What's not hot this year?

I don't see how things can get any better for the bike industry.   Seems like everything is on the upswing.

I'm just looking through the latest issue of BRAIN and I'm blown away at what's been happening in the freeride scene throughout the country.  I had no idea so many sanctioned riding parks had been built.  There's no doubt freeriding will continue to blow up in '06.

Then there's the whole 29er thing.  Even MG over at Tram Line agrees they're set to get huge next season: "2006 will be the year of the 29 inch mountain bike." 

And of course we can't forget about the high-end road market.  Seems like not a day goes by without some company announcing a new carbon road bike in their line-up (Diamondback being the latest).

And city/commuting bike makers have to be loving the recent oil debacle, continuing bad news about obesity, and millions coming from the Feds to improve the bike infrastructure of our cities.

Should be an exciting time in Vegas.  People tend to be in better moods when business is good.

Comments

[ska_todd]

re: bikeparks/freeriding

told ya so ;)

-ska todd

[Cory]

Good post Jonathan. I still haven't got trackbacks working but I did post a similar item on my website this morning.

I'm particularly interested about your comments about the 29" bikes. Is the market for them really that big? Since I'm not exactly in the heart of xc land, they're not something I'm particularly familiar with. Are more manufacturers starting to come on board with these things?

I agree with your thoughts about bike parks -- it seems like every mountain in BC with a chairlift is trying to put in mountain bike runs to diversify revenue streams. I overheard (and keep in mind that this is hearsay) that Intrawest (the company behind Whistler Bike Park) expects overall revenues in the summer (this includes hiking, horseback riding, ATVs, AND mountain biking) to overtake those of skiing by something like 2008.

[Guitar Ted]

Well, I think the tide may be turning a little bit on the 29"er scene. Remember; however, that Europe, and much of the rest of the world, (with the possible exception of Japan, of all places!)has not got a clue to what a 29"er is about. For that reason, I don't see the "big brands" coming on-line with a 29"er until at least Europe starts to get interested. 29"ers barely made a dent at the recent Eurobike show in Germany, for instance.

[Jonathan Maus]

Cory:
The market for 29ers is big and fertile. XC guys haven't had much to get excited about for a long time...and because of that, more and more suppliers are coming on board with them. It's still a "niche" thing, but the vibe and buzz is growing by the day. I also think that as endurance events grow, so will the main market base for 29ers. They are already the #1 choice for that scene. They're also big on the SS scene, which is growing as well.

Ted:
I hear what you're saying, but I'm not so sure if Europe will lead the way on this one. There's no denying the groundswell buzz about them here in the states. Another important distinction is that the custom, small builder scene (which is driving much of the good buzz) is well-established and quite influential here in the U.S.

[John Satory]

I think that high-end road market is hot along with multi-sport. A strong factor is the demographic of this consumer (which does not mirror the free-ride and 29'er consumer).