“We really are our own worst enemies — the bike industry doesn’t need ‘new’ at the minute… it needs better”: A conclusion from 20 years in the cycle trade + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
"We really are our own worst enemies. The bike industry doesn't need 'new' at the minute. It needs better": The thoughts of 20 years in the cycle trade
Let’s kick off Thursday with some musings on the bike industry, a topic which always draws strong opinions, especially of late in the post-Covid boom-to-bust era. This post on Threads caught our eye, a rider with 20 years in the trade succinctly summarising their conclusion on where things are at.
Any argument which ends with “we are a bunch of masochistic numpties” is always going to get a shout-out from us, but have a read and let us know your thoughts in the comments…
“20 years in the bike trade and I say this with a full chest: We really are our own worst enemies. The bike industry doesn’t need ‘new’ at the minute. It needs better — better entry level, better leisure/commuter, better accessibility for new riders from all backgrounds.
“All these stupid new wheelsizes, over torqued motors and bloody full suspension gravel bikes don’t make more people want to ride. It actively puts people off. We are a bunch of masochistic numpties.”
Told you it was a zinger.
Is there too much new in the bike industry at the minute? Has there always been excessive churn of latest updates, new models and a race for ‘the next product X’? As someone who trawls through literally hundreds of emails a week celebrating launches, updates, new designs and products, I’d quite like to hear your thoughts, and we’ll share some later on in a bumper industry special on the Thursday live blog.
For starters, here are a few more from the comments on this post, the topics of diversity, marketing gimmickry, and cost all featuring prominently.
“The industry also needs to take serious strides to expand beyond “middle-upper class white male” if it wants to see any growth moving forward.”
“People who are thinking about getting into cycling freak out at the thought of a $1,500 bike, yet drivetrain manufacturers continue to offer groups that cost more than that. We need really nice $800 bikes, not another $2,400 wheelset.”
“Many years ago I used to enjoy windsurfing, you had a board, maybe a couple of sails and you went out and had fun in pretty much any conditions. Then the industry started telling everyone that you needed multiple boards and half a dozen sails plus other equipment to go along with that and I just sort of lost interest as my simple fun pastime got over complicated and bloated. This thread isn’t about windsurfing.”
View on Threads
“I say it on every whizz-bang state-of-the-fucken-art battery-operated wireless bling parts post I see & the nerds don’t care, but I feel it should be appreciated here: bike tech peaked in the 90s, everything since is marketing gimmickry & wank”
Happy Thursday to you too…
Lime unveils new bikes which will hit UK streets later this month, with design "based on feedback from groups traditionally underrepresented in Lime's active riders"
Lime’s new design of electric bikes features smaller 20-inch wheels and a low step-through frame, the dockless hire firm hoping the model will be easier for underrepresented groups to use and make service more accessible.
The bikes are to appear in Oxford and Milton Keynes from this week and will then be gradually rolled out across the UK.
Lime says the Gen4 model features design changes “aimed at welcoming a wider range of riders to shared micromobility”.
A common concern about the current style of Lime’s electric bikes is their size and weight, but the operator says the smaller Gen4 model will “be more inclusive to a wider range of riders”.
“Despite the growth in cycle rates, research shows that there is still significant gender and age gaps in UK cycling participation,” Lime explained. “Men make over three times as many cycling trips as women and only 1% of older people’s journeys are made by bike.
“Lime is aiming to tackle this with its new LimeBike innovation. Designed based on feedback from groups traditionally underrepresented in Lime’s active riders – including women and seniors – its new features aim to make it Lime’s most inclusive vehicle to date. The repositioned battery, updated wheels and lower centre of gravity make it more accessible to a wider range of riders.”
Rose Bikes: "The market is in a phase of readjustment"
Talking of bike industry stuff, revenue at Rose Bikes was up two per cent to €215 million in 2024-25, the German brand has today announced in a statement reported by Bike Europe.
Bike sales were up seven per cent in that period compared with 2023-2024.
“Modern platforms, technological advances and rapid product development strengthen our competitive position in these segments,” the company stated.
“The market is in a phase of readjustment. It is crucial to work in a structurally sound manner, to consistently implement demand orientation and to think long-term.”
The prediction for 2025-2026 is a further revenue increase of around seven per cent. Over to our Threads ranter for their take…
New York: We're ending our controversial crackdown on cyclists. Brisbane: Hold my beer (while I write you a ticket)
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First reported by Streetsblog USA, Mayor Mamdani has ordered the NYPD to end its criminal enforcement against cyclists for offences such as running red lights, and instead issue regular traffic tickets alongside education programs for delivery riders.
