We are playfully realistic about our cycling ambitions. Podiums, medals, and any real cycling accolades aren’t exactly our Thing. But really, they never were a concern to begin with. This is because we are part of the Fun Majority of cyclists — the enthusiastic group of people who ride bikes simply for enjoyment.

But don’t get it wrong … we are not defining enjoyment as “tootling around the park counting squirrels”.  We mean enjoyment in the “it has personal value” context. In other words, there is enjoyment from touring, group riding, commuting to work, exploring gravel roads, leisurely solo rides, etc. Basically, if you ride your bike because it makes you smile and feel good (and not solely for a trophy / prize money / crushing other people’s self-esteem) then you are a part of the Fun Majority.

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Bryan, the benevolent dictator of Renaissance Bicycles, has a new goal for the New Year — 5200 miles in 2010. Here’s the when, why, and how in his own words:

Like many people, my traditional New Year’s resolutions are like bad Christmas presents: well intentioned and quickly forgotten.  I would like to think that I am on a constant trajectory of personal improvement, but more realistically, I “grow” like a puppy … lots of awkward leaps and stumbles.  And without exception, I can never remember my original resolutions by the conclusion of the year.  This is usually not because I have attained that lofty goal, but because I have “accepted” it … and by “accepted” I mean “forgotten”.
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For the most part, we feel that keeping a pulse on the latest trends / ideas / influences in the bike industry is an important part of operating a niche business in the cycling world. Thankfully, cyclist seem to be especially “gifted” when it comes to blogging, vlogging, tweeting, Book Facing, and just about every other form of social media*.

Especially during the past week, there is a recurring theme recurring throughout the blogosphere. It is not a new topic, but one that has made a few rounds already. Maybe we have just picked up this viral train of thought at its zenith, or maybe our own thoughts have been along the same stream of consciousness, but for whatever reason, it feels different this time.

Recommended reading from ’round the Interwebs (and note the posting dates):

• Rick Vosper’s What the Bike Business is Coming To — The Bicycle Retailer Interview Reloaded: A Five-Point Manifesto — 10/06/09
• Bike Snob NYC — The Irrelevancy of Time: Bicycle Products Don’t Spoil — 10/20/09
• Steve Can Plan — Making Cycling Normal (series) — 11/01/09
• Let’s Go Ride a Bike — Marketing the Simple Bicycling Lifestyle — 11/02/09
• Mike Flanigan’s antbikemike — Bike Sharing/Renting Programs — 11/02/09
• Ecovelo — Natural Selection — 11/04/09
• Commute By Bike — The Perfect Commuter : Bike Type — 11/04/09
• Utility Cycling — Thoughts on Re-Imaging the Bicycle — 11/04/09
• Urban Velo — Vélib’ on the Skids — 11/05/09
• Let’s Go Ride a Bike — Marketing the Simple Bicycling Lifestyle, Part 2 — 11/06/09

So … is there something in the water, or are we just imagining a collective theme of revisionist thinking?  And these articles are just pulled from a small fraction of the bike blogs available.  Maybe it has something to do with …

• Bike Portland — Want to be like Copenhagen? Think about vacuum cleaners and raging bulls

And even though the theme of #CyclingForTransportation has been largely ignored by the Industry as a whole, some of the Big Players are definitely showing their interest:

• Commute By Bike — 2010 Felt Bicycles
• Chris Writes (Specialized marketing guru) — Designing the New Awesome

Does this mean …

• We approaching the critical mass of the transportation cyclist?
• There is a grassroots voice of a special interest group that was once mainstream?
• The inclusion of the bicycle as a practical means of American transportation is about to be “tipped“?
• Anything at all?

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* — Personally, I think it has to do with cherishing and connecting on a “fringe” sport that necessitates and flourishes in groups, but that’s just one man’s conjecture.

A Zen teacher saw five of his students returning from the market, riding their bicycles. When they arrived at the monastery and had dismounted, the teacher asked the students, “Why are you riding your bicycles?”

