The next step for the cycle industry

DonDaddyD

So the cycling market has exploded. Business is booming, prices still - somehow, and its ridiculous now - appear to be rising, the market isn't showing signs of slowing. There are more bicycle shops than ever and more bike brands than ever.

The bubble will burst, always does. But until it does, where next?

What or where next?

[Note, this is a Friday thread so grumblebums can feck right off]

dhope

DonDaddyD wrote:

What or where next?

[Note, this is a Friday thread so grumblebums can feck right off]

Jetpacks and cake

spen666

DonDaddyD wrote:

So the cycling market has exploded. Business is booming, prices still - somehow, and its ridiculous now - appear to be rising, the market isn't showing signs of slowing. There are more bicycle shops than ever and more bike brands than ever. The bubble will burst, always does. But until it does, where next?

What or where next?

[Note, this is a Friday thread so grumblebums can feck right off]

I think you will find that is incorrect unless "ever" means only as far back as say 10 years


In the past there were far more shops and brands of bikes, but as the motorcar became more affordable, people cycled less and shops closed and manufacturers went bust

gtvlusso

Upwards and onwards - Importing from Japan is very expensive at the moment, I guess due to the downturn in their economy, so Shimano kit is becoming quite expensive.

Other than that, I want a Hoverboard a la Michael J Fox....

Paul E

spen666 wrote:

DonDaddyD wrote:

So the cycling market has exploded. Business is booming, prices still - somehow, and its ridiculous now - appear to be rising, the market isn't showing signs of slowing. There are more bicycle shops than ever and more bike brands than ever. The bubble will burst, always does. But until it does, where next?

What or where next?

[Note, this is a Friday thread so grumblebums can feck right off]

I think you will find that is incorrect unless "ever" means only as far back as say 10 years


In the past there were far more shops and brands of bikes, but as the motorcar became more affordable, people cycled less and shops closed and manufacturers went bust

Off to a great start :-)

DonDaddyD

spen666 wrote:

I think you will find that is incorrect unless "ever" means only as far back as say 10 years


In the past there were far more shops and brands of bikes, but as the motorcar became more affordable, people cycled less and shops closed and manufacturers went bust

When you are right you are right.

So where do you see the industry going next.

Personally I can see more investment in bicycles that come with battery generators - to encourage those who are frankly lazy. Technology is there and with investment powerpacks will become smaller.

spen666

wonder if manufacturers think about putting small combustion engines within their frames to power the bicycles.

novel idea, could be a winner


Perhaps if this takes off, the manufacturers could look at building bikes that could carry more than one person and provide protection from the elements as well. It may mean they need to use 4 wheels rather than 2 on these devices


Probably too radical thinking?

gtvlusso

spen666 wrote:

wonder if manufacturers think about putting small combustion engines within their frames to power the bicycles.

novel idea, could be a winner


Perhaps if this takes off, the manufacturers could look at building bikes that could carry more than one person and provide protection from the elements as well. It may mean they need to use 4 wheels rather than 2 on these devices


Probably too radical thinking?

You missed the step from 2 to 3 wheels; We would be nowhere without:

notsoblue

More normal bikes you can ride comfortably without even thinking about lycra & clipless. The type of bikes Pashley makes but with a more continental price tag.

wgwarburton

DonDaddyD wrote:

....

Personally I can see more investment in bicycles that come with battery generators - to encourage those who are frankly lazy. Technology is there and with investment powerpacks will become smaller.

Electric motorbikes- or more likely, electric scooters. These things are not really bicycles, are they?

I'm thinking along the lines of an electric Honda C90. Though I guess something like a Vespa could work, too.

Cheers,
W.

rubertoe

Down tube shifting?

Di2/Electronic shifing for the masses?

spen666

gtvlusso wrote:

spen666 wrote:

wonder if manufacturers think about putting small combustion engines within their frames to power the bicycles.

novel idea, could be a winner


Perhaps if this takes off, the manufacturers could look at building bikes that could carry more than one person and provide protection from the elements as well. It may mean they need to use 4 wheels rather than 2 on these devices


Probably too radical thinking?

You missed the step from 2 to 3 wheels; We would be nowhere without:

i was rather hoping this time around, evolution would ensure this did not happen

gtvlusso

spen666 wrote:

gtvlusso wrote:

spen666 wrote:

wonder if manufacturers think about putting small combustion engines within their frames to power the bicycles.

novel idea, could be a winner


Perhaps if this takes off, the manufacturers could look at building bikes that could carry more than one person and provide protection from the elements as well. It may mean they need to use 4 wheels rather than 2 on these devices


Probably too radical thinking?

You missed the step from 2 to 3 wheels; We would be nowhere without:

i was rather hoping this time around, evolution would ensure this did not happen

Perhaps Tamworth is a microcosm of human development, took and extra step and is now consequently a step behind everyone else!

DonDaddyD

Given the rising prices, I don't understand why an existing British (engineering) manufacturer hasn't attempted to create affordable groupsets made here for the masses. Set the price as low as possible (talking Gamecube £129 vs PS2 and Xbox's £350 - £250) it become a barrier to entry - but also have premium groupsets.

But seriously if the Government have no objections to injecting £1billion into cycling infrastructure then it would stand to reason that the market in general would want to capitalise on that.

mudcow007

DonDaddyD wrote:

Given the rising prices, I don't understand why an existing British (engineering) manufacturer hasn't attempted to create affordable groupsets

isnt that because we err... don't have any engineering/ manufacturing companies left here in blighty?

its all them bloody foreigners fault coming over here...taking our jobs an our wimmin

rubertoe

What about more affordable Alfine type gears? with possibly bigger ratio's.

