close-up demonstration of the world champion’s ability.
“He’s on another level. When you compete against him, many times he makes it seem like you’re bad,” Bernal said.
RCS/LaPresse
“It makes me angry. You’re giving it your all, and this guy takes off like nothing happened.
“But it’s cool to compete against him, he pushes the rest of us to want to improve. It’s cool that we get to see the Pogačar era.”
Reflecting on his own steady improvement this season, Bernal continued: “This year, I felt like I started to be myself again; I felt stronger.
“I feel different. This year, I went to the Giro, finished seventh, and I went to the Vuelta aiming for the podium. It didn’t happen, but I still believe that one day I can win again.”
> Egan Bernal’s recovery from life-threatening horror crash detailed in medical research paper
The 28-year-old was hesitant when asked how much his 2022 crash had derailed his career, noting that he had also suffered with back pain throughout the 2020 and 2021 campaigns.
“It’s hard to say, I was dealing with back pain,” he said.
“I had a herniated disc, and I didn’t know whether I’d need surgery or not. We realised it was very serious: it was pinching a nerve, and that was causing the pain.
“Even so, in 2021, I went to the Giro d’Italia with that pain and won it. I went to the Vuelta a España and finished sixth. The plan for 2022 was to go to the Tour de France, and then what happened, happened.”
Anything the Tour can do, E3 can do… the same: E3 Saxo Classic set to include second Oude Kwaremont ascent (from a different direction) plus extra climbing for 2026
If like me, you’re already hankering for the spring classics, cobbles, and frites, then I’ve got some good news for you.
This week, the organisers of the E3 Saxo Classic unveiled the route of the 2026 edition of the Belgian one-day race, which will take place on Friday 27 March, featuring some interesting tweaks.
Inspired, perhaps, by the Tour de France’s decision to take the riders up Alpe d’Huez twice next year (once via the Col de Sarenne back road), next year’s E3 will feature two ascents of the iconic Oude Kwaremont, once up the classic Ronde route and then from an entirely new approach.
Having slogged up the Kwaremont in the pouring rain, bike jumping from cobble to cobble, I can confirm that once up it is more than enough.
The riders will also be forced to endure a double climb of the 1.2km Karnemelkbeekstraat in Ronse, dubbed the ‘E3-Col’ since 2019,
“The race is about five kilometres longer in total than this year and with over 3,000 metres, it will also include slightly more elevation gain, but that certainly won’t result in a spectacularly tougher race,” spokesperson Jacques Coussens told Het Laaste Nieuws.
The changes were announced as the organisers confirmed that the E3 – which takes place just over a week before the Tour of Flanders, kicking off cycling’s Flemish Holy Week in earnest – will finish in Harelbeke until 2031, after the race agreed a new five-year deal with the town, which has hosted the classic since 1957.
Let’s just hope the fans keep their saliva to themselves next year…
“He’s as precise as an F1 driver”: Remco Evenepoel starts life at Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe with 15 hours in wind tunnel
Remco Evenepoel may be the best time triallist on the planet, but he isn’t one to rest on his laurels.
The Belgian has already won three world time trial titles, not to mention an Olympic gold and two European crowns in the discipline, and underlined his TT supremacy by catching and passing a certain Tadej Pogačar on the roads of Rwanda at last month’s worlds.
Zac Williams/SWpix.com
But after a quick post-Lombardia holiday, Evenepoel’s already back at the TT specialist’s version of the coalface – the wind tunnel – as he gears up for his debut season at Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, following his much-discussed transfer from Soudal-Quick Step.
And while that switch means Remco won’t have to change bikes for 2026 (as both teams are supplied by Specialized), after meeting up with his new Red Bull teammates in Salzburg last week, he’s still been putting in the hours in the Specialized wind tunnel. 15 hours, in fact.
According to Leo Menville of Specialized, Evenepoel has spent this week at the company’s headquarters in Morgan Hill, California, testing out potential new kit and tweaking his position in the brand’s wind tunnel, which has become something of a second home for the Belgian in recent years.
“He’s been with us so often that I don’t even remember if it was his fifth or sixth trip to the US,” Menville told Het Nieuwsblad.
“I don’t think any other rider has ever visited our headquarters so often. Remco is one of our ambassadors, but our relationship goes much further than the contract; we’re really very close.”
ASO/Charly Lopez
Het Nieuwsblad reported that Evenepoel was accompanied to California by 15 people from Red Bull, including new teammate Giulio Pellizzari and the squad’s new Head of Sports Zak Dempster, who arrived from Ineos, along with two mechanics and two aerodynamicists (I imagine Dan Bigham was lurking about somewhere).
The triple world time trial champion spent a total of fifteen hours in the wind tunnel during his stint in Morgan Hill, while also testing his position on a local track.
“Remco’s days were busy, but he’s often the one who wants to do even more,” Menville added. “On Monday and Tuesday, he spent fifteen hours in our wind tunnel, simply testing his position on the time trial bike. He was at the wind tunnels as early as 7am and left around 6pm.
