Posts by Phil Latz
World News Briefs – Founders Buy Back Kona, Enve Sold
Kona Goes Back to its Roots Last month we reported here that the future of leading bicycle brand Kona was uncertain. Kent Outdoors bought Kona in 2022 but abruptly abandoned their stand at Sea Otter this April and then announced the brand was for sale. On Monday 20th May Kona’s founders Jake Heilbron and Dan…
Yearbook Correction – Yakima Australia.
In our 2024 Latz Report Yearbook, we made a complete mistake with the Listing of Yakima Australia. Since being alerted to the problem by Yakima, we’ve corrected the online flipbook version of the Yearbook which you can access here. But of course, we can’t change the print edition which has been mailed out to every…
Autonomous Driving is Here and Will Be Good for Cycling
I’m not an expert, but for the past decade I’ve been following developments in autonomous driving quite closely. I also consume a lot of podcasts with tech / transportation / cycling / micromobility themes. Like anything that’s radically different, there has been a lot of hype and fear in roughly equal parts in relation to…
How’s Business? – May 2024
Welcome to How’s Business, brought to you by our sponsor Dirt Works Australia, where right now, you can get Sunringle wheelsets for HALF PRICE. As always, we spoke to a wide range of dealers across Australia and New Zealand, with a mix of city and country locations and a wide range of store types. With…
MC Cyclery Takes its Own Road
Kensington, NSW MC Cyclery is a bicycle retailer that does things differently to most other Australian bicycle shops. This is in large part a reflection of the passions and complementary professional skill sets of its two key owners, Andy Walsh and Harvey Crabtree. Neither works full time at MC. In fact, both spend most of…
Bicycle Imports Showing First Signs of Normalising
Canberra, ACT After 18 months of dramatically lower monthly bicycle imports, the latest figures are showing early signs that import numbers might be beginning to return to more normal pre-covid levels. Since we last wrote about bicycle imports here we have received import data for January and February 2024. In January a total of 51,765…
Premium Subscription Options Coming Soon to The Latz Report
Wollongong, NSW We’ll soon introduce a new subscription model for The Latz Report monthly newsletter. There are some technical details we still need to finalise, but in the meantime, I’d like to share with you an overview, so that you have time to give any comments or feedback before the new system is implemented, possibly…
Moustache Offers Unique High Quality Alternatives for Australian Dealers
~ Sponsored Content ~ With continuous heavy discounting of major bike brands, often amplified by having too many dealers in each city, savvy dealers are looking for high quality alternatives that give them a greater degree of exclusivity, both in terms of locational exclusivity and brand cachet. French high-end ebike manufacturer Moustache is a perfect…
Unique PieProof Helmet Protects Cyclists from Magpies
~ Sponsored Content ~ Leo Boesten is a Dutch-Australian engineer with a passion for cycling. He’s also been swooped by magpies too many times to count. He found that some magpies are not content just to swoop, but take a nip of your ear or a peck through your helmet vent. Following some nasty direct…
Industry Briefs – Lively E-Bike Forum Highlights Differing Viewpoints
Lively E-Bike Forum Highlights Differing Viewpoints Bicycle Industries Australia (BIA) hosted an online E-Bike Forum on Tuesday 23rd April to allow discussion amongst bike industry members across a range of sometimes contentious issues. Because this event was not pre-publicised as a public forum, this article will not name any of the attendees or quote any…