2020 Numbers Reveal the Bike Boom’s Impact

Americans, like others around the world, have found cycling a great way to escape the pressures of Covid 19.

By Marc Sani Set aside any doubts: The insurrection that swallowed our nation’s Capital Jan. 6 will reverberate for years to come. At the moment, no one knows where the country is headed—exactly. But “The Troubles,” an oft used phrase to describe the 30-year conflict in Northern Ireland, may signify the sort of long-term, low-level…

Letter from America: January 2021

Letter from America

What a year! And that’s an understatement. But with 2020 inching toward it close it’s time to attempt a forward look for 2021. It’s sort of a tradition among the press — this sometime feeble annual attempt to prognosticate about the future. In this case more specifically about the future of cycling in the U.S.…

Letter from America: November 2020

By Marc Sani As I write this, America is but 10 days away from what many argue is the most consequential presidential election since Abraham Lincoln’s victory in 1860. Let the historians debate that point. But what offers no debate is the COVID-19 pandemic­­––current U.S. case levels are at record highs­­––with no end in sight;…

America’s Bike Sales Boom Continues… For Now

Letter from America

By Marc Sani The other day I walked into Bike’n Sport for a quick visit with its owner, Tony Farrar. As I paused to look around his showroom I was stunned at the number of empty hooks—usually filled with new bicycles. On the other hand, his repair bay hooks were filled. As Tony walked over…

Letter from America: USA’s Numbers Are Up!

Letter from America

It’s a pleasure to report good news about the United States bicycle industry. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic currently sweeping through far too many states, coupled with the shambolic response of the Trump Administration, bicycle sales in the first six months of 2020 have been sharply at odds with much of the nation’s sour health and…

Letter from America – June 2020

Letter from America

Bike Shops Are Busy in Santa Fe, New Mexico As COVID-19 makes its way in surges across the globe, I am one of the lucky ones. I live in Santa Fe, New Mexico, perched on a semi-arid plateau at an elevation of 7,100 feet (2,164 metres), that has, so far, escaped the worst of this…

Letter from America – May 2020

Letter from America

Get Ready to Face a New Economy SANTA FE, New Mexico—Covid-19 is fast changing the U.S economy, forcing a re-think of globalization and supply chain dependence, and turning the world of brick-and-mortar retail topsy-turvy. No one knows when the global economy will begin to ‘normalize’, as the experts like to say, and certainly no one…

Letter from America – December 2019

Letter from America

What Should Our Industry be Doing about Climate Change? Nothing brings an issue into sharper focus than a study in contrasts. Let’s consider three individuals: American President Donald Trump, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. In early November Ms. Ardern gave a 10-minute speech in New Zealand’s Parliament—a rousing…

Letter from America – November 2019

Letter from America

SANTA FE, New Mexico If there’s anything that can be said about the U.S. bicycle industry, it’s that data on its performance as an economic cog in the national marketplace is a mixed bag of numbers. And, frankly, no one can say with any definitive authority whether the overall industry—whether among dealers or suppliers—is growing,…

Letter From America – October 2019

Letter from America

SANTA FE, New Mexico As I write this letter there’s a hint of fall in the air. Santa Fe, the city where we launched Bicycle Retailer & Industry News in 1991, sits at an elevation of 7,000 feet or 2,334 meters. The air is clear and crisp and trees, flowers and shrubs are starting their…