“His dedication and attention to detail are all the more impressive considering he’s a three-time world champion and has won most of his season’s time trials by a comfortable margin. He might think he’s in a league of his own and could ease off a bit, but he’s doing the opposite. He’s as precise as an F1 driver.”
Zac Williams/SWpix.com
What Remco was testing exactly remains a mystery, with Menville keeping tight-lipped about Specialized and Red Bull’s plans for next season, where Evenepoel will likely be targeting the Tour de France once again, despite its lack of individual time trialling kilometres.
“I can’t go into too much detail about what exactly we tested over the past few days, but it was during these sessions that the idea for the new visor on the time trial helmet Remco wore this season came about,” he said.
“Because we have a lab and all our engineers are present, we can develop prototypes quickly and relatively easily. Remco is excellent at giving feedback, but he also trusts the others.”
‘Angry locals claim tiny bit of cycling infrastructure has completely and utterly ruined entire town’, episode 263
> “It has changed the whole ambience of this area of the city”: Backlash over “tacky” cycle lane resurfacing which furious politician claims has “wrecked” historic stone paving
Matt White joins Movistar as co-head of racing after “shock” dismissal from Jayco-AlUla
The latest development in cycling’s constant staffing merry-go-round was announced last night, as former Jayco-AlUla sports director Matt White was confirmed as Movistar’s new co-head of racing.
White’s appointment, which will see him work alongside Movistar stalwart Chente García Acosta overseeing the team’s racing plans, comes as part of a general managerial reshuffle at the Spanish squad led by new head of sports Sebastián Unzué, son of the team’s founder Eusebio Unzué.
Unzué’s restructuring process involves the creation of four new departments at the team, focusing on performance, racing, health, and riders, which he says will give Movistar a “modern, efficient structure that meets the demands of today’s cycling”.
The announcement comes four months after White was dismissed from his DS post at Jayco-AlUla after 14 years with the Aussie outfit, a decision he described as a “shock” to Daniel Benson this week.
“After more than 15 years as a Sports Director, I’m starting a new and exciting chapter, eager to contribute my experience and help drive the team’s success,” White said in a statement announcing his new gig at Movistar.
“Movistar Team is an organisation I have always deeply respected, and being part of it from the inside is something that truly motivates me.”
If you thought the e-bike guy’s take on bike shops was controversial and misguided, wait until you hear what he uses to “clean up” his thoughts
Is there anything more ‘LinkedIn’ than a hot-take essay, filled with controversial, divisive talking points and the occasional pop culture reference, all with the aim of clandestinely promoting your own product and brand.
Yes, actually – when AI is used to help produce it:
While Murphy denied Gabe’s claim that his post was an “AI-generated summary”, he did at least admit to “something” using AI to “clean up my thoughts”.
Make of that what you will…
Double Tour de France stage winner Sam Bennett joins the British and Irish revolution at Q36.5
The way things are going, Q36.5 could well become the de-facto home team for British and Irish cycling fans.
Five Brits – Tom and Joe Pidcock, Mark Donovan, Thomas Gloag, and Fred Wright – and Irish climber Eddie Dunbar have already been confirmed as part of the Swiss squad for 2026. And this afternoon, Sam Bennett has joined their ranks, the Irish sprinter signing a deal with Q36.5 until at least the end of 2026.
Bennett, a winner of two stages at the Tour de France, five at the Vuelta, and three at the Giro, has endured a difficult, up-and-down few years since joining Decathlon-AG2R from Bora at the start of 2024.
The 35-year-old nabbed two wins apiece at the Tour de la Provence and Région Pays de la Loire Tour in the spring, but has struggled for form since, with sixth place his best showing at the Giro. Since then, he’s failed to finish every one-day and stage race he’s started, ending his season with a DNF at the Tour de Vendée.
However, Bennett’s pedigree proved enough for him to secure a deal at Q36.5, who will hope to take advantage of the Irish sprinter’s experience to help mentor the squad’s younger riders as they gear up for a probable debut at the Tour de France next year.
The move also sees Bennett reunite with Q36.5’s head of performance Kurt Bogaerts, who oversaw the Irishman’s development back in the An Post-Sean Kelly days.
“It’s fantastic to be joining Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team next season,” Bennett said in a statement today. “My career was launched by Kurt Bogaerts, so it feels as if I’ve taken a winding path home.
“As a sprinter, my career has been shaped by hunting for wins and I’ve been really fortunate to have been given lots of great opportunities to perform, and win, at all three grand tours.
“By joining this team, not only do I sense an immense opportunity to perform at my best level but equally to guide younger riders to achieve great things within our sport. I’ve watched the team grow and develop and accomplish great things already at the highest level and I’m excited to be a part of that.”
“We first were together on the An Post-Sean Kelly where he turned pro from our team after winning the stage in Caerphilly at the 2013 Tour of Britian,” Bogaerts added.
“We remained in contact throughout his career and now we have the opportunity to add his winning experience to our team.
“He understands what it takes to win at the highest level and especially at grand tours. Sam gives us the chance to target high-profile victories and the consistency we strive for.”