Criminal court summons for cyclists who run red lights “excessive, unfair and offensive”, say New York’s cycling community
The “excessive” situation meant that cyclists charged for committing ‘minor’ offences would have to appear in court, while drivers charged for the same offences would receive tickets. Under Mayor Mamdani’s new plans, the NYPD will be instructed to issue these same tickets to cyclists once more, rather than make arrests.
While all is well (or a little better) in New York, it’s a different story in Brisbane, where police are once again “making their presence known”…
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In all fairness, even the famously heavy-handed-against-cyclists Australian police haven’t began arresting cyclists on the street for speeding at 30km/h and not wearing helmets. Maybe we shouldn’t be giving them any ideas…
A modern, TT-themed twist on the OG 'Tractor Boy' viral video
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We’re unsure of the provenience of this clip, but as noted by someone in the comments, we’re wondering if the defeated tractor driver (hopefully filming on something hands-free) is related to the chap below. Simpler times, filmed on a potato…
Got a £2k budget for your next bike and fancy something truly unique?
"Milan-San Remo is very different": Tom Pidcock urges caution amid excitement at second win of the season
There were many, including some in the road.cc office, very excited by Tom Pidcock’s win at Milano-Torino yesterday, the legs seemingly in very good shape ahead of the opening Monument of the season this weekend.
The punchy climbs and daredevil descent off the Poggio have long made Milan-San Remo a race on the Brit’s radar, but even with yesterday’s success, he’s still being a bit coy about his chances on Saturday. I guess you would if you had to compete against Tadej Pogačar for every big win…
“Milan-San Remo is very different,” he told Cycling Pro Net in Italy. “It’s very explosive.”
He accepted the win shows he’s in good shape… “but good shape doesn’t mean everything”.
“Last year I was in really good shape and then I was in the worst position, and I crashed at the bottom of the Cipressa. So anything can happen,” Pidcock explained.
The bookies have him joint fifth favourite alongside Wout van Aert, although Jasper Philipsen, Filippo Ganna, Pogačar and, of course, Mathieu van der Poel are all believed to have a better chance of victory, according to the odds compilers. Let’s see come 5pm on Saturday…
Your thoughts on the state of the bike industry
Wild Monkey Bike Rides: “The writer’s right. Bicycles are simple machines. People don’t need anything new. We just need good quality basics & standard, interchangeable parts. Proprietary products should be illegal. If you want to get rich, don’t try & ‘innovate’ bikes, become a criminal stockbroker dealing oil futures.”
Mike Whittaker: “That’s a description of life in general, it’s the natural progression of capitalism. Abhorrent.”
Rendel Harris: “I must admit I find these sort of rants extremely tiresome and generally geared towards boosting the ego of the writer, look at me I’m not a mug who’s fallen for all this nonsense like the rest of you. It also assumes that people are extremely stupid and incapable of searching out good value bikes, second-hand bikes et cetera.
“Of a fairly wide range of riding mates, I only know two who have brand-new £5,000 plus bikes, everyone else rides either good budget ones like Decathlon or Boardman or, like me, rides expensive bikes purchased second-hand. The main barrier to people cycling is their fear for their own safety, I’ve honestly never heard anybody say that they don’t cycle because the kit is too expensive but I’ve heard many dozens say they won’t cycle because they are worried about the danger on the roads.
“If people felt safe cycling, they would find the right bike for them at the right price and they will cycle. Where does this moaning apply elsewhere? Are people put off driving because Ferraris and Maseratis exist? Do people not play cricket because the best bats now cost over £500? Of course not. Yes there are stupidly priced bikes and a fool and his money are soon parted but that’s not even close to the primary reason people don’t cycle.”
mark1a: “Mostly agreed…
“I would also add that without things like top end groupsets, would the entry level and mid-range stuff be as good as it is? An example would be Shimano’s trickle-down policy; as I’ve mentioned before, would the current 105 be as good as it is without Dura Ace of 10 years ago? Brands will make high end stuff for a number of other reasons, the margins are higher, which helps underwrite the R&D costs, and it will have a halo effect.
“There’s plenty of choice available enabling anyone to get into cycling and cost is not the barrier, it’s other things as Rendel points out. This original post by a self-appointed representative of the bike industry also ignores that many LBS, while helping people purchase their first £500 bike, also rely on customers that won’t even blink when paying £300 for a full service.”
