Author Archives: zundel
Seat Height — How hard can it be? by Steve Hogg
Single most succinct and insightful statement about fitting:
Focus on the velocity of extension of the rear of the knee under significant load. That velocity should be constant, if you see even the tinniest flicker of acceleration at the rear of the knee before the bottom of the pedal stroke, then the rider is losing control of the motion and is too high; at least on that side.
Look at your customer long and hard, especially for movement of the pelvis.
Also:
If your fitter is only viewing one side of your body, call a halt and go elsewhere.
Perspectives on Fitting by Steve Hogg
What to Do with a Bad Book?
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I am cleaning out the Bicycle Quarterly Press library. I am keeping all the great books or those that we may need for reference later. This even includes two editions of Eugene Sloane’s Complete Book of Bicycling, which I bought mostly because they had some grainy images of René Herse and Alex Singer bikes – the only information I could find in those pre-Internet days.
But there are a lot of books that simply aren’t good enough to keep.
It’s amazing how much has being printed on bicycles in recent years that has not stood the test of time. Hastily produced efforts on “custom bicycles” with fuzzy photos pulled off the Internet. A history of Campagnolo that appears to have been written in two weeks by somebody only marginally familiar with the company. I’ll give these books to a local charity. Despite their obvious flaws, somebody will enjoy them…
One…
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Customer Service
Treat your employees as you want them to treat customers.
Leisure Trends: IBD sales rebound in March after a slow start to 2014
Lifestyle/leisure bike sales grew 33 percent to hit $7 million, and transit/fitness bikes sales were up 21 percent at 27 million over March 2013. And kids’ bikes grew an impressive 24 percent to reach $8 million for the month.
All bicycle sales were up in March — 13 percent in units and 5 percent in dollars, but road bikes continued their downslide, losing 8 percent over the same period last year. The 26-inch mountain bike category also slid 18 percent to $11 million, and 29ers fell again for the second straight month, with an 8 percent loss to land at $22 million.
Avoid the Entitlement Trap and ENGAGE
Entitlement can be a disastrous thing for retailers facing increasing competition and struggling to compete. The future belongs to those who are willing to change, who are tired of playing defense, and who are willing and able to aggressively engage with customers and transform their lives.
That was the message from Mike Cosentino, owner of Big Peach Running Co., a seven-store running retailer based in Atlanta at the IBD Summit in Monterey in April.
He was speaking to an audience of bicycle retailers interested in hearing from a successful and growing retailer in a somewhat similar industry that is being challenged by on-line competition such as amazon.com and zappos.com.
Cosentino didn’t hesitate to share his views that the first step for retailers is to dump old attitudes and take a fresh look at what it means to be a retailer today.
“The local market is not yours,” Cosentino told the…
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How green is your bike? Ask Specialized
How about a nice used steel frame?
Interview: David Stone MBE, Para-cyclist gold medallist by Jonathon Harker
New study: ‘Digital is fundamental’ to all retail
Consumers largely prefer to navigate the aisles and the checkout without a store associate’s help. 80 percent of respondents in Deloitte Digital’s study said they prefer to obtain product information on their own device or from an in-store device like a kiosk, rather than ask a sales associate.
Wrench Fu 