Bennett’s signing completes Q36.5’s 30-rider line-up for next year – which means that his compatriot and current Irish champion Rory Townsend, who secured his first pro win with a blistering attack at the ADAC Cyclassics Hamburg in August, looks set to miss out on a place in the team.
Dan’s Magical Mystery Tour of London’s Olympic Velodrome
Dan here, butting in on the Thursday blog action from the Olympic Velodrome in London where this weekend some of the best track riders in the world will be racing the London 3 Day.
That’s what I can tell you, unfortunately what I can’t is the identity of the very fancy new bike that’s just out of shot, ready to make its debut tomorrow night. You’ll have to wait until the morning for that, I’m afraid…
No wonder he’s been all cryptic this afternoon. And I have no idea why he’s speaking in an Italian accent all of a sudden. Strange.
“Cycling is dangerous and exhausting. Hardly anyone brakes anymore”: Ineos Grenadiers ‘icon’ Salvatore Puccio relieved to be retiring from “faster, harder, and riskier” sport, admitting he started career in “another era”
Now it’s time for the big reveal. The “legendary figure” lauded by Manchester United fan site Centre Devils is none other than… drum roll, please – Italian veteran Salvatore Puccio.
No, I didn’t think it would be him, either.
(‘Ineos icon’ is probably a bit strong for Puccio, but we’ll let them off, they’re modern football fans after all. They probably think Luke Shaw is a United legend.)
The 36-year-old Italian has now retired from the sport – which explains why Centre Devils published a story on him (kind of) – after 14 years racing solely in the colours of Team Sky/Ineos.
Puccio turned pro with the British squad back in 2011, and while failing to pick up a win for himself, earned a reputation as a strong, reliable domestique. He contributed to Chris Froome’s victories at the 2017 Vuelta and 2018 Giro, as well as Tao Geoghegan Hart’s 2020 Giro triumph, and Egan Bernal’s success in Italy the following year (interestingly, Puccio rode 17 grand tours for Sky/Ineos, but never made it onto their Tour team).
Puccio leads pink jersey Geraint Thomas at the 2023 Giro (Zac Williams/SWpix.com)
He did, however, wear the pink jersey for a day at his debut Giro, after a Bradley Wiggins-led Sky squad won the team time trial on the race’s second day in Forio.
And speaking to Italian cycling site tuttobiciweb this week, Puccio admitted that, thanks to the enormous changes in the peloton in recent years, most of his career now feels like it belongs to “another era”, with the veteran describing modern cycling as “dangerous and exhausting”.
“Hardly anyone brakes anymore. If you slow down, you lose forty positions instantly,” the Sicilian said.
“Crashes on TV are only one percent of what really happens. The chaos we used to feel only in the final now starts from kilometre zero. Recently I hit 84 kph on a descent and got scared. Unfortunately, it’s becoming normal.
“The level is so high now. Last winter I trained three times a day: gym, bike, turbo. Nutrition has changed completely. We used to ride five hours after an omelette and nothing else. Now you go out with your pockets full of gels and take in 120g of carbs per hour. It’s another world.”
LB/RB/CorVos/SWpix.com
But Puccio says he looks back on his career with no regrets.
“I have so many memories. Wearing the pink jersey at my first Giro in 2013 was a beautiful surprise,” he said. “And every time a teammate won, I felt it was my victory too. As a domestique, your work only has value if your leader finishes it off.”
And who’d have thought at the start of his career, a football website would, upon his retirement, be describing him as an icon and a legend? Fair play, Salvatore.
Guess the ‘Ineos icon’ (according to a Manchester United fan site)
Earlier today, I stumbled across a story on the Manchester United fan/news site Centre Devils, with the intriguing and not at all clickbaity headline: ‘Ineos icon officially retires from sport’:
Right, let’s play a game. 10 road.cc points for the first reader to correctly identify the ‘Ineos icon’ Centre Devils were talking about in their deliberately super vague headline.
I’ll give you a clue – it’s not Ruben Amorim or any of his United squad (but you knew that already). Go!
Next up at the Olympics, we have the… err, Lime Bike Toss?
> Worker sacked over video showing Lime hire bikes being hurled out of transport van
Don’t blame it on the steak, Oier…
Oier Lazkano’s biological passport troubles have reminded me, naturally, of his breakthrough, attacking ride at the 2023 Dwars door Vlaanderen.
Or to be more specific, when his then-Movistar teammate Matteo Jorgenson responded to that intense performance by posting the following photo of the Spaniard’s equally intense approach to the team dinner table:
> Dwars door Vlaanderen hero Oier Lazkano shows his ruthless side… at the dinner table
Who knows, maybe Lazkano was laying the early groundwork for an Alberto Contador-style ‘tainted steak’ defence all along?
Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe sack Oier Lazkano after former Spanish champion suspended by UCI over biological passport abnormalities
If you’ve been scratching your head wondering what Spain’s marauding, missing in action attacker Oier Lazkano has been up to for most of this season, then wonder no more.