"A deeply offensive comment, a profound lack of respect for Melissa and her family": Victims' Rights Commissioner condemns Rohan Dennis social media post describing car as "a weapon", less than a year after receiving suspended sentence over driving incident which killed wife Melissa Hoskins
The fallout is rumbling on to Rohan Dennis returning to social media with the post above, one of his first public comments since receiving a suspended sentence last summer over a driving incident which killed wife Melissa Hoskins.
In the post, Dennis called the Porsche an “absolute weapon”. He later followed up with a post calling a reporter a “rat” for requesting comment about the post. The story has gone around the world and been picked up by outlets beyond just the cycling press.
In Australia, Victims’ Rights Commissioner Sarah Quick was critical of the post.
“This is a deeply offensive comment that demonstrates a clear lack of insight into the real and lasting impact of the harm he has caused,” she said. “It also reflects a profound lack of respect for Melissa and her family, who continue to live with the consequences of that harm every day.”
Former pro cyclist and Olympian Melissa Hoskins was struck by the car Dennis was driving during a confrontation, following an argument outside their home in the Adelaide suburb of Medindie on 30 December 2023. She later died in the hospital from her injuries.
Dennis’s post was liked by several notable pro riders and those since retired, including Sir Bradley Wiggins, Connor Swift, Sam Bennett and Richie Porte. Lidl-Trek pro Toms Skujiņš appears to have unliked the post since yesterday.
Dennis has since also shared other posts, one of his children cycling, captioned “two absolute weapons”, that post again liked by Wiggins, as well as other notable names such as Chloé Dygert, Alex Dowsett and Adam Blythe.
The former world champion also shared a video of CCTV footage from outside his house which showed reporters attempting to ask him questions about the original post.
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It's cheaper... but not cheap: Warner Bros. Discovery announces new 'Saver Plan' for cycling fans watching racing on TNT Sports
Sorry, everyone, was just taken away by some big news from Warner Bros. Discovery this morning. Back with you now, here are the details:
- As expected, TNT Sports streaming is moving from discovery+ to HBO Max in the UK from March 26.
- There’s a new ‘Saver Plan’ for people who just want to watch TNT Sports.
- It’ll be £5-a-month cheaper than the old £30.99-a-month subscription and is priced at £25.99-a-month.
- The bad news… that’s still more than £300-a-year… and you have to sign up for 12 months.
We’ve got all the details here.
Sports Direct and Evans Cycles owner Mike Ashley reportedly to bid to save Frog Bikes from administration
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Say what you will about the braking efficiencies of both rim and disc brakes. Or of seemingly having only one pedal and crank. Or of the angled-in brake hoods on flat bars. Let alone the rearward facing handlebars. I'm so impressed though, by the chain that traverses one side of the bike, to switch side somewhere around the dropouts, to the other side of the bike! Every side's a drivetrain side!
@chrisonabike We live in terraced houses, so no garage.
@Shades They have a 5 bedroom house for the 4of them (2 parents, 2 children). Admittedly, the hall isn't wide but it's not as if they're short of space. I keep 2 of my bikes in the cellar.
In other news, researchers prove beyond doubt that water is indeed wet.
And why are they not heavily de-starred by NCAP? The rot started with the Nissan Qashqai which used loopholes on bonnet safety regulations that didn't adequately include the headlight lenses, they put deep soft tissue penetrating ridges into the lens mouldings that increased their height and the aggressiveness of the look of the car but made it much more dangerous to any vulnerable roaduser. Unfortunately the raised stance and batmobileish looks appealed to buyers, particularly women and the whole industry surged in that direction. Now much worsened with the seeming unstoppability of the Range Rover look.
@mdavidford Most importantly, will someone name a range of exotic (well, exotic for the 1980s) snacks after me?
@mctrials23 Nerdy sort of fact, if the RTW challenge was to cycle round the equator, which would make sense in a way with that being the longest circumference of our oblate spheroid, it would only take 8,714 kilometres of cycling as the rest of the 40,075km would be by boat.
Two points. A few months I read an article about racing one of these ultra’s and the person (I can’t recall who) said that the route they used would not be safe today due to geopolitics. Secondly, 10 years ago I was chatting to Chris Bennett in NZ about his hope to race around the world. He was on about riding way up into Norway to get a load of European miles in rather than some hot places in Asia. Last year he achieved a finish in 129+ days aged 66 but he did not stick to the plan he outlined all those years ago. I believe the problem with what counts as unsupported over that time or distance is difficult to monitor. One example would be staying at a friend’s house overnight in Australia - does that count as support?
"Tough titties losers. It's natural selection. I am a high achieving go-getter and can afford a huge high up SUV to keep me and my family safe. My kids will no doubt go on to be high achieving go-getters with even bigger SUVs. Anyone who is not a high achiever deserves a bit of jeopardy to spur them on. Bring back Margaret Thatcher! Although, I have a lot of time for Farage!"
