SEATTLE (BRAIN) — REI will close its 151 stores on Black Friday, Nov. 24, and urge its employees and customers to opt to spend time outside, rather than shopping on that day.

This year, the third year that the co-op has closed on Black Friday, REI is launching a new "experiential search engine" at REI.com/opt-outside.

"We are doing this again to unite people and to find common ground in the outdoors," said REI's CEO, Jerry Stritzke. "Right now, I think people are looking for a moment to take a breath, reground themselves and come together. More than 700 organizations and nearly 8 million people have joined #OptOutside over the past two years. We could not be more thankful. But last year we stepped back and said, 'we can do more.' We asked how we could offer new practical tools and inspiration. So we have captured the experiences of the outdoor community and organized them in a way that no one has done before."

The search engine features images pulled entirely from #OptOutside user-generated content on Instagram, augmented with real-time information about locations and experiences across the country. For example, users who click on an image of a hiker can see the name of the specific trail featured, the trail's difficulty rating, directions to the trailhead, recent user reviews of the experience and related advice from REI. 

KIRKLAND, Wash. (BRAIN) — BikeFit is now shipping its Saddle Changer, an updated and much lower priced version of its previous quick-change seatpost, the SwitchIt.  The Saddle Changer is intended for bike shops, fitters, and saddle demo operators, to quickly swap saddles on bikes. 

The Saddle Changer works just as quickly as the SwitchIt, but now can be used on sizing bikes. And it now sells for $349.95, instead of $865.

"There is no better or quicker way to select the best saddle for a cyclist," said Paul Swift, the founder of BikeFit and designer of the Saddle Changer. "Even though it was already easy with the SwitchIt, the new Saddle Changer now works on every sizing bike in the industry. I could not be more proud of the new Changer and its upgrades to service even more cyclists."

The new Saddle Changer is compatible with a variety of seat posts, fit bikes, and indoor bikes due to its variable-width rails. Constructed of alloy and stainless parts, the single-arm design provides a rapid, secure lock on each saddle. The user only needs to lift the arm, turn the saddle 90 degrees, and then easily remove it. Each saddle change is estimated between 5 to 10 seconds, not including the tilt adjustment.

The Saddle Changer is now compatible with fit bikes from Exit, Waterford, Guru, Retul, Purely Custom, and Shimano.

It includes a custom padded carry case and is available at bikefit.com. 

BOULDER, Colo. (BRAIN)—Shipments from Bicycle Product Suppliers Association members to dealers over the first nine months of the year were down 5 percent from the same period last year, an 86,448-unit shortfall. Sales by dollars fell 3 percent.

The only categories to post growth were BMX, up 19 percent over last year, and e-bikes, up 75 percent. Comfort and road bike categories fell most, down 19 and 12 percent, respectively.

While the mountain bike category was down 1 percent overall, front-suspension 29ers posted 11 percent growth, and 27.5 full-suspension bike shipments rose 4 percent. Fat bike shipments were off 3 percent but still remain a larger business for BPSA suppliers than categories such as BMX, cruisers, 26-inch suspension, women's sport road bikes and commuters.

The only road subcategory to show growth was gravel and adventure bikes, where shipments climbed 53 percent and dollar sales were up $17.4 million. The hardest-hit road subcategory continues to be men's performance bikes, which were down 24 percent in shipments. 

Overall, the BPSA's entire business with shops was down $27 million, and men's performance bikes alone were off $23 million in business, showing that growth in sales of other types of bikes has not made up for the fall-off in that subcategory.

HEALDSBURG, Calif. (BRAIN) — Assos will hold its Campionissimo road bike event in Sonoma County next month despite the recent wild fires in the area. The four-day event, Nov. 16-19, includes rides leaving from Healdsburg, which was spared damage from the fires.

A spokesman said the pre-planned routes will go through some areas affected by the fires, but all roads on the routes are open and intact.

The company said the event will "celebrate the region's beauty, resilience and opportunity to re-build."

The second annual event includes complimentary group rides with guides from DuVine Cycling, professional cyclists, Assos ambassadors and staff, and more. The rides will depart from the Assos demo vehicle, the A-Wagon, which will be parked at The Jimtown Store, a well-known cyclists' destination and departure spot. Rides will be available at varying intensities and lengths.

Cervélo bikes will be available for test rides or as loaners for guests who fly in without a bike. Professional coaches Tyler Hamilton and Jim Capra from Tyler Hamilton Training will be providing hands-on, individual and group instruction for cyclists of all abilities. Hamilton also will speak at an opening reception.

All of the rides, pre-ride refreshments and activities are free compliments of Assos, DuVine and other event partners. More information at facebook.com/assosevents. Registration is at bikereg.com/campionissimo.

Assos is urging those interested in supporting rebuild efforts to visit SonomaPride.com, where donations are being made to aid in recovery efforts.

