What do you think will happen to the UK bike retail industry?

[YMFB]

We have two independent bike shops in Salisbury and not far away is Pronto in Frome, who are expanding to a second branch in Ringwood.

When possible I support them, just sometimes I havent got time to get into Salisbury and then use Tredz, Balfes and Sigma.

 

[rogerzilla]

There's a bike shop in Ludlow which I'd been avoiding as it looks like one of those high-end boutiques that only wants to sell you a new £5k bike. Anyway, I ventured in yesterday and not only was I able to buy a suitable set of rim brake pads, they knew all about tubular tyres!

 

[Dirk Van Der Dirk]

There's a bike shop in Ludlow which I'd been avoiding as it looks like one of those high-end boutiques that only wants to sell you a new £5k bike. Anyway, I ventured in yesterday and not only was I able to buy a suitable set of rim brake pads, they knew all about tubular tyres!

Is that Epic cycles?

 

[rogerzilla]

Is that Epic cycles?

Yes, it is.

 

[Happy_Days]

Loving the job title of 'Head of Winning Behaviours'.

Cyclist magazine’s interview with Fran Millar discusses “winning behaviours”:

https://www.cyclist.co.uk/in-depth/fran-millar-interview

 

[Drago]

What a load of guff! She almost talks as much bollards as a TV football pundit.

A candidate for Golgafrinchan Ark B if ever there was.

 

[Happy_Days]

Perhaps it was Cyclist’s reporting, but the 'winning behaviours' were an odd mix of vital-but-described-superficially (e.g. the importance of communication for a team) and almost irrelevant (e.g. what’s expected even when walking through an airport) …

"Winning behaviours wasn’t about putting out 400 watts, it was about: what does it mean to be a part of Team Sky? What do we expect from you when you pull that jersey on, or turn up at a training camp, or even when you’re walking through an airport? From the moment you leave your house till the moment you get back, you’re representing the team, and what does that mean?​

​

"The output of that was five areas. One was around self, so how do I have to behave? One was around team, so in the interaction between us as team players. One was around performance first, so the idea of not letting anything get in the way of performance. We took that really seriously. One was communication, because it’s all well and good having a plan but if no one knows about it, then you’re not doing a very good job.​

​

"And the last was continuous improvement, finding all those little ways to do better. Then we had behaviours that sat underneath each of those areas, things like ‘I bring a positive attitude’, ‘I wear my team kit with pride’, ‘I don’t let my emotions get in the way of the team’."​

 

[wafter]

I want to replace my broken bike, but today’s prices are putting me off cycling.

Do I want to be in a hobby that’s normalised bikes averaging out £3k or more per bike?

It’s not rational, as I have enough savings to afford a new bike. But the industry’s pricing puts me off this hobby—despite being keen until now, including racing triathlons. I’ve paused on purchasing.

Indeed... I think there are a couple of unfortunate factors at play here.

Firstly in the hotbox of a growing, consumerism / marketing-driven economy (that in this case was especially supercharged by Covid) many companies have got used to getting fat off the frivolous purchase of significantly-more-expensive-than-necessary, non-essential wares (a tide that thankfully, if painfully for many appears to be turning a bit now).

Secondly after years of rampant inflation (my vitriol on the underlying causes I'll spare everyone) everything appears far more expensive than it used to be. While wages have kept up to an extent (if not completely) our perception lags and it's hard to get one's head around buying something that, not so long ago was on the face of it at least half the asking price it is now.

The used market offers some antidote to this, with some types of bike (MTBs, Hybrids, low-end road bikes, vintage stuff) really taking a hammering... although if you want something more "fashionable" (like gravel) used prices seem fairly robust.

I bought my "Forever Bike" in 1997.

Just rode it to the shops and back today. It had some changes: now uses 3/8 gears and the old Canti's were replaced by V's years ago. It's had a longtail extension for nearly two decades, but it is still doing the job I bought it for, which is everything.

I envy your stoicism and commitment!

My Genesis - bought in 2020 - was supposed to be the last one I ever bought. Since then I've purchased four more...

Of course I can justify each of these; although how legit those justifications are remains open to debate.

Perhaps it was Cyclist’s reporting, but the 'winning behaviours' were an odd mix of vital-but-described-superficially (e.g. the importance of communication for a team) and almost irrelevant (e.g. what’s expected even when walking through an airport) …

"Winning behaviours wasn’t about putting out 400 watts, it was about: what does it mean to be a part of Team Sky? What do we expect from you when you pull that jersey on, or turn up at a training camp, or even when you’re walking through an airport? From the moment you leave your house till the moment you get back, you’re representing the team, and what does that mean?​

​

"The output of that was five areas. One was around self, so how do I have to behave? One was around team, so in the interaction between us as team players. One was around performance first, so the idea of not letting anything get in the way of performance. We took that really seriously. One was communication, because it’s all well and good having a plan but if no one knows about it, then you’re not doing a very good job.​

​

"And the last was continuous improvement, finding all those little ways to do better. Then we had behaviours that sat underneath each of those areas, things like ‘I bring a positive attitude’, ‘I wear my team kit with pride’, ‘I don’t let my emotions get in the way of the team’."​

Sounds like the box ticking, nebulous, obfuscatory bullshit those in "managerial" roles spout in an effort to justify their existence..