FOUNTAIN VALLEY, Calif. (BRAIN) — The newest Pedego Electric Bikes store, the company's 110th store, is being opened by co-owners Steve "Spike" Pike and his wife Sherry Roueche in Glendale, Arizona. The couple plans a ribbon cutting ceremony Friday and a Grand Opening event on Saturday.

The store is at 5940 West Union Hills Drive in Glendale.

"We discovered Pedego Electric Bikes while on vacation," Roueche said in a Pedego press release. "And we've been enjoying fun, relaxing electric bike rides ever since. With our Pedegos, we can go longer, farther and faster than on traditional pedal bikes."

The store is close to Skunk Creek Trail. Pike plans to offer guided and self-guided tours, including a "Bike and Brew" ride.

Both Pike and Roueche are avid cyclists. Pike's prior career was in sales, and Roueche spent years in healthcare.

"We've seen how much Steve and Sherry love riding Pedego bikes," said Pedego Electric Bikes' CEO and co-founder, Don DiCostanzo. "We know they'll have a lot of fun sharing their cool biking experience with the Glendale region."

More information on the store at PedegoGlendale.com.

KONA, Hawaii (BRAIN) — Lava magazine editors and assistants once again counted bike brands used at the Ironman World Championships triathlon, held Saturday here. The magazine also counted shoes, wetsuits, helmets, saddles, aerobars, hydration system and even oversized derailleur pulleys as a way of assessing what brands have momentum among the elite athletes, pro and amateur, who qualify for the sport's best-known event.

As it has been for several years, Cervelo was the most popular bike by far, with 570 bikes. Trek was a distant second with 261 bikes. 

Canyon bikes made the biggest leap in the last year, moving from 39 bikes a year ago (15th most popular) to 102 bikes this year, putting the German brand in 6th place. The order of the top five were unchanged since last year: 1. Cervelo, 2. Trek, 3. Specialized, 4. Felt, 5. Argon 18.

In the helmet count, Rudy Project came out on top for the 7th year in a row, with 480 of the brand's helmet in use. Giro was second. 

The full results are at lavamagazine.com/2017-ironman-bike-count.

LAGUNA HILLS, Calif. (BRAIN) – Bicycle Retailer & Industry News and PeopleForBikes are collecting new listings and updates for the 2018 Industry Directory.

The Industry Directory is the most complete listing of more than 2,500 North American organizations serving the bicycle industry and its retailers. It will be available in digital format only and emailed to BRAIN digital subscribers in January.

RAPID CITY, S.D. (BRAIN) — Strider is launching a new balance bike that quickly converts to a pedal bike when a child is ready.

The Strider 14x Sport comes with the Easy-Ride Pedal Kit, which the company said can be installed in five minutes with one bolt. 

"We've established that training wheels and tricycles are obsolete," said Ryan McFarland, the CEO and founder of Strider Sports. "Balance bikes are the best way to train our children how to ride. We've brought the entire learn-to-ride process together into one amazing bike. The Strider 14x Sport Balance Bike with the Easy-Ride Pedal Kit is the only bike you will need to help your child ride with instant success. The 14x is proof that a child, no matter their experience level, can ride a bike in no time and achieve this life-changing milestone. Tested by eager 3- to 7-year-old riders, their input helped us refine it into the best bike possible for a child."

The 14x has fully adjustable seat and handlebars so it can fit kids age 3-7. It also has shorter crank arms and a narrower q-factor to fit kids legs and hip sizes.

It's available in the Continental U.S. now in either Fantastic Green or Awesome Blue from Strider Sports. It comes with the Learn to Ride – Stride Guide and Learn to Ride – Pedal Guide. It retails for $209.99.

CHICAGO (BRAIN) — Organizers of the 2018 CABDA Expo opened registration for dealers on Monday. 

The trade-only eventw will be held  100,000 square foot Schaumburg Convention Center. Jim Kersten, the show's director and the president of CABDA, said that the new venue allows for a larger floorplan that can accommodate the increased demand for booths and demo space.

"Last year we crammed as many booths into the halls as we could; it was really packed. But we still had to turn away companies that wanted to exhibit. We just didn't have the space." Kersten said.

The new venue also allows for larger seminar and breakout room capacity. Clinics and workshops at the CABDA Expo are being organized by the Professional Bicycle Mechanics Association.

"Demand for our clinics last year caught us off guard. The rooms were overflowing. Most were standing room only, and we had folks crowding in doorways." Kersten said, "With the PBMA running the seminars we anticipate even more interest, and this time we'll have the capacity."

