SAN FRANCISCO (BRAIN) — Rumbleship is making a B2B website available to any of the brands that are available to dealers through its service.

With the portal, brands can tap into dealer-direct sales and offer a distinct URL to dealers for accelerated and direct ordering of their own catalog. Rumbleship said it is offering this service without a subscription.

Rumbleship is a B2B software platform that links brands and IBDs. The company said its service offers the convenience of central ordering, easy invoice management, billing tools and cash flow control. 

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (BRAIN) — 45NRTH, the QBP-owned fat bike brand, has launched a consumer website focused on groomed winter fat biking locations.

GroomedSingletrack.com includes information on where to ride and how to support trail building efforts. The site has been operating quietly, with an official announcement Friday.

"We're working on populating the Ride and Experience page with as many trails and events as we can, so we've tried to keep it quiet. We've already had great response from the community to help add their trails to the map and we're hoping to get more over the remainder of the winter riding season," the company said in a press release.

The site's Support page features a T-shirt and hat that will be available for retailers to sell in their shops. All 45NRTH's proceeds from sales of these items will go toward building and maintaining groomed singletrack. 

Next year the site operators plan to off a specific page dedicated to the groomer personnel as well as information on how to build your own groomer and what type of rig works best on different types of snow and conditions. 45NRTH also has started a hashtag campaign related to the site,#ridegroomed.

PORTLAND, Ore. (BRAIN) — ZEN Bicycle Fabrication is launching its own frame line branded, ZEN. The company's road, adventure road, cyclocross, 29er and expidition frames retail for $1,250 to $1,399 depending on model, and will make their pubic appearance at the North American Handmade Bike Show in March.

"We will offer just frames and/or frames and forks to start with. Completes will come into the mix next year hopefully," said David Woronets, ZEN Bicycle Fabrication's founder. "We will sell consumer direct as well as through dealers who we will service from the factory," he added.

ZEN Bike company is offering two levels of dealer pricing: The standard Wholesale account has no minimum order requirement. ZEN's Level 1 dealers have a three-frame minimum order but get twice the margin.

For the past four years, ZEN Bicycle Fabrication has been producing OEM frames for a variety of brands. And the company continues its OEM frame manufacturing while adding the ZEN Bike company frames to its production output.

The company's adventure road model, AR45, is built from True Temper steel tubes and has a machined chainstay yoke allowing up to 45 millimeters of tire clearance. An AR45 frame and fork retails for $1,399 and comes in six stock sizes, from 48 to 62 centimeters.

ZEN's $1,299 6061 alloy cross frame weighs 1,300 grams, has a tapered headtube, internal Di2 routing as well as external full housing fittings. It also comes in six stock sizes. All frames feature ZEN's proprietary MOD dropout, which give riders the option of using a variety of axle standards.

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (BRAIN) —  Old man winter played Minnesota nice and released his icy grip on the Midwest just in time for QBP's annual Frostbiike event, which kicked off Friday at its Twin City headquarters. Bearable temperatures and minimal snowfall welcomed representatives from nearly 400 IBDs and 145 brands flocking to QBP's annual winter pow-wow. 

For the first time in Frostbike's more than 25-year history, QBP hosted its dealers, vendors and media at hotels in downtown Minneapolis instead of nearby Bloomington. As the event has grown over the years, organizers said it had reached capacity at hotels historically used. "Plus the downtown offers more of a Minnesota experience," said Heidi Lottes, event coordinator at QBP. "It's something we looked at doing for a couple of years, based on feedback from attendees. It has also allowed us to expand because there are more hotel and other resources downtown."
 
Also new to the show were a number of VIP dealer events, including the Indie Sessions which started on Wednesday. Made up of a group of small dealers working in a peer to peer environment, the Indie Sessions provided a forum for dealers to share best practices and solutions to challenges small retailers face. The traditional fat bike race took place on Saturday evening, as well as a first-time biathlon that required dealers to test their snow riding skills on fat bikes and their aim in a tennis ball throwing contest. 

With much of the midwest and northeast still under snow and an ever-increasing drought continuing to plague the West, the retail pulse for the coming season seems to be all over the board. And although a tentative agreement was reached late Friday in the west coast port labor dispute, most suppliers agreed that while the cycling season is only just coming out of hibernation, they're feeling the effects of the massive shipping backlog. 