The first student replied, “The bicycle is carrying the sack of potatoes. I am glad that I do not have to carry them on my back!” The teacher praised the first student, “You are a smart boy! When you grow old, you will not walk hunched over like I do.”

The second student replied, “I love to watch the trees and fields pass by as I roll down the path!” The teacher commended the second student, “Your eyes are open, and you see the world.”

The third student replied, “When I ride my bicycle, I am content to chant nam myoho renge kyo.” The teacher gave praise to the third student, “Your mind will roll with the ease of a newly trued wheel.”

The fourth student replied, “Riding my bicycle, I live in harmony with all sentient beings.” The teacher was pleased, and said to the fourth student, “You are riding on the golden path of non-harming.”

The fifth student replied, “I ride my bicycle to ride my bicycle.” The teacher sat at the feet of the fifth student and said, “I am your disciple.”

– Written by Shawn Gosieski, New Cyclist, Fall 1988. We first read it in Issue 1, Volume 1 of the Rivendell Reader.

As the lull in the cycling season approaches, we are finally venturing out of the shop doors more than just once a week for a little R&R (as in Riding & Replenishing).  Far more than in years past, this renewed time on the bike has been uplifting.  It has also given us a little time to reflect …

Some reasons that we love to ride in the “off” season:

• The unbelievable fall colors beautify even the most regular of our regular routes.
• White squirrels!
• The tourists have left for the season, thankfully making riding on the main roads tolerable again.
• Riding at a little more leisurely pace … not that it was all that frantic to being with.
• Cooler weather = Excuse to get a new mountain bike.
• Brooks wool jerseys
• Shorter daylight hours force us to ride during the work day.  (Yes, it’s a tough life.)
• Riding without goals, ambitions, or cycling shoes.
• Time to breathe.
• The sounds of leaves crunching under the tires.
• Getting a good look at all of the Halloween decorations.
• Ignoring the assumption of what time of year is good for bike riding. Any time is a good time, especially now.
• Taking off an outer layer while riding no-handed.
• Riding at night … on purpose.
• Even a short ride makes you feel better all day.
• Same calories, less sweat.
• Racing the setting sun.

All of these reasons help to reiterate why we are in this business in the first place … because we just love to ride bicycles.  Period.

by Grant Petersen

Ride when you like
Don’t ride out of guilt over last night’s meal. Don’t be a slave to your bike, or else you’ll resent it, and feel guilty whenever you think about it or look at it. Soon you’ll be avoiding it altogether. If all your rides are like a swimmer’s workout, you’ll burn out on bikes as fast as swimmers burn out on laps. Ride when you want to ride.

Go slowly
Don’t push yourself too hard, physically or mentally. Don’t ride with racers or obsessive aerobicisers. (If you’re a racer, don’t race with riders; let them be). Learn to relax on your bike. Of course your bike can be a tremendous tool to built cardiovascular fitness, but why let that get in the way?

Go short
A ten-minute ride is always worth it, even though it won’t elevate your heartrate to its ‘target training level’ and keep it there for 12 minutes. (Or is it supposed to be 11? Or 14?)

Don’t keep track
If you never use an onboard computer or a heartrate monitor, you can ride with me anytime. Avoid ‘logs’. Forget the graphs and the home computer programs. Keep your bicycle free of extraneous wires and leads. You don’t need them.

Learn how to fix your bike
Learn to fix a flat. Learn how to install a wheel. Learn how to adjust derailleurs. It’s all easy, and you’ll never feel at ease on a bike if you’re at its mercy. Being able to fix your bike will give you an enormous confidence and satisfaction, not to mention self-sufficiency.

Don’t chase technology
You will never catch it, and if you pursue it year after year it will break your wallet in half. Some wonderful things have happened to bicycles in the last 15 years, but so have a lot of dumb things. You don’t need a fancy machine with the latest equipment to enjoy something that is so joyous and simple. A simple, reliable bike will do.