The 2017 event drew nearly 2,000 attendees from 485 shops across 22 states.

"In the beginning, I took out a map and drew a 200-mile circle around Chicago, and then I called every shop in the circle. Things have certainly changed." Kersten said. "We're continuing to grow our base in the Midwest, but we're also getting interest from dealers from the East Coast, the Rust Belt, and the South. We'll be doing direct mail to 38 states."

The expo is Feb. 14-15. Registration is free to bike dealers and their staffs until Jan. 31. The event also features a free industry party and a free keynote breakfast

Exhibitor information and dealer registration can be found at cabda.com.

BERKELEY, Calif. (BRAIN) — The National Interscholastic Cycling Association has reached a new agreement with Club Ride, the Idaho-based apparel brand.

"We are honored that Club Ride has joined NICA's Corporate Booster Club and will be contributing a portion of revenue generated from the sale of their excellent clothing," said Austin McInerny, NICA's president. "By doing so, they are joining a number of leading brands who believe in NICA's goal of wanting to provide every American teenager the opportunity to build strong body, mind and character through participation on school based mountain bike team. Club Ride has seen first-hand how NICA's youth cycling and adult coach training programs are energizing communities across Idaho and they know that with additional support, NICA can continue to expand efforts to expand cycling opportunities into underserved communities and further initiatives to get more teens and, especially, young women riding."

Mike Herlinger, the founder of Club Ride, said, "We worked with the NICA Idaho League last season, which was very successful. Seeing the volunteers, coaches, families and student-athletes all supporting and enjoying time outdoors while competing against one another at the League races, made us want to support NICA's movement to get more kids on bike in America. By providing financial support from the sales of Club Ride gear, we are proud to strengthen NICA's efforts to expand their programs to more communities across America."

In addition to becoming a NICA Corporate Booster Club member with a tax-deductible donation, Club Ride will be donating a portion of sales of custom items embossed with NICA logos. The custom items can be viewed on the Club Ride website. 

ALISO VIEJO, Calif. (BRAIN) — Distributor Highway Two has promoted four people within the company and added a new hire.

Brendan Gecik and Justin Savord have been promoted to joint North American sales managers. Gecik will be focused exclusively on the IBD segment of H2's business, leading the 35 outside sales reps and assisting with the inside sales team. Savord will be focused on managing all key accounts and distributors, along with leading the inside sales team.

Collin Berry has also been promoted to the inside sales team lead.

Lowell Stoelting, the H2 operations manager, has announced his retirement at the end of the month. In his place, H2 has promoted Heather Boughan from the role of credit manager to be the branch manager at the company's distribution facility in Olney, Illinois. Industry veteran David First, previously with Shimano, has been hired to head up H2's credit department as the credit manager.

Highway Two's president, Simon McNair, said, "Change is great, especially when we can promote from within and keep developing our employees. Brendan, Justin and Collin have gone above and beyond in helping the continued growth of H2 in this challenging market and deserve the promotions. Heather Boughan has played a great role in the accelerated growth of H2 over the past 8-plus years as our credit manager and we couldn't be happier to have her step into a larger role within the organization. Lowell has done an amazing job and we wish him luck in his retirement. We are also very excited to onboard David First as our new credit manager. He brings a different level of expertise that will really round out our credit team. Our team has never been stronger and we are ready for 2018 and beyond."

Highway Two, LLC is a joint venture between Continental Tires and Selle Royal. It distributes Continental, Fizik, Crankbrothers, Selle Royal, Brooks England, Kask, Abus, Knog and Osmo.

SAN FRANCISCO (BRAIN) — DZR has introduced two new limited edition shoes: The Reflective and The Valencia. The DZR clipless cycling shoes have variable flex shank technology, a sturdy heel stabilizer and recessed SPD cleat design that transitions from walking to riding.

"Highlighting safety, comfort, and adaptability, the Reflective LTD and Valencia clipless shoes check all the boxes. Day or night, on the bike or off, commuting or just hanging out, these new DZR kicks will keep you riding safely in style," the company said. 

The Reflective LTD, a fully reflective, clipless compatible slip-on sneaker. The SPD-compatible cycling shoes are built with a insole that performs on and off the bike, while being wrapped in a 600 luminosity material covering the topside of the shoe. MSRP is $139.

The Valencia hi-top is made with a mesh material with a thin perforation that surrounds the majority of the shoe to create a comfortable airflow.T he outsole is constructed with rubber studs to help grip the shoe to the pedal for a more secure feel. A reflective heel badge is helps nightime visibility.

