Why Won’t Shimano Open an Account for my Bike Shop?

A screenshot of the home page of Sunup Cycles’ website

Brunswick, Vic To whom it may concern, I’m the recent new owner of a small service and repairs focused bike shop in Brunswick, Melbourne called Sunup Cycles. I wanted to reach out so that you might pass on a warning to other small shops or individuals considering investing in a new bicycle retail and/or repairs…

It’s Time for the Tour Down Under to Say No to Santos

Cyclist holding up winning trophy

Adelaide, SA If you look back through the Opinion section of The Latz Report, you’ll see I use my prerogative as publisher to voice an opinion very sparingly. There are only a couple of dozen opinion pieces since we started in 2019, most of which are non-controversial and two of which were written by guests.…

What Does Our Bike Industry Future Look Like?

As we all know, Australia’s bike industry went through an unprecedented two-year boom from about March 2020 until it started to taper during 2022. During that boom, I wrote two opinion pieces here and here predicting what would happen next and then, early this year, this article in which I summarised which of those predictions…

How Accurate Were Our Covid Bike Industry Predictions?

Empty shipping container

During the Covid pandemic I wrote two articles predicting what would happen in the future of the bike industry as a result of Covid’s ‘big disruption’. The first one was posted on 17th December 2020 and the follow-up was posted on 23rd September 2021. There’s a strong chance you might have read either or both…

The More You Learn, The More You Earn!

Wollongong, NSW Years ago, a long-time friend and long-distance mentor of mine, Marc Sani (author of our Letter from America column), taught me a lesson I’ve always tried to implement. “Your readers don’t care what you think, they just want to know the facts! So just report the facts and keep your opinions to yourself.”…

Letter to the Editor – Melbourne Bike Show Concerns

letter to the editor

Bentleigh, Vic To the Editor, Any news on the onslaught of people asking for refunds for the Melbourne Bike Show over the weekend? They didn’t engage directly with industry players (the ones I talked to), super short planning period, BIG talk online and advertising, but they delivered bunk. They turned off comments to their posts…

Thanks to Your Support, We Made It!

Our sunny Opera House finish after 1,100 kilometres mainly cloudy and often wet kilometres.

Wollongong, NSW Nine months before my 60th birthday was due to arrive on 17th March 2022, I decided to do something significant to mark the occasion. That was, to try to ride from Melbourne to Sydney and hopefully raise over $20,000 for two cycling-related charities I’ve long supported. Well, my 60 or Bust! charity ride…

Why I’m Asking For Your Help

Just over two weeks ago I turned 60. Fortunately, I’m not asking you for donations towards a mobility scooter or a deposit on a room in aged care accommodation. But being a bit of a planner, early last year I started thinking about what I might do to mark this significant life milestone. Whatever I…

Reflecting Upon the End of Two Intertwined 50 Year Eras

VeloNews was at the epicentre of the bike racing boom in the early 1980s. This is the cover of their 21st July 1981 edition showing the Coors Classic podium presentation in Boulder, Colorado, VeloNews’ hometown. Photo credit: VeloNews

Boulder, Colorado When I recently read a press release that VeloNews was ‘merging’ with its sister magazine, Peloton, and would no longer exist in print format, I was startled by the strength of my emotional reaction. I have neither read, at least in print format, nor written for VeloNews magazine for many years. So why…