This afternoon, the UCI announced that Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe rider Lazkano has been provisionally suspended due to “unexplained abnormalities” in his biological passport, which were found during his three-year stint at Movistar between 2022 and 2024.
Lazkano joined Movistar from Caja-Rural at the start of the 2022 season and soon established a reputation as a strong, attacking, and entertaining presence at both one-day classics and stage races.
He won a stage of the Tour de Wallonie in 2022, before a breakthrough 2023 campaign saw him win stages at the Vuelta a Burgos and Boucles de la Mayenne, finish an impressive second at Dwars door Vlaanderen, and win his first Spanish road race championships.
Lazkano followed that up by winning the Clásica Jaén in 2024, before taking third at Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne. A consistently strong performance at the Critérium du Dauphiné that summer bagged him his first WorldTour stage race top ten, and an attacking ride at the Tour de France a month later earned him fifth on the stage to Barcelonnette won by Victor Campenaerts.
Zac Williams/SWpix.com
However, his big move to Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe fell surprisingly flat, a string of anonymous results culminating in a stint in the breakaway at Paris-Roubaix, which proved his last race of the season.
Lazkano’s absence from the peloton raised plenty of questions – which have finally been answered by the UCI’s press release, as the 25-year-old becomes the latest rider to fall foul of the governing body’s biological passport system, which attempts to spot patterns of doping by tracing a rider’s blood values and biological profile over time, in a bid to spot anomalies indicative of drug use.
“The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) announces that Spanish rider Oier Lazkano Lopez has been provisionally suspended in accordance with the UCI Anti-Doping Rules, due to unexplained abnormalities in his Athlete Biological Passport in 2022, 2023 and 2024,” the UCI said in its statement.
Following the announcement of their rider’s provisional doping suspension, Red Bull-Bora have announced that Lazkano will leave the team with immediate effect.
“We confirm that Oier Lazkano will no longer be part of our team. This follows the decision of the UCI to provisionally suspend him. The matter concerns the seasons 2022-2024 – a time before he joined our team,” a team spokesperson said.
Is Eurobike in trouble? German cycling industry representatives end association with Eurobike and will not take part in 2026 event, claiming bike show organisers are not committed to making it “fit for the future of the bicycle industry”
Some news now from Germany, where the two most influential cycling industry associations, ZIV and Zukunft Fahrrad, have announced that they are ending their co-operation with Eurobike, Europe’s biggest bike show, and will not take part in the event in 2026.
A joint statement was issued by the two groups this week, after they both gathered feedback from their members following this year’s Eurobike in June, from which they devised a 10-point plan for the 2026 show, including a number of “fundamental” changes designed to ensure the future success of the Frankfurt-based event.
This plan formed the basis for their discussions with the companies who manage and organise the trade fair, which recently broke down after the industry bodies concluded that there was no “realistic chance of achieving” the changes they wanted, prompting them to walk away and terminate their contracts with organiser GmbH.
“Following lengthy discussions with the Eurobike operators, we have decided to end our cooperation,” ZIV president Bernhard Lange said.
“We could not see that both operators were equally committed to supporting the measures that would be necessary to make the trade fair fit for the future of the bicycle industry.”
“The members of Zukunft Fahrrad and the ZIV have formulated clear ideas on the necessary structural and content-related adjustments. Unfortunately, we do not see any realistic chance of achieving these,” Ulrich Prediger, the CEO of trade body Zukunft Fahrrad and the founder of JobRad, added.
Claus Fleischer, the CEO of Bosch e-Bike Systems, also said: “The industry expects fundamental changes as a prerequisite and clear signal for a successful future for the Eurobike – we do not see this in the outcome.”
“The demand among our members for a strong joint platform remains high. We are therefore continuing to exchange closely with our companies and partner associations,” the statement continued.
“We will move forward with the process very quickly. The issue of an industry platform needs to be resolved in a forward-looking manner, as we all recognise the enormous political and economic challenges facing our industry.”
“Bike shops are the worst”: E-bike subscription service founder slams “gatekeeping” shops that “reject normal people” and enable the car to “keep winning” – but others claim “bad takes” ignores role of bike shops in growing cycling
Are bike shops the worst? Well, Scott Murphy, the co-founder of e-bike subscription service Clover, certainly thinks so.
(I know what you’re thinking – he wants to sell short-term e-bike subs, of course he’s not a fan of bike shops, hardly a shocker. Anyway…)
On his LinkedIn account – where else? – this week, Murphy posted one of those classic long, pseudo-philosophical essays intrinsically associated with that particular social media platform… all about bike shops. And he divided the room, it’s fair to say.
“Bike shops are the worst,” Murphy, who manages Clover’s business strategy, posted.
“They flat out reject normal people. Walk in asking for a bike to actually get places, and they look at you like you just farted in a wine tasting.
“If you’re not dropping €10K on some carbon racing toy, they don’t care. Ask about racks, lights, or fenders, and they’ll act like you asked them to install training wheels.
“Most bike shops don’t sell transportation. They sell hobbies. They sell status. They sell identity. And if you don’t speak fluent gear ratio, you’re not part of the club.”