MSRP is $139.

More information: dzrshoes.com.

PARK CITY, Utah (BRAIN) — Park City Bike Demos, a "prototype location" for a retail concept that plans to expand nationally, has hired two new employees.

Jackie Baker, formerly a marketing and global product manager at Giant / LIV Bikes, joins to initially develop a scalable level of coffee services in the 2,800 square foot space in Park City. She will eventually transition to systems management behind and rental and rental-to-sales execution, the company said.

Ron Yerrick, a longtime demo operator and race team support mechanic at Cannondale, is joining the business full time after having served as the prototype store's manager for the summer. He joins Paul Quigley, who has been at the location for two years. Yerrick will be focusing on bicycle maintenance and other physical initiatives of the operation.

The company said Park City Bike Demos will eventually change its name to Demos.Bike. The company plans to have 6-8 stores nationwide, plus a demo-based e-commerce platform. They also plan to release a series of SAAS (software as a service) and service offerings that will be made available to other non-competing retailers.

Andre Shoumatoff, the company's founder, said in a statement, "now three years in as a retailer, we've concluded that it's nearly impossible for retailers to stay ahead of the curve in the current technical climate of the bicycle industry, and that so few operations business structures are standardized across the industry. We are personally working to solve that within our organization, and we're already starting to see margin increases, primarily in reducing man hours required to get surprisingly basic retailer operations made more efficiently. We're extremely excited to have Ron and Jackie join us full time. They both see our vision and are already working very hard to make it happen."

Park City Bike Demos offers demos, rentals and sales from Felt, BMC, Devinci, Argon 18, Reynolds Cycling, Turner, Knolly and other brands. 

More information: parkcitybikedemos.com/about-park-city-bike-demos.

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, Calif. (BRAIN) — Interbike's Fall CycloFest trade and consumer festival is set to begin its second edition in Charlotte on Thursday with a new format aimed at making it easier for retailers to take part in education sessions and also demo bikes from nearly 20 brands.

Rather than run seminars and tech sessions concurrently with the demo at the U.S. National Whitewater Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, the mornings of the two trade days will be devoted to education, with the demo starting at 1 p.m. Thursday and at 11 a.m. Friday.

Interbike vice president Pat Hus said that at the inaugural CycloFest last fall "there were a lot of retailers who wanted to be in the education but they also wanted to be able to get out and ride because it's such an amazing place to go ride. The exhibitors were frustrated too because the traffic on the first day was really light, but we had 150 people in conference rooms on education sessions.

"People wanted that education, but they were conflicted. So that's why we're staggering it — it allows people to do both," Hus added.

CycloFest organizers also made a last-minute addition to the education slate with a pair of sessions from point-of-sale system provider Lightspeed due to strong retailer interest at last month's Interbike expo in Las Vegas.

"It was an observation we had at Interbike — they were slammed. The retailers were all in that booth, presentation after presentation. We spoke to them in the last couple weeks and asked if they were interested. So that's something new we're bringing in," Hus said.

The education schedule for the trade days also include tech clinics by RockShox Campagnolo and SR Suntour, as well as a two-part Mann University GEAR retail sales training program.

On Friday, the demo will now be open to consumers starting at 1 p.m., a response to the drop-off in dealer attendance exhibitors saw on the second day of last year's demo.

"Thursday was busier than Friday, and we didn't want to see that let off. That's why we opened it up in the afternoon to consumers," Hus said.

CycloFest continues through the weekend with a consumer demo Saturday and Sunday. More than 3,000 consumers attended the two days last year, with the majority turning out Saturday. Hus said he expects the same pattern this year.

Last year, 1,150 retailers from 600 stores pre-registered for CycloFest, with about 500 attending over the two trade days. Pre-registration this year is down about 15 percent, which Hus said was not unexpected given the tough year for the industry.

"It's not that different than what we experienced with Interbike, so not surprising. But I think we're going to have a good turnout. I just don't think it's going to be as big as the consumer piece. Last year we had about 500 retailer bodies out there. This year I'll be stoked if we get 400 or 450," he said.

Exhibitor count is also down, from about 115 last year to fewer than 60 for the second edition.

"We have a lot of the key brands back, but because it's a consumer demo event, some of the brands who thought it would be more of a trade event found out most people were out there to ride bikes," Hus said of last year's festival. "For some exhibitors the outdoor event just doesn't work. Like clothing companies that didn't come out there to sell stuff, just to display, I think they found it wasn't everything they had hoped. So I think we've lost some of them.