15 thoughts on ““We really are our own worst enemies — the bike industry doesn’t need ‘new’ at the minute… it needs better”: A conclusion from 20 years in the cycle trade + more on the live blog”
“I say this with a full chest”? Heavy heart, maybe?
I must admit I find these sort of rants extremely tiresome and generally geared towards boosting the ego of the writer, look at me I’m not a mug who’s fallen for all this nonsense like the rest of you. It also assumes that people are extremely stupid and incapable of searching out good value bikes, secondhand bikes et cetera. Of a fairly wide range of riding mates, I only know two who have brand-new £5000 plus bikes, everyone else rides either good budget ones like Decathlon or Boardman or, like me, rides expensive bikes purchased secondhand. The main barrier to people cycling is their fear for their own safety, I’ve honestly never heard anybody say that they don’t cycle because the kit is too expensive but I’ve heard many dozens say they won’t cycle because they are worried about the danger on the roads. If people felt safe cycling, they would find the right bike for them at the right price and they will cycle. Where does this moaning apply elsewhere? Are people put off driving because Ferraris and Maseratis exist? Do people not play cricket because the best bats now cost over £500? Of course not. Yes there are stupidly priced bikes and a fool and his money are soon parted but that’s not even close to the primary reason people don’t cycle. The writer seems more or less of an idiot to me, apparently he gave up windsurfing because some people started buying more and more expensive and complex equipment, if you enjoy something why should the way other people choose to do it influence your enjoyment of it? Doesn’t sound like you were that committed to it in the first place if that’s all it takes to put you off. Now, it’s a beautiful day and I’m going for a ride on my £4500 (original RRP) bicycle that I picked up for £700.
Mostly agreed…
I would also add that without things like top end groupsets, would the entry level and mid-range stuff be as good as it is? An example would be Shimano’s trickle-down policy; as I’ve mentioned before, would the current 105 be as good as it is without Dura Ace of 10 years ago? Brands will make high end stuff for a number of other reasons, the margins are higher, which helps underwrite the R&D costs, and it will have a halo effect, another example, Specialized will have sold many Tarmac SL8 Comp models (current RRP £3599 with 105 Di2), due to the existence of its S-Works stablemate (currently £13449 for the Red Bull edition anyone?).
There’s plenty of choice available enabling anyone to get into cycling and cost is not the barrier, it’s other things as Rendel points out. This original post by a self-appointed representative of the bike industry also ignores that many LBS, while helping people purchase their first £500 bike, also rely on customers that won’t even blink when paying £300 for a full service.
I’d politely take exception at “fool and his money are soon parted”, if bikes are a passion and one has the disposable income to do it, that doesn’t necessarily mean one is foolish for buying and riding expensive bikes.
I wasn’t thinking of you and your ilk sir, absolutely if you’ve got the money then why not, if I had it I would too; the fools to whom I was referring are the ones who spend six figures on GT level bikes and only use them for short summertime commutes, but even then, it’s a free country and if they buy from a bike shop then they are doing the industry just as much good as anyone else.
Spot on. My partner loves cycling. She is petrified of sharing the road with cars. She won’t do it. Thats why people don’t cycle. Infrastructure and the perceived danger.
And yes, the cycling culture at the moment, especially prevalent on social media is to smugly declare that you are doing things the “right way” and that other people who like nice gear are doing it wrong. Anyone who trains to be faster or better but isn’t about to go pro is doing it wrong and you are doing it right because you “just cycle”.
I see plenty of posts railing against mythical MAMILs who have £10k bikes who apparently thought that their bike was going to make them 80% faster. Often written by the aforementioned smug git telling us how much he delights in passing them on his £1000 bike.
These people don’t seem to see the irony is writing these sort of posts which rail against a strawman that doesn’t really exist outside of extreme cases whilst simultaneously outing themselves as gatekeeping twats of the highest order who are no better than that which they claim to hate.
Sort of disagree. I’m someone who friends and colleagues interested in taking up cycling come to looking for advice on buying a bike. A few of them really can’t get their heads around buying a used bike. What if something goes wrong with it? They’re the same ones who won’t ever buy a two-year-old used car because it won’t have the full warranty. People who make less money than I do but end up spending twice as much on their cars just to get them new.
Then they see that the cheapest bike at the bike shop is about $800 / £600 and they get sticker shock. They’d rather get a $250 bike brand new from Walmart than a much nicer $250 bike from FB Marketplace or Craigslist.