He continued: “It’s High Fidelity on two wheels, the record shop that sneers at anyone who just likes music.
“Except this time, it’s people who just want to get to work, grab groceries, or ride to the beach without owning a car. And that’s the real shame. Because until the industry stops gatekeeping and starts welcoming everyday riders, the car will keep winning by default.”
Judging by the reaction to his post, it’s safe to conclude that not everyone agrees with Murphy’s belief that snooty bike shops are silently propping up the car industry.
“I think you might need to find a better bike shop,” said Iain Montgomery. “Sure this is some, but it’s a bit like going into Gucci and asking for a t-shirt under $20. You just wouldn’t do it.
“Certainly know some snooty, and very expensive, bike shops, but they’re the exception rather than the norm.”
“I feel very much the opposite,” added Anthony Klick. “Bike shops are one of my favourite places to visit and the vast majority are very much welcoming.”
Meanwhile, transport planning executive Jeff Peel said: “This is not only an objectively bad take, but not recognising the importance of neighbourhood bike shops as a vital part of the transportation ecosystem that you’re hoping to develop your e-bike venture in is shortsighted at best.
“Bike shops have long been a critical part of ensuring bikes are part of the sustainable transportation mix. Doing away with them erodes the foundation you hope to build on, and in this economy, is really punching down at vulnerable small businesses. Rethink this, please.”
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However, not everyone was rushing to condemn Murphy’s LinkedIn bike shops hot take.
Matt Johnson, the former president of Slipstream Sports, the management company behind the WorldTour team now known as EF Education-EasyPost, admitted that, even with his years of experience in the cycling industry, he “dreads” walking into a bike shop.
“I don’t really have a horse in this race, but I’ve thought for a long time that bike shops really struggle to welcome people. It is why this industry sometimes is its own worst enemy,” Johnson said.
“I hate to take my own experiences and say they are everyone’s. They are not. They are just my experiences, but I will share the majority of my bike store experiences:
“First, I feel I’m very qualified to be in a bike shop: Worked at a shop since the age of 12 to 15; Raced bikes for 15 years (three in Europe from age 15 to 18); President of a Tour de France team for 10 years; Raised more money for a US cycling team than anyone in history.
“That said, I’m so intimated to walk into any bike store. Boulder, Bay Area, or LA, you name it, somehow the experience is universal regardless of geography.
“Of course not all stores are like that and once you are on the ‘in crowd’ it becomes a blend of your sanctuary and cool kid club house.
“But you walk in without anyone knowing you and you need to buy a set of pedals or cleats, the average service experience is terrible in the US. In Europe, my experiences are much, much better. I dread walking into a bike store.”
Finally, Chuck Gorman offered this balanced perspective: “I think that there are many different types of bike shops… There are absolutely higher end shops, catering to the audience for high end road/mountain bikes, and they can be elitist.
“BUT the majority of shops (at least here) are ore open minded and are looking to get people on bikes, and while they can provide the higher end brands, do far more volume in the low and mid-tier range, and are starting to explore the e-bike space as well.”
What do you reckon? Are bike shops the preserve of elitist cycling snobs like Murphy claims? Or are they a key component in getting more people, of all backgrounds and cycling experience, riding bikes? Let us know in the comments…
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"we are convinced that normal hookless when everything is well controlled, is better than any hooked type with uncontrolled tolerances" - Yes, I'm sure it works fine in the right circumstances. Now give it to Joe Bloggs consumer who has no idea about tyre compatibility and recommended pressures and you no longer have that "well controlled" situation and serious problems can arise. Even if the initial purchaser does the research to know what is allowable, the person they sell the wheels or bike to in a few years time will probably have no idea. People who work for bike brands need to spend time in real bike shops and observe what setups people bring in and what level of knowledge the typical consumer has.
Speak for yourself. I say it all the time - like every time I bring the other half a cup of tea or something.
Perhaps the poster is not in the UK? The one thing that seems fairly clear is they're not in NL, and probably not in Copenhagen, Malmö, Seville...
@wtjs I'd love to be wrong but this current one doesn't seem to have fibre or indeed any ability to stick to decisions, never mind ones which might be immediately and noisily unpopular. (The only exception that immediately comes to mind is something they were forced into - taking some belated action on ex-prince Andrew and Peter Mandelson).
The TX200 had a five speed freewheel in 1976, not a cassette. Big blokes and heavy touring loads were just asking for bent rear axles.
I hope the government displays the correct 'moral fibre' attitude and also piles on the Fuel Price Escalator
I can't leave this 'ER' stuff unchallenged! We do not say ER!!
I was around in 1973 and remember the impact that the oil crisis and the subsequent oil price hikes had. That was a missed opportunity; this may be the second chance we've been waiting 52 years for. Hasn't come to that yet, but we need to be ready if it does.
[placeholder for obligatory picture meme of Inigo Montoya]
I think you're going to need to be more specific, because no-one can tell who or what you're responding to.