"And I think there are a number of brands that are trying to shore up financials after a difficult year. So fourth-quarter events, if those companies are behind on margin, are getting clipped," Hus added.

There should be plenty of bikes for both retailers and consumers to ride on the Whitewater Center's 25-plus miles of trails and surrounding roads. Nearly as many bike suppliers as last year are set to demo, including returning brands Pivot Cycles, Rocky Mountain, Santa Cruz, Specialized and Haibike.

Those companies will exhibit with other brands and industry organizations in a new location closer to the Whitewater Center's facilities, which include its manmade rapids, a stage for music acts, and the Pump House Biergarten, where an industry happy hour is set for Thursday night. Last year the demo was staged in a dirt lot underneath the hum of high-voltage power lines.

"It'll create more engagement with the Whitewater Center. I think it's going to work out awesome," Hus said.

Organizers are also bringing back the Fall CycloFest Cyclo-Cross race, which is part of the North Carolina Cyclo-Cross (NCCX) Series, on Saturday, as well as the Sunday Social Ride for road riders on the final morning and the Gravel Grinder Social Ride on Sunday afternoon.

Three new enduro and cross-country mountain bike races were also planned for this year's festival, but Interbike pulled the plug on them this week due to low registration numbers.

"It's a bummer, but we're still learning here. We tried to throw a bunch of racing at it in the hope that we'd draw a bigger audience, but what the Whitewater Center has been hearing, and we have as well, is the people that are coming out are coming out to demo bikes, not to race. They're not bringing their own bike to race. They're coming out to throw a leg over all these cool brands we've got. That's the driver," Hus said.

More information: cyclofest.com.

SAN FRANCISCO (BRAIN) — Ofo, a dockless bike share platform, has hired former Uber manager Chris Nakutis Taylor to run its U.S. business.

Ofo operates in 180 cities in 16 countries. It has launched in the U.S. in Seattle; Washington, D.C.; Worcester and Revere, Mass.; and Aurora, Colo. 

Taylor was most recently a regional general manager for UberEats, Uber's food delivery service, for the West and South regions. He previously was a territory manager for Uber's ride business and is also the former CEO of Stork Stack, a baby products e-commerce brand. 

"We are thrilled to bring Chris on to run Ofo's U.S. operations," said Dai Wei, Ofo's founder and CEO. "Since launching in August, we have seen Ofo taking off in the U.S., where we have enormous potential. Chris's strong background in tech, whether at his own start-up or his time at Uber, make him the right person to expand Ofo even further."

Taylor said, "I'm very excited to join this team and a company that is leading in the bike-sharing space. Around the world, they have shown that station-free bike-sharing can improve everyday lives by making transportation more convenient, more affordable, better for the environment and more fun. I look forward to continuing to bring this offering to more American cities in the near future."

NEW YORK (BRAIN) — Hearst has agreed to acquire the magazine and book businesses of Rodale, the parent of Bicycling magazine and 92 other titles

Hearst president and CEO Steven R. Swartz, Rodale's CEO, Maria Rodale and Hearst Magazine's president, David Carey, made the announcement Wednesday. The transaction is expected to close in early 2018 after government approvals. Terms were not disclosed. The Wall Street Journal has reported that the price was less than $225 million. Both companies are privately held.

Rodale publishes 93 titles in 64 countries, including Men's Health, Women's Health, Prevention, Rodale's Organic Life, Runner's World and Bicycling. The company's book division has published Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth," Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz's "Onward" and Dave Asprey's "The Bulletproof Diet." 

Upon completion of the acquisition, Rodale's multi-platform content business will be managed by Hearst Magazines, a unit of Hearst with more than 300 editions and websites around the world, including 20 titles in the U.S.

Carey said, "Maria Rodale has grown her family's business into a peerless authority that reaches an enormous audience. Hearst and Rodale are already publishing partners around the world, including the U.K., the Netherlands and Japan, and we've seen first-hand how the content resonates. We are pleased to add them and all of Rodale's brands to our vibrant and varied global portfolio, providing readers with dependable information and offering marketers unbeatable scale and a trustworthy environment in the increasingly important health and wellness space."

Maria Rodale said, "We have a long-standing respect for Hearst's commitment to connecting consumers with imaginative, engaging content across an ever-diversifying choice of platforms, technologies and experiences around the world. We believe our exceptional brands, businesses and employees will thrive in this culture of innovation and we are confident that Hearst's stewardship will continue to grow the passionate and purpose-driven communities that Rodale has built over the past 70 years."