"We have absolutely felt it," said Jason Overman, North American sales manager for Kinetic. "With the short season for trainers that lasts just two months in October and November, we're already planning ahead and trying to get orders done early. If we can't get products for that window, it's detrimental."

Frostbike continues through Sunday, with seminars, fat bike demos and the expo running into the afternoon. Look for expanded Frostbike coverage in the March 15 issue of Bicycle Retailer. 

NM Bike n Sport in spectacular Santa Fe, New Mexico is looking for a couple of friendly, well versed technicians to oversee daily service operations. Applicants must be passionate cyclists with outstanding customer service skills and strong team spirit.

Santa fe has an incredible network of ever growing mountain bike trails at multiple elevations as well as spectacular road riding terrain. You can be riding in dirt/road in less than 5 minutes from most places in town!

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (BRAIN) — Pacenti Cycle Design has named Rick Vosper Marketing Services as its agency of record, the company announced Monday.

"The wheels and components portion of our business is solid," said company founder Kirk Pacenti. "but we're interested in growing it and expanding into some new categories. At the same time, the high-end market is flat, and smaller brands like ours face huge competitive pressure from companies hundreds of times our size. My partners and I recognized that the only way to grow our business is to win market share back from the big guys. So we decided to do something about it."

Pacenti said Vosper, a veteran of Silicon Valley agencies as well as a former head of marketing for Specialized and Cervélo, brought the right mix of insider understanding and larger-world experience.

The first meeting was unique, Pacenti recalled. "One minute we're swapping riding stories and talking steering geometries and the next he's telling us about digital recapture and remarketing techniques, stuff most bike companies have never even heard of."

Vosper's RVMS agency will be responsible for all Pacenti Cycle Designs' marketing strategy, advertising, media buys, PR, web, and social/digital media, the company said. The company plans a major new technology introduction at Sea Otter in April.

ANAHEIM, Calif. (BRAIN) — Cycle Group Inc., the parent company of Box Components and Promax USA, has partnered with the Polygon United Ride mountain bike team as its shifter and derailleur sponsor. The team will ride and test both the single-lever shifter and rear derailleur in downhill, enduro and slopestyle events.

"As we move forward into production with our long-awaited derailleur and shift system, the team will test them at the highest level and help us validate performance and weed out any issues we may have. They will also be working with us on some new stuff we are developing," said Colin Esquibel, CGI's director of product development.

Box first showed CNC-machined samples of its Factor shifters and rear derailleur to the public January 2014 at PressCamp Winter. The shifters and rear derailleurs were shown last weekend at QBP's Frostbike and will be on public display March 18-21 at the Taipei International Cycle Show.

Best known as a BMX brand, Box has made recent inroads into the mountain bike market.

The Polygon UR Team consists of downhill racers Mick Hannah, Tracey Hannah, Andrew Neethling and Remy Morton; enduro racers Jamie Nicoll, Aurelien Giordanengo and Fabien Cousinié; and slopestyle athletes Sam Reynolds and Loic Esteve. The squad began riding samples of the latest shifters and derailleurs last month at training camp in New Zealand.

"We are looking forward to a fruitful relationship between this group of riders. I have worked with Fabien, Mick and Tracey Hannah, as well as their newest member, Andrew Neethling, on projects in the past with great success. They are a great group of riders, as well as super knowledgeable in terms of R&D and providing input on new products," Esquibel said.

WILTON, Conn. (BRAIN) — Dorel Sports has promoted Bob Kmoch to president of its Pacific Cycle Group division. Kmoch has been serving in a dual role as both interim president and CFO for the past year at Pacific Cycle.

"Bob has been doing a terrific job in delivering one of Pacific Cycle's best years ever and I'm delighted to promote him into the permanent President role," said Peter Woods the president and CEO of Dorel Sports. "Under Bob's leadership, our relationships with retailers and suppliers are stronger than ever, we are developing exciting products, and we continue to build on the Pacific Cycle legacy of excellent execution."

Kmoch started his career with Pacific Cycle Group in 2005 as the CFO.

