Focus and the bike industry…

I probably really should be finishing up the Fox fork rebuild and disc brake piston replacement, but this’ll only take a few minutes.

I read two pieces this morning that prompted this impromptu diatribe on focus in the bike industry. The first one was a bit about the Trek dealer launch of their ’09 bikes. In it, they announced the launching of a line of road bikes under their Gary Fisher brand. Wow, does that ever seem like an ill-conceived notion. Gary Fisher, one of the founders of the mountain bike, is not a wise choice for a brand of road bikes. Trek must really be reaching for straws in the absence of the Lemond road line. “We think it makes sense,” said Joe V., Trek’s head of product development. “We think it makes sense.” Think and know are very different statements. Thinking something will work is not very confidence inspiring. I think I can fly. Trek needs to maintain the Gary Fisher brand as a mountain bike line – and they should more specifically focus it further into 29” wheel mountain bikes. Twenty-nine inch wheeled mountain bikes is what comes to mind when Gary Fisher is mentioned.

Going one step further, I saw an ad for a new road shoe in the recent VeloNews. Seems Trek is further losing focus of the Bontrager range of bike parts and moving into shoes. I can’t imagine that’s going to be good long-term. Just because Specialized has shoes doesn’t mean that Trek has to follow in Specialized’s, uh, shoes. At least Specialized is focused on maintaining their core brand name.

The second one was a bit from Masi where they are introducing a model for the Japan market. The style of bike is what is called the “Mini-Velo.” Talk about the tail wagging the dog. Masi used to be a brand steeped in racing. Not so any more. It seems they’ll chase any market to get sales. I just hope Faliero Masi’s signature is removed from the artwork of these two-wheeled, uh, bikes. In fact, the signature should be removed from all non-road race bikes. What’s next? Masi shoes? If Trek needs a road brand bad enough that they put Gary Fisher on the down tube, maybe they need to consider purchasing Masi? After all there’s already a connection: Dave Tesch worked for both companies.

There are a lot of companies in the bike industry who could benefit from a bit of self-reflection and a refocusing of their efforts. As any company begins to grow, the temptation to grab all the sales they can get is just too much of a temptation. It works in the short-term, but not in the long-term. Resisting the urge to dabble in a market or segment you are unfamiliar with will only result in strengthening your brand and its market awareness. Do what you know and do it well.

One company who did make a major change recently, and one which I believe was the right one for this company is Iron Horse. Recently, Iron Horse announced they would pull out of the IBD (Independent Bicycle Dealer) and sell only through big box stores like Dick’s Sporting Goods, The Sports Authority, LL Bean, Wal-Mart, REI (REI should stay away from this brand if it’s going to be in these other stores) and Performance. What this move by Iron Horse says is, “we know it’s super difficult to compete in a market dominated by Trek, Specialized, and Giant. So, we will acknowledge that fact and position Iron Horse in the big-box channel. This way we won’t have to discount all the end-of-the-year models, pay reps to sell bikes through the IBD and effectively eliminate that headache of trying to get floor space among all those Treks.” Smart move on their part. Why fight it?

However, Iron Horse should have also gone a step further and eliminated their high-end bikes totally instead of selling them through Iron Horse’s parent company’s CEO’s son’s mail-order bike company (is it okay to have that many possessive nouns in a row?). Who wants to buy a brand of bike for thousands of dollars when the same brand is available down at the local Toys ‘R Us? They could save untold amounts of money eliminating their team and racing expenses. Iron Horse also announced they were going to license Ellsworth’s “Instant Center Tracking” design. Ellsworth must be needing that cash flow because I can’t see having Iron Horse – a brand that will be in Wal Mart – as a licensee will reflect well back on Ellsworth. It’s a partnership that makes no sense at all.

Okay, back to the fork and brake. I hate DOT fluid…

(What’s playing: The Traveling Wilburys Congratulations)