44 thoughts on ““Bike shops are the worst”: E-bike subscription service founder slams “gatekeeping” shops that “reject normal people” and enable the car to “keep winning” – but others claim “bad take” ignores role of bike shops in growing cycling + more on the live blog”
I’ve been in many wonderful
I’ve been in many wonderful bike shops run by the most helpful and friendly people imaginable, but I must admit that as an average my experience does accord with much of the above, especially when I was younger and less confident/knowledgeable than I am now. I’d say bike shops rank third in my all-time list of places where one can expect patronising and rude attitudes, with guitar shops taking the silver medal and Parisian restaurants taking the gold by a country mile.
Cue photo of squirrel on a
Cue photo of squirrel on a bike wearing a stripey shirt, beret and curly moustache whilst playimg guitar and carrying a baguette in his basket.
Aluminium can wrote:
Living out in thé French
Living out in thé French sticks we don’t have many if any guitar shops and my local bike shop has been helpful to all and sundry customers for thé 30 odd years I’ve used it. Mind you, I’ve sometimes been amazed at thé patience of Gérard and Marc with people who come in for an ebike and seem astounded that they aren’t in fact some sort of moped.
darnac wrote:
Why all the tea?
You can never have enough tea
You can never have enough tea.
AGGH that’s what I forgot
AGGH that’s what I forgot when I was out at lunchtime, tea bags!
In my limited experience of
In my limited experience of French bike shops I’ve never encountered a bad one (leaving aside a hire place that rented us BMCs with really badly adjusted brakes which we were using to climb and descend an alp), always been very welcoming and friendly (never been to one in Paris!) – though I’d caveat that by saying I’ve always visited them in the guise of a sports cyclist with a high-end bike, so I don’t know how they’d treat, for example, an everyday commuter with a budget bike.
In my limited experience of
In my limited experience of French bike shops I’ve never encountered a bad one
I’ve never used a ‘French bike shop’ as such, but around 75 I was camping/ touring the Massif Centrale with a girlfriend. I was using her ‘Palm Beach ladies’ touring bike’ (can’t remember the brand) and carrying much of the gear and she was on my touring bike. The axle on one of the Palm Beach wheels, presumably the rear which was carrying all the weight, broke while we were plodding on through heavy rain. I wasn’t expecting such a breakdown, but a local took pity on us and we stayed the night in his house – I remember it had very thick walls! In the morning he took us to see a grizzled French ‘engineer’ in his traditional shop/ workshop. He was, too! He made us an axle from a suitable piece of steel he had lying around. He measured the threads and cut duplicates so the cones and nuts fitted. I can’t remember if he even charged us for the work, but if he did, it wasn’t much. There were no further breakdowns.
I’d love to disagree with
If you find one you get on with, it’s a keeper!
I’d love to disagree with popular stereotypes but … that accords with mine also (albeit haven’t been to Paris since I was a schoolboy and was doubtless irritating anywhere; similar for guitars plus i couldn’t actually play).
(I’d like to add “hipster Edinburgh coffee emporiums” but I’ve found a few that will let me in now).
In defense of cycle shops they seem to fulfil a role providing employment for the neurodivergent *. Plus anyone who’s spent much time in them will be familiar with some of the customer base – those doing ignorant things to their bikes and then expecting miraculous fixes for cheap **. Plus a segment of customers who *are* “entitled cyclists” with attitude and no interest in being “contradicted”. (Perhaps they failed to get employment in a bike shop?)
* “you don’t *have* to be odd to work long hours for minimal pay in a niche trade few appreciate, but…”
** I imagine dentists feel the same way, but they get paid at least.
Capital city thing? I visit
Capital city thing? I visit about half a dozen LBSs in bucolic Bristol and sunny Swansea and am usually amazed by the (bike related! ) things they will do without obvious sneering for very modest sums. Dreckly, as a rule.
Now I am a “cyclist” (not to
Now I am a “cyclist” (not to sporty cyclists, but can at least make some basic cycle chat and I normally don’t arrive on a Bike Shaped Object) I almost always have good experiences.
Again I’m struck by the hard, repetitive work that some people will do for little cash and not become totally embittered.
I have even experienced politeness when I had to ask for basic sundries in a distinctly “roadie” store.
OTOH I’ve established the ones that “work for me” (usually a low incidence of Rapha etc)
On my last trip to Brizzle I tried a couple and they were very helpful.
slc wrote:
Mrs HawkinsPeter just got her e-bike back from Certini in Bristol and was pleasantly surprised by the friendly and helpful nature of the bicycle repair lady there as she’s not so good with mechanical things. She was worried that they’d tell her off for not looking after her bike (I’ve washed it a couple of times and oiled the chain, but didn’t fancy trying to bleed the non-shimano brakes).
+1 for Certini, used them
+1 for Certini, used them recently and they were great. Always found them super friendly, and they usually have some really cracking music playing.
Also 73 degrees in Keynsham are good.
Lush
Lush
I think this relevant sketch
I think this relevant sketch has been posted in the forum before…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvswW6M7bMo
“Do you want a bag on your
“Do you want a bag on your head?”