"I'm excited for the opportunity to lead such a great organization. Pacific Cycle has iconic brands, fantastic products and strong customer relationships coupled with tremendously talented and dedicated employees," said Kmoch. "We are poised for another strong year. I'm committed to making Pacific Cycle increasingly easy to do business with for our retail customers, and an exciting and rewarding place to work for all our employees."

LOUISVILLE, Colo. (BRAIN) — For a limited time, a special laminated version of the 2015 Wheels Manufacturing derailleur hanger chart is available at no charge to IBDs in the U.S.

Designed for shop use, the updated chart features photos of all 236 Wheels' CNC-machined hangers. This extra-durable version will survive many greasy fingers as it helps identify replacement hangers to fit thousands of bike models.

Retailers who would like to receive a laminated derailleur hanger chart should email info@wheelsmfg.com with their store name, U.S. address, phone, and email address. There is a limit of one free laminated chart per store location.

CARLSBAD, Calif. (BRAIN) — Ridley Bikes has hired Lift Creative Studios to handle public relations and specific marketing projects in North America this year.

Lift's founder Steve Driscoll has previously handled marketing at Mavic, Velomax/Easton and Flite Controls.

"Steve's knowledge of the North American market and passion for the sport of cycling helped set Lift above other agencies for us," said Richard Wittenberg, Ridley Bikes' vice president of international operations. "Simply put, Lift Creative Studios has the creativity, in-house capabilities and relationships to help us achieve our goals."

Driscoll's agency has worked with numerous bike industry clients including Reynolds Cycling, Campagnolo North America, Bonk Breakers and Scott USA.

SEATTLE (BRAIN) — REI now has Ghost bikes available at its stores and its website.

The Seattle-based co-op announced last year that it would become the exclusive U.S. retailer for the German-based brand, which is owned by Accell Group NV. Accell also owns Raleigh, Diamondback, Torker, Currie, Redline and SBS in the U.S. and has brought in European brands Haibike and Lapierre to the U.S.

Ghost's full suspension mountain bike models Kato FS 7, Riot 7 LC, and other select models are now available through REI.com. The retailer's website lists 32 Ghost models, four of which are available online only. The rest of the models are available online or through REI's brick and mortar locations. The company said it will eventually offer 41 Ghost mountain, road and city bikes, ranging in price from $649 to $7,999.

"We are incredibly proud to introduce Ghost to the U.S.," said Mark Harding, REI's merchandising cycle manager. "These bikes have the attention to detail you would expect from German engineering and a ride you'll fall in love with."

REI offers its house bike brand, Novara, online and at all its stores, and carries various brands at its retail locations. However the retailer has long struggled with finding a premium brand it can offer at all locations nationally, because many established brands have conflicting dealer territories or policies against selling to sporting goods stores. Last fall, REI's Mike Cannon said Ghost solves that problem.

“Partnering with Ghost brand bicycles allows us to offer a premium, high-performance, award-winning bicycle brand with full distribution across the United States,” said Cannon. “We are impressed with the level of detail, smart design and engineering Ghost brand bicycles bring to the industry. The line will also help round out our bike assortment so REI can better support all levels of cycling.”

Editor's note: The following opinion piece is by Jay Townley, a well-known bike industry analyst. His full biography is below his article.

I used the term "tough love" at the recent IBD Summit, but never had the opportunity to publicly state what I mean by tough love relative to bike shops. The context was a question and answer panel session, and a dealer asking a follow-up question.

My response was to ask what about the need to change the bike shop owner didn't understand and that I was talking about tough love...without being able to elaborate.

I understand that some bike shop owners who attended this panel session, and others who were not in attendance have asked if I am no-longer the friend of bike shops because of this comment, and if I am now on the side of suppliers.

What I have done a poor job of communicating, and what is behind my "tough love" comment is...bike shops in the U.S. are literally out of time relative to changing the way they do business! The most important threats and opportunities facing bike shops are not about choosing or supporting "sides."

The important issues now facing the American bike shop channel of trade beg the coming together of the whole bicycle industry – or at least those of good will who are willing to participate in a civil dialog and discussion of the real core issues that need to be put on the table and openly agreed and disagreed. It is no longer about bike shops verses suppliers...it is about changing to meet the wants and needs of today's consumer – or becoming irrelevant and dying off.

