The Future of Biking? (urban/commuter)

[pooks]

I don't know how many of you read the "oil is for sissies" blog, but he posted something earlier this month that I found interesting:

http://blog.lib.umn.edu/thil0020/car...06.html#047501

Essentially, he's suggesting that the biking industry may be making the same mistake that the American auto industry has made -- putting all the money and effort into the niche markets of racing bikes and mountain bikes, which may end up hurting them as Lance disappears from the sports pages and fewer people are drawn into bikes from that avenue.

Check it out, and what do y'all think?

[KnottedYet]

I think he's completely wrong, and it's HIS veiw that is too narrow. Go into any bike shop, look at any catalog, and you see tons of commuter bikes. Yup, the average Jane and Joe can get sexy bikes if they want them, but the utility commuter is everywhere!

Sexy bikes get all the press and hoopla, meanwhile there are several utility commuters in the "bottom" shelf of just about every brand.

I think he's just looking at the hoopla.

On my morning commute I see utility commuter bikes. Sometimes I see one guy who rides a recumbent. I'm pretty sure he's also commuting because he's got panniers and I see him so often.

In the afternoon I see commuter bikes and sometimes two guys on racers with Group Health jerseys going very fast. Not commuting. They would be the sexy bikes market share.

I think there's more hoopla in the sexy bike market niche, but greater numbers in the utility bike niche.

[mimitabby]

I think one of the problems is the vast majority of bicyclists are people who bought a Giant from their supermarket. You see them going down the road in teeshirts and jeans and usually no helmet.
See if you can find anything in a bike magazine which they would find interesting, helpful or useful. As a matter of fact, we just got a bike mag this week and it's quite thick. All IT had to talk about were 7000 dollar bikes. I could give a damn about bikes like that!! I don't want to buy a 30 gram crank shaft or a knife blade seat. I don't want to read about a bike that has wheels that are so light they can be crushed by a bump in the road. I want a bike that is somewhat practical... and I'm someone that will probably buy a 2 grand bike some day. And to the majority of bike owners, that makes me a dilettante. The bike industry DOES make great bikes on the lower end; but there is a disconnect here. I am just not that interested in the kinds of bikes that Lance rides. I want to hear about bikes that I can ride; and the guy on the 150 dollar Giant probably wants to know something about bikes he can ride too!

[bike4ever]

mimitabby - Giant bicycles are not sold in mass market. They are a very well respected LBS brand. Their company has models ranging from the $220 mountain bike to the $4000 high end road bike.

[Grog]

I also tend to think that the mass of the industry is indeed in the low-end bikes, but I also think that that too much emphasis is put on racing bikes and too little on touring bikes... But that's not only from bike companies, I think it's also if not mostly from cyclists, because we much prefer to have our gear carried in a supported ride than carry our own in panniers. Maybe we're sissies, that's right, and I'm the first of them. (But I have been thinking about a touring bike...)

However, I must disagree with you a bit KY: these bikes are NOT commuter bikes. Commuter bikes would be: light, come with fenders (and maybe even panniers) and lights (for night riding), have robust wheels, an integrated locking mechanism, etc. It would also be at a decent price (maybe below $400?). Innovative design would bring improvements I can't even think of right now. (Like it has in racing bikes...) The mass of the market is made of bulky hybrids and pseudo-mountain bikes with heavy and cheaply made suspensions. These bikes are not made for going anywhere, they are made to ride around the block, not for a 10-mile commute. Or, worse, taken somewhere in a car and ridden a bit on a cycling path. You need a SUV for that because if you are a small person they are way too heavy to put on the roof-rack of a small car. (There are some exceptions... I loved my Trek 7100. Still certainly not light enough to be a commuter bike.)

Of course, some brave people commute on them. That's quite impressive. But poor design (which again is in part driven by consumers who want flashy suspension for example even if all they will do is ride the bike path) is also what will prevent the vast majority of new owners of entry-level bikes from using their bikes for commuting.

[Trek420]

My $0.02 is: anything that gets them on the bike. Has the Tour de Lance raised awareness of cycling in the US? Do more people ride? Does that benefit me? Yes.

The industry is trying to sell bikes, that's what industry does. I really don't care how they do that, they can put tit* (ot other parts) on the front of bikes for all I care, just get 'em on a bike.

Does it make sense for Joe/Joan Q Public to commute on a Maddona? Probably not. But it's up to us, the community to keep them on the bike.

That starts at the shop asking "what kind of riding do you want to do?"

But sometimes we have to educate the public on rides, at work (a coworker just came to my desk to ask about getting his first bike).

The American public anyway wants the illusion of speed and power, they want the SUV even though we never go off road, they want what Lance rides for a 2 mile commute, they want FS even though they never go off road.

I say just get them on a bike, any bike. We here in bike clubs, TE...just catching them "look the Madona, that's for our training, touring, the charity ride, let's get you this...and a helmet....and the helmet goes this way"

What's with all the riders with helmets on backwards?

[mimitabby]

mimitabby - Giant bicycles are not sold in mass market. They are a very well respected LBS brand. Their company has models ranging from the $220 mountain bike to the $4000 high end road bike.

Gosh, i'm sorry i didn't mean to insult anyone. Giant, food giant.. it was early.
I don't KNOW the name of a cheap brand of bike.>!!!!!