EKE_38BPM

I think DDD has a point here.

Drfabulous0

DonDaddyD wrote:

So the cycling market has exploded. Business is booming, prices still - somehow, and its ridiculous now - appear to be rising, the market isn't showing signs of slowing. There are more bicycle shops than ever and more bike brands than ever.

The bubble will burst, always does. But until it does, where next?

What or where next?

[Note, this is a Friday thread so grumblebums can feck right off]

It's simply not true, the so called boom in cycling is entirely fuelled by BSOs from Halfords et al. traditional bike shops selling quality products are struggling, even in the online marketplace, you would be surprised how many major players have the bank managers snarling at the gates. manufacturers are pushing up the prices every year, one of the biggest increased retail prices by 15% last year and had to roll them back 1/2 way through the season because no-one was buying. This squeezes the margins and means that a bricks and mortar bike shop is no longer a realistic business model for most, yes there are more shops opening but they won't last. We have a saying that if you want to make a million in the bike trade you should start with two.

In the future I see most business being done online, more shops closing and more business coming from outside of the UK, the whole way we are set up with distributors in individual countries is not sustainable in the long term.

wgwarburton

DonDaddyD wrote:

Given the rising prices, I don't understand why an existing British (engineering) manufacturer hasn't attempted to create affordable groupsets made here for the masses. Set the price as low as possible (talking Gamecube £129 vs PS2 and Xbox's £350 - £250) it become a barrier to entry - but also have premium groupsets.

But seriously if the Government have no objections to injecting £1billion into cycling infrastructure then it would stand to reason that the market in general would want to capitalise on that.

British manufacturing tends to be hi-tech/high margin... think F1, aerospace etc

Have a look at this:
http://bicycledesign.net/2012/09/mando- ... id-e-bike/

The next step for the cycle industry? Maybe not.. but this is the sort of thing you're likely to see from a British engineer... In fact, it was designed by a Brit, in conjunction with a Dutch E-bike expert and Korean manufaturers... That's what British (engineering &) design is all about- collaborative, imaginative, international etc.

Welcome to 21st century Britain.

Cheers,
W.

P.S. Bet it feels really wierd to pedal!

rhext

Shouldn't that be 'The next pedal-turn for the cycle industry'?

bornagainroadie

I dunno. You put a battery on a bicycle for your clever gear shifting and the next thing you know you end up with this.

http://www.renault.co.uk/cars/model/twi ... ?WT.srch=1

Driven by 16 year old no less, and you wont hear it coming.

rebs

Soemone will need to reinvent the wheel.

pedal/eco powered duel wheel versions like this are the future
http://dsc.discovery.com/pdi/files/2012/05/monovelo.jpg

Perfect for the city and possibly safer :P

Drfabulous0

rebs wrote:

Soemone will need to reinvent the wheel.

pedal/eco powered duel wheel versions like this are the future
http://dsc.discovery.com/pdi/files/2012/05/monovelo.jpg

Perfect for the city and possibly safer :P

Except if you need to brake.

veronese68

London red wrote an interesting piece about the economics of bikes and why they cost what they do.
here and continued here.

mtb-idle

the next step for the cycle industry? I'm not entirely sure, perhaps a period of consolidation after a massive growth.

The next step for road bikes is disc brakes and for both road and MTB the continuing growth of carbon.

An aloominum frame will be as rare in the future as a steel one is now.

Big_Paul

gtvlusso wrote:

i was rather hoping this time around, evolution would ensure this did not happen

I had a Robin years ago, put wee 70's style alloys on it, leopardskin seat covers in it and took it to the local car show, it got more attention than all the barrywagons on display. It was actually quite fun to drive and used bog all petrol. Wonderful thing.

Back on topic..........

I think more people will be looking for basic bikes, there is simply no need for a double suspended disc braked MTB for going 3 miles to work, years ago, people rode heavy singlespeed steel bikes quite happily, so an alloy framed 700c singlespeed that didn't weigh a ton and didn't cost the earth is the way to go. That Vitus Vee-1 of mine is a great bike but they're far to too bloody dear at nearly £300, my RR from Decathlon, although apparently assembled by a chimp has a decent spec for the same price. Saying that, Decathlon bikes seem rather better specced than the BSO being churned out by Halfords.

compositepro

isnt that because we err... don't have any engineering/ manufacturing companies left here in blighty?

moves are afoot to bring manufacturing back to britain

the problem is that if you go anywhere to get something made you have a lot of problems

instead of a yes we can do that for a price the norm is often no we dont know how to do this anymore

the amount of companies i have approached recently to manufacture things is ridiculous and i work in that F1 Aerospace hi tech manufacturing centre its easier to set up a production facility with a can do attitude

forget asking the government for help however they aren't fucking interested even if you fit into the high tech,create jobs stop importing sector....

Hoopdriver

MTB-Idle wrote:

the next step for the cycle industry? I'm not entirely sure, perhaps a period of consolidation after a massive growth.

The next step for road bikes is disc brakes and for both road and MTB the continuing growth of carbon.

An aloominum frame will be as rare in the future as a steel one is now.

I wouldn't exactly describe steel frames as rare...

meanredspider

I think the will continue to be more and more variety in the bike world - the variety of frame materials will spread, technology will spread but so will simplicity - basically there will be bikes that do pretty much everything you could want them to: just more and more variety