Bike Shops. This feels like
Bike Shops. This feels like a bit of Othering – suggesting that all individuals in a group exhibit the same negative characteristics, usually for divisive gains. Like many I have been in shops where I feel my treatment reflects how the shop keeper views me. Clothing shops are my pet area of discomfort but I have also been in a bike shop where the owners attitude towards me changed once I had won a race at the local track league. Across 40 years of visiting a range of local and international LBS I generally my experience does not reflect that of the article author which makes me question their motives.
Clothing shops…<>
Clothing shops…<<shudders>>. Thank god for the internet.
“Worker filmed hurling Lime
“Worker filmed hurling Lime Bikes dismissed“
I wonder how many badly “parked” hire bikes are actually due to staff rather then users…
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/videos/cze6r4nn5leo
or, badly parked cars are
or, badly parked “cars” could stem from suboptimal bus stop placement……….
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/videos/c3vndezk31qo
………………………………………..don’t get me started on those floatie wan’s
Terrible lack of high viz on
Terrible lack of high viz on that bus shelter…
I’m not condoning the guy,
I’m not condoning the guy, but I’m impressed he can fling a 35kg bike that far.
Or perhaps any Highland Games
Or perhaps any Highland Games held near metro areas could consider a new discipline?
I have mostly used my 3 LBSs
I have mostly used my 3 LBSs since taking up cycling and found them to be nothing but polite and helpful.
Two of them stock bikes ranging from expensive road bikes down to shopping bikes and Barbie bikes with stabilisers and handlebar streamers.
If you are a novice, it is better to say so at the outset.
They all provide useful advice on a variety of matters.
I was in one shop when somebody who wasn’t a current customer rang to ask if they could pop in to blow their tyres up (the owner agreed) – hopefully they decided to purchase a pump.
In another shop I overheard the joint owner politely telling a potential customer over the phone :”Yes, we sell inner tubes.”
Mr Blackbird wrote:
Being a disorganised eejit I’ve often stopped at bike shops to ask if I could use their track pump (even when not disorganised I’ve done it to get back to full pressure after inflating a replacement tube with a mini pump) and they’ve always been more than happy and never suggested a purchase, though I do usually buy some energy bars or similar by way of thanks. Many shops now have track pumps by the door or even outside for anyone to use. Not saying it isn’t very good of them, because it is, but if a shop was begrudging about lending a pump (air’s free, after all) it would definitely be a red flag not to use them for anything else.
Using a shop’s track pump is
Using a shop’s track pump is absolutely standard – I’ve done this abroad as well. In London, a lot of the shops would simply leave one outside for people to use. It’s like a petrol station offering water for windscreen washing.
I think the problem that
I think the problem that befalls many LBS is that lots of proprietors go into the bike industry because they love working with bikes, yet many of them have absolutely no clue whatsoever on how to run a business or how to do customer service well.
I can think of two that I have been to over the years that I’d recommend (Bicycle Chain Yeovil and Primera Bournemouth), but they’re both over an hour’s drive away from me, so not really a practical proposition to frequent often. Others more locally have been and gone, there’s another nearby that I’ve not visited since 2018, I got fed up with the offhand attitude and having to wait a minimum of a week for anything. There’s another which I do go in when I can for stuff I can’t/wont do (use it or lose it), started up fairly recently (Camber Cycle Works), they’re really helpful and reasonably priced (although sometimes don’t charge enough in my opinion).
For me now, I do virtually all routine servicing & maintenance myself, and keep most of the spares & consumables I need at home. It’s become a hobby I enjoy very much though, and convenient to be able to work on my own bikes when they need it rather than wait for someone else.
Last time my bike got
Last time my bike got serviced at a LBS it cost twice as much as they’d quoted and came back with bits missing.
Most of my servicing is thus DIY, and my last 3 bikes were all bought online.
Your workshop is better than
Your workshop is better than I have ever seen in an LBS.
(No subject)
I find it astonishing that
I find it astonishing that for years pro cyclists were filling themselves with all manner of PEDs, but drastically under-fuelling themselves. That seems like the lower hanging fruit.
AidanR wrote:
They didn’t have modern gels etc which allow for 50% more carb intake than was previously thought possible of course, but in any case I feel like Puccio is having slightly false memories there…racing for marginal-gains-obsessed Team Sky since 2011 it seems doubtful he would be sent out for a five-hour-ride with just a pre-ride omelette. Maybe thinking about his earlier days or his at home personal training rides?
“…suspended due to
“…suspended due to ‘unexplained abnormalities’ in his biological passport…” Who can’t explain what, the rider or the science? Today’s abnormality might become tomorrow’s new normal.
I dont think bike shops are
I dont think bike shops are elitist, but there’s definitely a vibe to most of them of there’s an in crowd, and an out crowd, and your customer experience is determined by which group you are in
You’ve just defined elitism
You’ve just defined elitism mate.
