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This website has been created as a resource for bicycle importers, manufacturers, exporters, and enthusiasts from around the world who share an interest in bike and bicycle imports. Our goals are to: Provide our readers with the most relevant and timely news stories, industry data, and other relevant bike import facts and information Foster awareness of lesser known, yet high quality bicycle brands to the bicycle import market Create networking opportunities for the manufacturers of these brands with reputable bicycle importers We like to think of it as "match.com" for the B2B bike import industry. So please take a look around, and feel free to contact us with any comments or suggestions. We hope you find this site to be a reliable resource for information about the bike import industry going forward!

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Numbers show: Thank the weatherman MONTEREY, CA (BRAIN)—As retailers marched through the month of March, one of the warmest on record, it appears that bicycle sales were relatively flat, but the average selling price per unit was up. Still, overall operating costs are on the rise putting downward pressure on margins. That was the overall assessment of bicycle sales through the first quarter of the year, said Charlie Cooper, president of Leisure Trends Group. Cooper told attendees at Wednesday’s Bicycle Leadership Conference that the big story this year can be summed up this way: “Let’s all thank the weatherman.” A warmer than normal weather pattern has, in general, been a boon, whereas snowsports retailers had what Cooper called “a brutal year.” Chris Speyer, president of the Bicycle Products Suppliers Association, opened the session by pointing out the “huge” amount of data available today from companies like Leisure Trends. “But the most interesting question we have to ask is, what do you with the data,” he said. Speyer quickly reeled off numbers noting that between 2008 and 2011 units sales sold through IBDs ranged between 2.5 million to 2.6 million units. “As a specialty group we’re not growing,” he said, “although some brands within the industry may be growing.” Part of the problem the industry faces is how people spend their time. Those over the age of 16 now spend 7.4 hours a day in front of a screen, whether it’s a computer, tablet, laptop or smartphone. “That should be an overwhelming figure for the industry,” he said. According to Cooper, last year IBDs sold approximately $3.3 billion worth of bikes and accessories with an additional $300 million in Internet sales that appear to be IBD related. Chain stores and sporting goods outlets accounted for about $550 million in sales, while mass merchants sold another $2.45 billion worth of bicycles and cycling accessories making cycling a $6.6 billion industry. He also offered a snapshot of gross profits and average margins for three categories of bicycles: For IBDs it’s become more important for retailers to aggressively sell the activity of cycling—along with a bike—if they want to see business grow. “We think the bikes bought at specialty are ridden more frequently than those bought in the mass,” Cooper said. The more frequently someone rides a bike, the more dollars they spend, and the more often the come into the store. “You have to invest in new riders,” he added. Robin Thurston, founder of MapMyRide.com, said retailers need to make sure customers know where to ride, encourage them to sign up for an event and try to sign them up for a class. “Don’t let them leave the store without getting them signed up for something,” he said. —Marc Sani Source: Bicycle Retailer & Industry News Published: 04/18/2012

UCI to bike makers: publish or perish BOULDER, CO (BRAIN) Friday April 13 2012 10:34 AM MT—If you noticed an unusual number of new road racing product introductions in the media this spring, there may be a contributing factor — the international racing union is requiring manufacturers to publish information about new bikes before the bikes can be used in international competition. Last year the UCI introduced an approval process for new frames and forks that requires the equipment to be certified and labeled before it can be used in competition. The UCI also required that the equipment be available for sale before it can be raced. Earlier this year, the UCI changed the rule, clarifying that the equipment can be raced before it's available for retail sale, as long as it is available for sale within nine months and the manufacturer "publishes" information about the product. The information can be published in a catalog or the manufacturer's own website, said Julien Carron, the UCI's technical coordinator. Specialized distributed some photos of Boonen's bike two days before Paris-Roubaix "This rule was changed, because previously it was required for new equipment to be available on the market before it was used in competition for the first time. (The prior) rule was impossible to enforce and did not correspond with the reality," Carron said in an email to BRAIN. "We would prefer if the equipment was available on the market, but at least all competitors should know when a new equipment is used for the first time," Carron said. "This rule can also guarantee that the new equipment is a finished product, in the condition that it will be marketed, because the testing of a prototype in competition is prohibited." On the eve of last week's Paris-Roubaix race, Specialized marketing employees hustled to release some photos of its new Roubaix model, which was raced by eventual winner Tom Boonen. The new model is not currently available at retail but has gone through the UCI approval process. Specialized sent members of the cycling media 10 photos and a short description of the new bike on the Friday before the race. Trek also launched its new Domane model a week before Paris-Roubaix, although RadioShack-Nissan-Trek pro Fabian Cancellara had been racing the bike for several weeks. Unlike the new Roubaix, the Domane is available in stores already. "The UCI's regulation regarding "communication" is a little ambiguous," said Eric Bjorling, Trek's media relations manager. "But it is our understanding that for new bikes to be raced, the acknowledgment of their existence has to be confirmed by the company in a consumer-directed marketing tool like a website or catalog." —Steve Frothingham Source: Bicycle Retailer & Industry News Published: 04/13/2012

Leisure Trends: February shop sales up 12% BOULDER, CO (BRAIN) Thursday April 5 2012 9:45 AM MT—The research company Leisure Trends is reporting that bike shop sales in February were up 12 percent over the same month in 2011, likely due to warmer weather nationwide this year. Leisure Trends bases its reports on data from a sampling of retailers. The company reports that average retail-selling prices bumped up 3 percent and units increased 8 percent over the same month last year. The average bike sold for $885 this February as compared to $817 the same time last year. Road bike sales shot up 13 percent in the month, according to the report. Twenty-niners sales increased 46 in dollars, while 26-inch sales slid 3 percent. Aftermarket part sales were up 16 percent. Service and rentals jumped 33 percent. Source: Bicycle Retailer & Industry News Published: 04/05/2012