Get the best bike you can afford, and grow old with it
Things we keep a long time grow in value to us, and enrich our lives every time we use them. The first objects you’d grab if your house caught fire are probably the old ones, because they can’t be replaced. Grow old with the best bike you can afford.

This article comes with a tip-of-the-hat to our Renaissancing brethern across the pond at Retro di Corsa.

In 2007, Wired magazine (among others) noted the resurgence in steel bikes in an article titled Cycling Purists Rejoice: Steel is Back.  Now, two Interbikes later, the question remains: has steel finally “arrived”?

Truth be told, steel never actually went away.  But it’s market share sure did.

What has changed in the last 20 years is the inclusion of other worthwhile framebuilding materials.  As widely discussed, and beyond the scope of this article, each frame material (or combination thereof) has a it’s own positive and negative attributes.  Make a brave stand for your preferred frame material(s) on one of the more popular online cycling forums and you’ll see what I mean.

However, there is one important thing that separates steel from the competition … it remains to be the choice of artisan framebuilders.  Here are a few visuals to emphasize the point:

• Ellis Cycles — Dave Wages might be the “new kid”, but he’s been on the block for a while.
• Cicli Polito — Award winning handcrafted steel by Dan Polito.
• Vanilla Bicycles — Sacha Whites’ instant legacy.

As you may already know, none of the three builders above fit into the stereotypical “retro-grouch” archetype.  Rather, they (and others like Sam Whittingham of Naked Bicycle and Design) are young, hip, savvy, and likely to write a blog or two.  More to the point, these steel bikes are a youthful stand against the bike mass-ufacturers — a symbol of individuality and appreciation of hands-on craftsmanship.  This movement against the mainstream is what has really spurred the revival in steel … especially lugged steel bikes.

The other somewhat obvious contributor to steel’s “comeback” is the fixie factor.  Prior to the development of the specialty niche fixies, like Milwaukee Bike’s Bruiser, the common fixie was a used lugged steel bike with horizontal dropouts.  In other words, the vintage steel bike made the perfect platform for an affordable urban bike that could take some abuse, provide simple transportation, and allow the Mission Hipster a platform for self expression.

Of course, the growing popularity of these handmade steel and simple transport bikes is not lost on the major manufacturers.  So in an effort to expand this “new” market niche, the manufacturers have gone back to what originally brought their success … steel bikes.  The reason for the latency into the market is the slow churning cogs of mass production.  Tim Jackson, the brand manager of Masi Bicycles recently wrote / blogged / facebooked / tweeted that Masi already wrapped up their 2010 model line-up specifications before the 2009’s even hit the stores.  Obviously, having to anticipate trends, production, and materials almost two years in advance is a tough task.

That said, Urban Velo recently published a brief list of commonly available steel road bikes.  When combining this list with the hundreds of a custom frame builders, and the hundreds of thousands of vintage steel bikes still on the road, it is reasonable to speculate that steel still dominates the bike industry.

Three other highlights that may, depending on who you ask, contribute to the allure of steel:

• Early versions of carbon fiber bikes are literally “coming unglued”.  Unfortunately, there is not much that can be done about frames like this, but thankfully the industry has improved and refined the carbon frame construction process.
• Steel is both repairable and less likely to have a catastrophic failure.  Using my personal steel commuter bike as an example, I have crashed it hard AND (I can’t believe that I am admitting this) I have driven my car into garage while the bike was still attached to the roof rack.  Sure the frame has a small ding in the top tube … but I have ridden it 1000’s of miles since.
• Steel manufacturing techniques and materials continue to improve and evolve.  While other materials currently receive more coverage from the cycling media, the makers of steel haven’t been dormant.

Steel is a great medium for creating bicycles … it is plentiful, affordable, easily welded, stunning in the right hands, and has a handcrafted appeal like Grandma’s apple pie.  Contrary to the opening statement of this article, steel has never really been in a “comeback” position, rather it has simply lost some of the mainstream spotlight.  But like anything worthwhile, consumers will eventually eschew the latest-and-greatest in favor of the time-tested favorite.