This doesn't mean that there shouldn't be passion for a point of view or a position, but it does mean committing to the really hard work of a civil discourse and listening, discussing and compromising to make progress in the best interests of the bike shop channel of trade and the whole American bicycle business.

The consumer is now in charge of the marketplace and the path-to-purchase.

 To be clear, I am supporting the bike shop channel of trade in the U.S., just as I always have. This includes supporting those bike shop owners and managers that understand that the consumer is now in charge of the marketplace and the path-to-purchase and that bike shops can't go back to the way it was, and they have to embrace consumer-centricity and the new digital age going forward if they hope to survive and prosper. The bike shops that get it and today's outliers known as the new wave will not only survive, but will lead the new fourth era of bike shop retailing in America.

Suppliers have and will continue to do what they feel is in the best interests of their businesses, and bike shops need to do the same thing. The issues of authorized dealer agreements, commoditization and MAP have already been cast – decided by the pervasive power of the Internet and the empowered consumer. They are symptoms, not causes.

Tough love ... is what I call helping those bike shops that understand that they are no longer going to be rewarded by consumers for just being in business and being mediocre or adequate...and change they way they do business and reach out to consumers in their neighborhoods and communities to provide extraordinary customer service, a personalized shopping experience, and embrace Omni-channel outreach and marketing.

Tough love ... is being honest and telling bike shop owners who don't understand why they have to change ... that they are out of time!

Jay Townley is starting his 58^th consecutive year in the bicycle industry in 2015.  He started as an employee in a bike shop in 1957 where he developed his life long interest in bicycles and bicycling.  Townley worked for the Schwinn Bicycle Company for 24 years during which time he managed the Total Store retail program and founded the product safety and governmental affairs division, becoming the youngest vice president who wasn’t a member of the Schwinn family.  Townley owned Venture Out Unlimited, a bicycle touring company, served as President of Giant Bicycle Inc., as President of Browning Component, Inc. and as Executive Director of The Bicycle Council a bicycle industry non-profit marketing and promotion association. 

Currently Townley is partner and a co-founder of The Gluskin Townley Group, a market research and specialty retail consultancy focusing on out door and active sports, including the bicycle business.

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (BRAIN) — At its Frostbike event last weekend, QBP bestowed its 2015 Clay Mankin Award on Mike Cachat, the CEO of Jenson USA in Riverside, Calif. The Mankin award recognizes retailers who inspire others with their commitment to bicycle advocacy, industry growth and their passion for cycling.

QBP also named its vendor of the year: DT Swiss.

Clay Mankin Award

Clay Mankin was the founder of San Francisco's City Cycle store; he passed away in 2005. QBP has been giving out the award since soon after his death.

Cachat was nominated for the award for his advocacy efforts and commitment to bicycle retailing. He currently serves on the IMBA Board of Directors and is a Silver Level sponsor for the Southern California chapter of the National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA).

Jenson USA recently partnered with World Bicycle Relief on a "one-for-one" charitable campaign that has led to donating 30 bikes to date.

Closer to home, Jenson USA has initiated a new annual program called "Kommute for Kids." Employees earn new bike donations for deserving local elementary students by commuting by bike to work.

Cachat started Jenson USA in 1994 as an online catalog selling mountain bike components and accessories. Today, Jenson USA has two Southern California brick-and-mortar locations along with its strong online presence.

QBP's advocacy director, Gary Sjoquist, nominated Cachat for this award. "Mike has demonstrated a commitment to both successful bicycle retailing and advocacy," said Sjoquist. "He began his bicycle retailing efforts as a 16-year-old student with ideas about customer service that continue to this day throughout his business. Jenson USA's focus on values and customer service are not unlike those of QBP."

Cachat said, "It's a little bit ironic that a decade ago it was QBP that inspired me to grow the pie and promote responsible cycling through advocacy and good business practices. Now I'm the one being honored for inspiring others. I'm humbled by this prestigious award."

Vendor of the Year

QBP recognized Switzerland-based wheel and wheel components brand DT Swiss "for continually pushing the industry with its high quality and innovative product — designing, engineering, and manufacturing all of its own products."

