The Local Spokesman - Bicycle Mechanics

The return of Mike Sinyard as CEO at Specialized got me thinking this morning.

This is the 5th example of a founder returning to the helm of their bike company, or buying it back from the people who destroyed it, since the COVID years.

Every single one of these is worthy of its own blog, it’s worth doing some googling if you’re interested.

Kona – Dan Gerhard and Jake Heilbron buy it back from Kent Outdoors

Revel – Adam Miller buys it back from Next Sparq, the private equity company that ruined it.

YT – Markus Flossman returns to a failing business after a major financier withdrew, puts his own money back into it and resumes day to day operation.

Canyon – CEO is removed and Roman Arnold returns as a chairman with operational responsibilities.

Specialized – Mike Sinyard comes back as CEO at 76 years old after Armin Landgraf steps down.

And then of course there are other edge cases like ENVE, Guerilla Gravity, Chain Reaction/Wiggle and the entire ACCEL group of companies that includes brands like Raleigh, Lapierre, Ghost and Haibike. A combination of revivals, mergers and sadly, business failures.

The COVID years did 3 things to the bike industry:
1) It made the highs higher
2) It made the lows lower
3) It ruthlessly exposed and punished weaknesses that were easily covered up under ‘normal’ trading conditions.

The cycling brands confused immediate demand for genuine market growth – when in reality people just brought their purchases forward by a couple of years. Brands invested heavily in permanent infrastructure based on temporary demand.

The capital that poured into the industry came from institutions who fundamentally misunderstood the market conditions created by COVID, and the cycling businesses themselves.

The founders didn’t return because the businesses were thriving. They came back because the super-corporate and professional versions of the bike brands were failing to deliver on the founders vision, and failing to engage customers too.

The COVID boom convinced companies they needed to be bigger. Better. More sophisticated. Better resourced.

The COVID collapse proved the bicycle business is a weird, cyclical (pun intended), low margin, stock-heavy industry where brand authenticity, dealer relationships, product obsession and founders’ intuition is more valuable than ‘corporate sophistication’

What do you guys think? Is it better to be a customer these days with more fierce competition? Have you got a different perspective that perhaps I haven't considered?

The chances of stumbling across a TLS sticker in a foreign country are low.... But never zero 😉😄😄

Folks - Brand new, unused Leatt MTB gloves free to a good home.

They are labeled as XL but I promise you they most certainly are not. Probably closer to a medium.

Call me, and tell me when you're coming to get them. 👍👍

C-Wise Dwellingup 100 Riders - Please Take Note:

There is a HARD CUT-OFF DATE for suspension servicing from the 4th of September, 8 days out from your event. Suspension service will resume on the 16th.

Normal bike servicing is unaffected and available, but don't leave it until the 11th hour :D

If you want ANYTHING done prior to the event, please get in touch sooner rather than later.

Product Designer: This new bar tape is ready to go to market. There's not much different about it except it's really long.....

Marketing person: I got this.

I've pulled apart a LOT of bikes. I've never seen a brake hose run through a piece of pivot hardware.

(Further design points lost with dropper cable and brake hose going through the headset bearing)

Much sadness.
Many expletives.

With new wheels and tyres, this Epic is 1.25kg lighter, ALL of it rotating/ unsprung weight.

This will make an incredible difference to the way this bike rides 😀😀👍👍

Alloy vs Carbon
DT Swiss vs RaceFace
2.38kg vs 1.56kg

These RaceFace ERA SL wheels are incredibly light, but still tough enough for most riders on most trails.