This article also appears online at http://thecyclistsite.com/

Much like the the uneasy narrator of Edgar Allen Poe’s The Raven, the owner(s) of your local bike shop (LBS) may have an uneasy sense of impending doom.  Here are some of the current issues that keep them up at night:

• The global economy — And more specifically, the fluctuations in the exchange rates.  Yes, even the friendly sales gal in the bike shop is an unwilling participant in the complex web of global finances.
• The local economy — Purse strings tighten like the Hangman’s noose.
• The credit crunch – Your LBS is most likely in the treacherous (and almost inescapable) retail money cycle:

1. Borrow on credit for merchandise. After all, who would shop at an empty store?
2. Sell merchandise piece-by-piece at a profit. And the sooner the better since the notion of “this year’s model” ensures that some of the merchandise will be discounted.
3. Sell enough merchandise to pay the creditor. Easier said than done; one bad week/month/season/year or unexpected expense can upset the apple cart.
4. Rinse, repeat. But if there is a hitch in the cycle, somebody is going to say, “Jenga!” (although not as cheerfully as a small child).

• Online discount retailers — When the consumer’s end product is the same regardless of venue, then price is king … and eBay is the current king of kings.  A brick-and-mortar store’s best (and possibly only) defense is to provide both virtual and face-to-face business.
• The move to “franchise” bike shops — Trek started a trend (with Specialized and Giant following their lead) to provide a brand oriented store.  This is a a tactical marketing move to encourage brand loyalty, rather than identifying with a sense of place.  Your LBS might become like milk … homogenized.
• Taxation without representation — Conventional wisdom says that the small retailer has little or no influence over the product design, options, or choices made by their suppliers.  Basically, you sell what you can get.

So … considering this abbreviated list of externalities, what can the LBS do?

• Nothing … it is the natural evolution of capitalism and consumerism – The small fish eventually gets eaten by the big fish.  The LBS will follow the local sports store, local pharmacy, local pet store, local (insert hobby here) into relative obscurity.
• Move towards specialty products and services – Cater to a local demographic or niche within the Red Ocean of bicycle consumers … recumbents, fixie hipsters, retro-grouches, commuters, guys that wear tweed, etc.  If you haven’t already guessed, this is the approach of Renaissance Bicycles.
• Align with “lifestyle” retailers –Tap into the Blue Ocean of consumers.  Approach the potential customer via another vice … like leather or perfume.  However, previous parallels industries indicate this will probably be more fad than habit forming.
• Provide superior service  – Well … this is partly a trick answer.  Larger retailers can provide more employment compensation and incentives.  They often have the means to attract more qualified and/or experienced staff.  But as many LBS patrons know, that doesn’t mean the LBS can’t be the best.
• Reject the traditional retail model — 60 pairs of cycling shoes, even the Sasquatch sizes?  “The run” of frame sizes for a particular bike?  Forget the “stock every item” mentality and mimic the Apple Retail Store … have a dozen or more demo bikes for the customers to simply enjoy.  After all, this is a recreation industry.
• Go out and ride as much as possible – A simple but effective tool.  This creates a context between purveyor and consumer, and it also reinforces the basic human need for belonging and mutual respect.  At the heart of it is whole reason people own bike shops … they just like riding bikes.

The moral to this rant is the traditional LBS needs to change.  If it simply continues to conduct business as if carbon fiber bikes are the wave of the future, it is probably too late.  Fortunately, most LBS owners see the writing on the wall.  Rather than thinking the old agricultural idiom, “get big or get out“, they think “get creative or get out”.

While our current economic times will undoubtably become The Grim Reaper of some struggling bike businesses, it will hopefully provide the extrinsic motivation to re-think the traditional model of the LBS by all interested parties.  As noted time and again, innovation is the real key to capitalism.  Who knows, it might even provide a true renaissance of the bicycle as part of our American landscape.