QBP's DT Swiss buyer, Dave Larson, nominated the brand for the award.

"DT Swiss hubs are some of the best in the industry and the same can be said about its spokes," said Larson. "The brand is also beginning to grow some of its emerging categories like rims and wheels, modernizing them with the specifications needed to be successful amidst today's quickly changing marketplace."

QBP also noted that DT Swiss is represented on the Bicycle Committee of the World Federation of the Sporting Goods Industry (WFSGI), and is doing its part to work toward a more collaborative view amongst industry-related organizations such as the Union Cycliste International (UCI) and the European Committee for Standardization (CEN). Additionally, the brand dedicates time and funds to support various advocacy organizations including IMBA, PeopleForBikes and the Cuyuna Lakes mountain bike trails.

Marco Zingg, the owner, president and CEO of DT Swiss Global, was on hand at Frostbike and accepted the award on behalf of the brand.

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BROOKLYN, N.Y. (BRAIN) —  Sommerville Sports is now offering its custom clothing customers a special deal on helmets and sunglasses from the Italian brand SH+.

Any Sommerville Sports custom clothing customer that agrees to place the SH+ logo on their kit design will receive a 40 percent discount on any SH+ helmet and glasses order. Logo placement locations are flexible; an SH+ online discount code will be provided once the clothing order has been placed and payment has cleared.

All available SH+ items can be seen on its U.S. distributor's website. Sommerville Sports can be reached at (347) 889-6239.

SANDY, Utah (BRAIN) — Reynolds Cycling is offering a carbon-rim disc brake wheel for gravel-riding and cyclocross, the ATR (All Terrain Road) Disc Brake wheel.

“When designing these wheels, we wanted to create the ultimate tool for these all terrain road bikes that are sporting disc brakes, thru axles and more capable geometries,” said Rob Aguero, the marketing manager at Reynolds Cycling. “The ATRs give riders the ability to run more powerful disc brakes and a tubeless set up, all on a rim that will be able to handle whatever they can throw at them, without sacrificing weight or performance.”

The the wide-profile carbon fiber rim allows for wider tires and added durability on rougher and loose terrain. The tubeless compatible rim is 29 millimeters wide outside and 21 millimeters inside. The wheel has centerlock disc hubs and 24 straight-pull spokes front and rear.

The wheels weigh 1,535 grams per set. MSRP is $1,550. 

Reynolds will debut the ATR Disc Brake wheels at the North American Handmade Bicycle Show in Louisville, Ky., next month.

Editor's note: Ray Keener is a longtime friend of Bicycle Retailer. Ray's background includes stints as a bike retailer, executive director of the Bicycle Industry Organization, editor of a trade magazine, founder of Growth Cycle and now executive director of the Bicycle Product Suppliers Association. Keener created the Selling Cycling staff training program from 1997-2012, used by more than 2,000 bike shops worldwide.

The views expressed here are Keener's own and do not reflect those of the BPSA or Bicycle Retailer.

I sat down to write a glowing review of the IBD Summit conference after returning from Phoenix in late January. And then, stuff happened.

Fred Clements’ “Dealers Speak Out About the S-Word” BRAIN blog garnered (a record?) 180 comments. I met with Ryan McFarland and team from Strider, Rob Kaplan from Currie, and the National Youth Bike Summit happened in Seattle.

So while we wait for the Interbike folks to (soon) release the Summit Manifesto, I will be brief about the desert gathering: It was good and it’s going to get even better. The expected “S-Word” fireworks never materialized, largely because two key antagonists weren’t present.

Fred’s “S-Word” is Shimano, mine are Strider and Stromer. Stay with me here, we’ll get back to the Manifesto after some random musings on the state of the IBD.

Retailer frustration with UK-web-based Shimano price-slashing is understandable. And some of the quotes from Fred’s piece had me scratching my head: Shimano’s “choking the life out of [retailers]”?

The average US IBD grosses about $800,000 a year. Is it likely that Shimano componentry makes up even 1 percent of that total?  Or is the dealer animus as much about Internet competition in general as about the S-Word specifically?