Hearst's major interests include ownership in cable television networks such as A&E, HISTORY, Lifetime and ESPN; majority ownership of global ratings agency Fitch Group; Hearst Health, a group of medical information and services businesses; 30 television stations such as WCVB-TV in Boston and KCRA-TV in Sacramento, Calif.; newspapers such as the Houston Chronicle, San Francisco Chronicle and Albany Times Union, nearly 300 magazines around the world including Cosmopolitan, ELLE, Harper's BAZAAR and Car and Driver; digital services businesses such as iCrossing and KUBRA; and investments in emerging digital and video companies such as BuzzFeed, Vice, Complex Networks and AwesomenessTV. 

MONTRÉAL (BRAIN) — Lightspeed POS Inc. has closed a $166 million Series D investment led by Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, with participation from Investissement Québec, iNovia Capital and a credit line from Silicon Valley Bank.

The investment brings the total amount invested to $292 million.

Lightspeed said it remains focused on providing POS technology solutions for retail and restaurant businesses. The additional investment supports further innovation and global expansion, it said.

"The retail and restaurant industries now require businesses to deliver a greater and more unique experience to thrive," said Dax Dasilva, the founder and CEO of Lightspeed. "Lightspeed is leading the digital transformation with our powerful, easy-to-use platform, which enables your favorite local businesses to increase revenue, continue to innovate, and ultimately deliver an extraordinary shopping or dining experience."

"Two years ago, when we first invested in Lightspeed, the company was already considered a Canadian leader in its field. Today, its solutions are used in more than 100 countries and Lightspeed is the world's largest company in its sector. This success is due to the impressive innovations that it implemented and the strategic vision of its experienced management team," said Christian Dubé, the executive vice president at la Caisse. "This investment is part of our commitment to provide long-term support to Québec's new-economy companies as they grow internationally."

The company now operates in more than 100 countries, in multiple languages and currencies, and processes over $15 billion in transactions annually. It has nearly 50,000 customers on its platform

BREMBATE, Italy (BRAIN) — 3T America has hired former PressCamp operations manager Chad Battistone as its customer connection manager, charged with helping drive sales of the entire 3T America product range.

Prior to joining PressCamp, Battistone worked with VNU Expositions on its Interbike event.

Established in early 2016, 3T America has launched the Exploro multi-surface bike and looks to accelerate its growth following the launch of the Strada road bike.

3T America's general manager, Dave Koese,l said, "We're thrilled Chad is joining us. He has a long career in customer service and driving and achieving company goals. His 25 years of experience in many facets of the industry will make him a valuable asset as 3T continues to grow its product mix and scope of offerings, including the all-new Strada and expansion of the Exploro frames into a complete $3,990 bicycle option.

"We already have an active and enthusiastic community of Exploro riders. Our Strada bike won the Product Innovation Award at Interbike and that'll help us build the same momentum for the new bike."

The company said Battistone "will develop metrics and methods to create, measure, and manage sales and operational tasks that create and solicit customers with loyalty and two-way engagement."

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, Calif. (BRAIN) — Emerald Expositions has released dates for its winter Outdoor Retailer + Snow Show, its Summer Market and its Winter Market events through their 2022 editions. Emerald bought the Snow Show from SIA earlier this year and announced it was combining the ski/snowbard show wth its winter OR show and would hold the combined events in Denver.

Here are the dates:

2018:

• Outdoor Retailer + Snow Show: Jan. 25-28
• Outdoor Retailer Summer Market: July 23-26
• Outdoor Retailer Winter Market: Nov. 8-11

2019

• Outdoor Retailer + Snow Show: Jan. 8-11
• Outdoor Retailer Summer Market: June 17-20
• Outdoor Retailer Winter Market: Nov. 5-8

2020

• Outdoor Retailer + Snow Show: Jan. 7-10
• Outdoor Retailer Summer Market: June 22-25
• Outdoor Retailer Winter Market: Nov. 9-12

2021

• Outdoor Retailer + Snow Show: Jan. 11-14
• Outdoor Retailer Summer Market: June 14-17
• Outdoor Retailer Winter Market: Nov. 15-18

2022

• Outdoor Retailer + Snow Show: Jan. 10-13
• Outdoor Retailer Summer Market: June 10-13
• Outdoor Retailer Winter Market: Nov. 11-14

HEERENVEEN, Netherlands (BRAIN) — Accell Group N.V.'s board informed shareholders at a meeting Thursday that it will appoint Ton Anbeek as CEO and chairman of the board of directors, as it previously announced.