And yeah, the guy is spot-on actually. Most bike shops are still run and staffed by people who’re into cycling as a sport, and even the ones that put on a facade of being welcoming mostly have a vibe that someone coming in for cycling-as-transport stuff is being tolerated. The amount of times when I’ve been out & about and been forced to use a random bike shop somewhere to get a puncture repair or whatever minor thing and gotten the sneering “did you forget your tools and patch kit?” type of response, as if you’ve no right to own a bike unless you can build it from scratch, I cannot even count. The notion that someone might treat owning a bike the way 99.99% of people treat owning a car is completely alien to most bike shops. Even the places that aren’t snobby about the *amount* of money are often still snobby about the type of bike, bring in something other than a narrow tire roadie or a mountain bike and they look at you like you’ve just parked a flying saucer out front. Not to mention the rampant sexism – I use a step-through frame, not because I have to but because it’s easier to use and I have no need to performatively demonstrate my masculinity, but even these days you still get “that’s a bit big of a frame to be your wife’s bike eh hur hurr hurr” type remarks in a lot of places.
The responses to the original linkedin post act like amazing welcoming modern bike shops are the norm and bad ones an aberration but IME it’s completely the reverse, all the utility cyclists I know have *a* bike shop they go to unless they have absolutely no other choice, usually because it’s the only one in their town that isn’t packed full of merchant bankers, so to speak.
I simply haven’t found that,
I simply haven’t found that, not for years. There used to be a shop like that near where I lived, but it went under – no tears shed. Even upscale places like Condor and Sigma are really friendly.
Sounds like the Eurobike show
Sounds like the Eurobike show organisers didn’t want to completely drop “uro” as the [I] [B] industry [/B] [/I] reps had hoped to steer the public perception.
I get there’s bigger profit margins in the motorised market, but if the last few years have proven anything it’s that this is an extension of the industry, not a wholesale replacement. Bicycles didn’t become extinct when ICEs were fitted into frames to create the first motobikes, so why are Bosch etc.al. convinced their batteries are going to be the death of human power now?
Not the death of it, but
Not the death of it, but certainly its huge diminishment. Regular people cycling to the shops are the future of the industry – unless the auto industry and its stooges continue to stymie infrastructure development – and they want ebikes. Even mountain bikers and tour leisure cylists are opting for them at an ever-increasing rate. I’m sure the MAMILs will always find joy chasing the aero dragon and hipsters in riding the perfect vintage fixie, but if you want to get where you’re going without being a sweaty mess or pootle off for a day out ebikes let you do that regardless of age, fitness, or pretty much any other factor and have fun doing it.
As usual if you want to understand anything about cycling without confounding factors look at the Netherlands. What are they up to now, 60% of the market is ebikes? Projected to be heading towards 90% within a few years? Sounds like the Eurobike show organisers are the ones who want to steer public perception.
Sorry, e-bikes are different
Sorry, e-bikes are different to regular bikes. And certainly in the UK, there’s any number of dodgy horrors out there, and unlike regular analogue bikes, they risk burning down the shop and injuring staff.
Generally, I find bike shops in the UK to be quite welcoming – natural selection has taken care of the snobbist and elitist shops, and those run for the staff’s own gratification.
Personally, I find going into almost any specialist shop a little intimidating – outdoor shops, for example – particularly when I don’t know what I’m talking about. That’s normal. But the advice and support is usually top notch.
Years ago I caught a flat on
Years ago I caught a flat on a pissing wet, grey afternoon in central London. I had everything I needed except a track pump and, annoyingly, a spare inner tube. I was riding a Riese and Muller Charger which is an e-bike with a hub gear, thru axle, belt drive and Big Ben plus tyres. So I stopped at the nearest bike shop which happened to be the place where all the couriers and fixies hang out at the end of the day, where the staff are dressed in black and all have tattoos and piercings through their noses.
they looked at me, all wet and miserable as if I didn’t have a clue but lent me a pump and passed me a tube none the less. Outside, on the pavement in the rain, I removed the battery and panniers, disconnected the Enviolo shift cables, the non turn washers and bolts, (thru axle was in the front wheel) removed the belt and eased the wheel out from the drop outs. I then set about removing the Schwalbe Big Ben (on a tubeless ready rim) and popped in a new tube and put it all back together, tensioned the belt and flipped the e-bike back onto its wheels. All in the pissing rain. I went back into the shop to return the pump and pay for the tube. The dude, who was young enough to be my son, nodded and said admiringly ‘good job bro – the tube is on the house’ The crew had all been sat around, sneering and watching out the window, no doubt ready to criticise and laugh at my expense. I felt like Super Dad.
How did the paper miss the
How did the paper miss the obvious “kid dresses as cycle path” on halloween?
Amateurs.
Problem is that now that kid
Problem is that now that kid will be driven over by several taxi drivers and a few people avoiding a queue. Then the council will erect a bunch of signs on them and finally they’ll be used for storing supplies for utility repair works.
If you want a basic
If you want a basic specification affordable bicycle that you can easily maintain yourself, then it’s nearly impossible to find a new one anywhere. Not everyone wants the latest technology and for many the simplicity and convenience of changing a simple brake block is far more desirable than worrying about what to do when the hydraulic brakes fail.