If I can’t talk them into either the bike shop bike or the used bike, they end up with a “new” bike that’s frustrating to ride because it’s hard to keep the gears working properly, although that’s changing with some of the Ozark Trail bikes now.
Things are a bit different over here I think, we don’t really have Walmart or equivalent selling budget bikes and the big bike-selling stores like Halfords and Decathlon do some pretty acceptable city/MTB/hybrids for about £250 or less. Do recognise that sticker shock problem though, so many people remember their last bike that they bought as a teenager for £75 and can’t get their head around the fact that you need four times that, even though it might be thirty years on.
There was a brand new Apollo road bike in the shed at work today, rim brakes and strange top mounted shifters. Looked good, but nothing will last long. A few months and it will cost more to keep it going than what it was to buy.
But by then they might have experienced such fear that they won’t continue. I get to feel such regular terror that I would understand. Bad overtaking into oncoming on “blind” bends and crests of hills is what’s getting me at the moment. Such pointless and dangerous inpatience.
Yes, the Halfords ultra-budget road bikes are fugly filth, the value is to be found in the hybrids and MTBs. Decathalon don’t do ultra-cheap road bikes, their cheapest £400 EDR Easy model (sometimes on sale for less, I believe) is a quite decent beginner road bike.
Yup, sticker shock is the factor. I guess you could call it reverse halo effect: if the middle-of-the-line model costs $1000, a bike costing $250 can’t be any good. Which means I have to spend $700 to get a half-decent bike, which is unacceptable (even though objectively, the $250 bike would be just fine for casual riding). So we end up with no bike at all.
I do agree with the safety argument. However, the level of complication around simple daily maintenance has become so high that I really understand why people don’t want to cycle.
Gone are the days when you could set up a bike once and it would run nicely for the rest of the season, despite a rusty chain and worn sprockets. Drivetrains have become more complicated, much less tolerant of wear, and easier to break. Components are being phased out and new ones are rolled out so quickly that, unless you really follow the industry, you don’t even know what fits – and your LBS may not even have the right parts in stock, as there are so many possibilities.
Even the construction of the bike itself makes it inherently less robust and more complicated: no mudguards (or even mudguard mounts), tight clearances, internal cables, proprietary tools, and limited compatibility. If you want to ride a bike you don’t feel ashamed of on a Sunday ride, it will likely require dedication not just to riding, but to maintenance as well – and a special toolset that has to be updated with each new bike.
It must be pointed out that, in large part, this is our own fault, as we want lighter bikes – but still.
BTW, that’s exactly why my main sport is now running. Prepare a drink, put on some shoes, go out, repeat. Running has also become more complicated and commoditized, but it is still more or less as easy as cycling used to be.
I would also say that parenting has changed. Despite an obvious improvement in safety where I live, kids are never allowed to hang out around the block on their own. Parents, on the other hand, are too busy, too tired, too lazy, or too fat to go out and do sports with their kids, so they never develop the habit of being active and become couch potatoes at the age of nine. Any spark of interest is killed before it even develops, so sport is never really a natural pastime.
Crossing the curves – street category
Photograph: Helen Trust
from todays cycle hating Graun
Winners of LCE photographer of the year 2026 – in pictures
5500
Well, that only sort of worked?…
It’s about time for the major players in the bicycle industry to realise that deep-pocketed (mortal) MAMILs aren’t their future. They need to focus on children, young adults and women if they want to acquire new customers and strengthen their market base. Sure, they can design 350-quid rain jackets and promote a £15,000 carbon stallion, great for window-shopping and road.cc readers but common people don’t buy that kind of stuff.
With the escalation of the American war against Iran, gas may reach 2 quid per litre, or more, before summer. That could bring more people to cycling simply because short commutes have become too expensive. Will the bike industry be able to respond to the new demand without applying extortionate tariffs? To be continued.
my biggest complaint with biking (aside from roadways and drivers) is that bikes need more effort to be made to do what cars come standard with…
headlight, tail light, air horn, phone holder, bike rack /panniers, bottle /cup holder, lock for all various components, *pump* and rear radar.
Maybe three things bikes come standard with that cars have only for a short while or don’t have:
1. Smile-factor
2. Actual air-conditioning
3. Self parking (just lean it against something)
The fact though that carrying a pump and a tool set is a good idea and something that I always do is something that I kind of enjoy about biking (I love to tinker) and simultaneously hate about it (it never breaks when I have time for it)
Does that cycling industry genius realise that it’s actually their job to sell all that “W@nk”? I mean, that’s literally how they make money.