Clearly, the threat of the Internet, by far the #1 concern of US IBDs by NBDA survey, is about more than just low-priced Shimano. And countering that threat has nothing to do with Shimano, a brand I think we can all agree has done the IBD far more good than harm?

I met with some store managers last Fall, I asked them how they reacted to price-shoppers, armed with their phones and their Wiggle. “It really pisses me off,” one told me. “And our staff treats those jerks like any other customer. I guess they don’t care enough about the shop’s future to get mad.”

My contention: If you care about your shop’s future, you don’t get mad at any of your customers, for any reason. You get even. You find a way to replace that 1%. And try your best to check your politics at the door.

Which brings us to Strider and Stromer. And I choose these S-brands to represent their categories, balance bikes and e-bikes, not as any kind of a recommendation or endorsement.

Ryan McFarland started Strider in 2007, and they’re about to sell their one-millionth bike. That would put him in the top 10 US specialty bike companies in unit volume over that eight-year stretch. And motorcycle shops are selling THREE TIMES more Striders than bicycle shops!

If you‘re an IBD who’s frustrated with on-line brands, and not carrying balance bikes or at least considering e-bikes, how come? Why not replace something that alienates you from your customers with something that builds a future market for you?

Fred also said, “…dealers [are] showing a mixture of anger, resignation and frustration with an important industry supplier.” Resign, retailers. From this fight, at least. Pick one you can win!

Sell something that grows cycling in your community. Give up on the past: Your exclusivity in the high-end component market.

Retailers, if you think carrying off-brand derailleurs when your customers want Shimano is serving you, go ahead. Please, for the sake of your futures, though: Don’t confuse what makes you feel better with what increases your chance of success.

To bring this around full-circle, back to the IBD Summit. I led one of the dozen or so Manifesto-building groups. When given a ballot of 93 items in eight categories, our  group of 15, consisting of about equal numbers of retailers and suppliers, voted the #1 priority by a large margin:

Elevate the standard of the retail experience

There are as many IBD styles and personalities and as many ways to make money in retail as there are IBDs. And offering market-growth products, elevating the experience, delivering on the promise of specialty retail, are all things you can start on today. And no website, no supplier, can stop you.

I conclude with my favorite reply to Fred’s S-Word blog, from Robert Breidenbach in Spokane: ”I'm not a Shimano butt boy, but come on, replace Shimano with Sun Race? Make money where you can and don't waste time and energy worrying about other items. Most of the high-end parts go to guys with smartphones and no loyalty.”

SAINT-AUGUSTIN-DE-DESMAURES, Quebec (BRAIN) — Louis Garneau has sold four of his own paintings at $20,000 each to support Team Rwanda, the country's national cycling team, which is composed of young survivors of the 1994 genocide. 

The four paintings sold are part of a Garneau's 12-painting Hope series. Garneau, who studied Visual Arts in university, said, "painting is a necessary outlet for me. It lets me express feelings and share life experiences. It is also a way for me to give back."

Garneau recently donated a check for $80,000 to the team from the sale of the paintings. 

SANTA MONICA, Calif. (BRAIN) — Young nutritional brand Bonk Breaker is sponsoring and supplying its first UCI ProTour team for this season: The Cannondale-Garmin squad.

The California-based brand has previously backed UCI Continental and development teams, became the official energy bar of USA Cycling, USA Cycling Team and the Ironman Triathlon U.S. Series, and sponsored with multi-world champions Mirinda Carfrae and Sarah Hammer, among others.

In addition to fueling the Cannondale-Garmin athletes, Bonk Breaker will be visible and active at key races around the globe, the company said. The company also is looking forward to valuable feedback from the riders.

"Bonk Breaker is thrilled to partner, in 2015, with such an esteemed and widely-respected organization," said Bonk Breaker's co-CEO, Chris Frank. "We are proud to have set the new standard for nutrition bars in the United States and Bonk Breaker is swiftly becoming a global brand. The professional peloton represents the ultimate proving ground for sports nutrition. We had already established relationships with several riders who love our products. The match and the timing are perfect to partner with these incredible athletes, who compete all over the world and will help bring the Bonk Breaker story to active lifestyle athletes everywhere."