Anbeek is the permanent replacement for longtime CEO and chairman Rene Takens, who announced in February that he was retiring. Hielke Sybesma, Accell's CFO, has served as interim CEO since April.

Anbeek officially takes the positions Nov. 1.

Also on Thursday it was announced that Aad Kuiper, a member of the Accell Supervisory Board, will step down because of increased responsibilities at Hunter Douglas. The company will begin a search for a replacement.

Accell Group's best known bike brands are Haibike (Germany), Winora (Germany), Batavus (Netherlands), Sparta (Netherlands), Koga (Netherlands), Lapierre (France), Ghost (Germany), Raleigh and Diamondback (UK, U.S., Canada), Tunturi (Finland), Atala (Italy), Redline (U.S.), Loekie (Netherlands) and XLC (international). 

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (BRAIN) — Heller Bikes has released an updated Shagamaw model for 2018.

The Shagamaw is a carbon hardtail built for 27.5-plus wheels. It will also accept 29-inch wheels with tires up to 2.5 inches. 

The frame has internal routing for cables and dropper post, 148x12 Boost spacing, and is designed around a 130mm travel suspension fork. It comes in three sizes. The frame can be run with a double crankset with a side swing/front pull style front derailleur and a Boost-compatible band clamp adapter.

A complete bike with SUNringlé Duroc 40 tubeless-compatible rims, SRAM GX 1x11 drivetrain, RockShox Revelation RC and Maxxis Rekon tires retails for $2,599. A frame retails for $1,250. 

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (BRAIN) — Fox Factory is renovating a 20,000 square foot facility in South Asheville that will house a regional headquarters, with sales, finance, R&D, service and distribution for the company. Fox said the facility will eventually create about 47 new jobs.

Joining Fox at the new facility are Kevin and Shelley Booth, the former owners of Asheville-based Suspension Experts, along with three of their former employees. 

Larry L. Enterline, Fox's CEO, said, "Along with a very passionate mountain biking culture, we believe Asheville offers us the ability to tap into a top-notch talent pool to help us continue to improve our business in these functional areas."

Industry Nine and Cane Creek are also based in the Asheville area, and the Economic Development Coalition for Asheville-Buncombe County has made it a priority to attract outdoor companies to the region. The Coalition says Western North Carolina has more than 30 manufacturers, distributors and outfitters producing products for biking, boating, camping and other sports.

BOULDER, Colo. (BRAIN) — Stores have closed, sold, opened, remodeled and expanded since BRAIN's Dealer Tour of the Denver area in 2011. And we've all gotten a little older.

Since our first tour in 2008, BRAIN has visited more than 300 retailers, in 24 markets, on our periodic pedal-powered expeditions around the U.S. and Canada. In our December magazine, we will take a look back at some of the markets we previously visited. We'll touch base with retailers we featured to assess what has worked and what hasn't and how the markets and the industry have changed.

We are also giving our web readers a chance to weigh in. For the next few Thursdays we are going to re-run some of our previous Dealer Tour print coverage on the web (in the form of pdf's of the multi-page magazine features). We invite folks from those markets to enjoy a look back. Feel free to leave comments if you think there's someone in that market we should talk to before writing our update story. You can also contact the BRAIN editor who is researching and writing the update for each market.

On the 2011 Denver area tour, we visited and profiled Boulder Cycle Sport, University Bikes, Bicycle Village, Vecchio's and Full Cycle in Boulder; Giant Cycling World in Littleton; Bike Source, Treads, Bicycle Outfitters, Campus Cycles, and Salvagetti Bicycle Works in Denver; Golden Bike Shop in Golden and Wheat Ridge Cyclery in Wheat Ridge.

We know one of the stores (Salvagetti's) has closed — but its owner has moved on to an interesting project. At least three stores have changed ownership and several expanded. Since the tour, an outdoor velodrome has opened in nearby Erie, an indoor track in Boulder has closed, and several new bike parks have been constructed around the region. Fat bikes became a big thing and then ... not so much. Many multi-business bicycle communities have sprung up, including two in Boulder, testing a new model that brings consumers closer to entrepreneurial manufacturers and service providers.

Colorado Front Range resident Steve Frothingham, BRAIN's web editor, is writing the update story. He can be reached at sfrothingham@bicycleretailer.com.

More information:PDF of 2011 magazine feature.