MISSISSAUGA, Ontario (BRAIN) — UPS Canada is testing a custom-made three-wheeled cargo bike to deliver packages in and around the York University campus, as part of a pilot program to test the potential of delivery by bike in Toronto.

UPS unveiled the cargo bike last week at Nathan Phillips Square, where Toronto's mayor, John Tory, celebrated the move as a way to decrease vehicle congestion in the city.

"UPS has a significant presence in Toronto and with innovative solutions like more deliveries being made by bike, this is a step forward in the right direction for courier companies working with the city on easing congestion," Tory said.

A UPS representative said the company would like to test deliveries with an electric-assist bike, but current provincial regulations prevent that. Last year UPS began testing deliveries by electric-assist trikes in Atlanta and Portland. 

"The current pedal-powered model is the first step toward what we hope will become a viable model for urban deliveries," said Aylin Lusi, the vice president of public affairs for UPS Canada. "We hope to work with the government to explore new ways to bring efficient and sustainable delivery solutions to our communities."

The custom trike has a payload capacity of 408 kg (900 pounds). Depending on the size of the packages, the bike can hold up to 50 parcels. Safety features include a lockable, rear cargo door which opens 90 degrees to eliminate the obstruction of view for traffic around the bike, headlights, tail lights, turn signals, side markers and hazard lights. The lights are powered by a solar panel on the roof. The bike is equipped with adjustable side-view mirrors and a polycarbonate safety windshield with a windshield wiper.

CHICAGO (BRAIN) — Thursday's Bikeshare Summit here will explore the benefits of and concerns about dockless bikeshare programs in the U.S. 

The North American Bikeshare Association is hosting the first-ever Bikeshare Right of Way Summit, which will bring together city right-of-way managers, planning professionals and bikeshare companies.

Topics of discussion will include:

• Public goals for bikeshare in the right of way
• Benefits and limitations of emerging technologies to minimize impacts of bikeshare on urban right of way
• Possible approaches to encourage and regulate IoT transportation services that consume public right of way

In the past year, dockless bikeshare systems have expanded into U.S. cities including Seattle, Washington, D.C. and San Francisco.

The Summit is Thursday, Nov. 2 from 1:30 – 4:30 p.m. at the Swissotel Chicago, 323 East Upper Wacker Drive, Chicago.

BERINGEN, Belgium (BRAIN) — Flanders Bike Valley, a cluster of bike companies and other entities formed to encourage the bike industry in this region, is planning to conduct benchmark aero drag testing in its bike-specific wind tunnel this winter.

The wind tunnel will offer an affordable program for manufacturers to test bikes, wheels and helmets in a standardized manner. The results are not intended for marketing and won't be published. All bike brands worldwide are being invited to participate. 

"Flanders Bike Valley has the ambition to help brands, manufacturers and designers to identify their products' relative strengths and weaknesses in terms of aerodynamics," the organization said. It said the testing will be "purely focussed on identifying the relative position of products in the market to be able to discover if and how much room for product improvement there is in the product compared to other products in the market."

The organization will conduct bike testing Dec. 11-15, wheel testing Jan. 28-Feb. 2, and helmet testing March 5-9. Participants will receive test data and photos of their products' wind tunnel results and the results of other products tested, but with those products' brands masked. 

To reduce costs, companies can ship products to the tunnel for the testing, so the company doesn't need to send staff. The tunnel has developed a standardized procedure for the testing but the organization said it is open to input from manufacturers prior to the tests. 

Pricing is 2,000 euros for testing of three bikes or four wheelsets. Helmet testing is 1,000 euros for four helmets. 

The Flanders Bike Valley was founded in 2013 by Bio Racer, Lazer Sport, Ridley, Vox dale (an Indy car aerodynamics company) and Flanders Make (an automotive industry organization). The organization now has more than 70 members. 

More information: flandersbikevalley.be.

PHILADELPHIA (BRAIN) — Lauren Gregg has joined Fuji Bikes as the brand's mountain bike marketing manager. She will be leading Fuji's mountain bike marketing including advertising, and sponsorship. The company said she will also work closely with the Fuji mountain bike product team helping to develop and refine the Fuji mountain bike lineup.

For the last decade, Gregg has been a professional racer. Starting in cross country, and then transitioning to enduro, she earned three USA National Championship medals, and the title of 2014 California Enduro Series Champion. She has been racing for Fuji for two years in the Enduro World Series and across North America. Passionate about supporting young riders, Lauren coached NICA League high school teams and founded Turn Loose, a program that offers mentorship and funding to up-and-coming racers. 

"Working with Fuji for the past two years has been a great experience, and I am so excited to be joining the team as the mountain bike marketing manager," said Gregg. "Since signing with Fuji, I have been very impressed by the bikes and even more so by their commitment to building a great mountain bike program. After meeting the team at Fuji, I knew the position was a perfect fit. This new opportunity will allow me to focus on my love for community building, creating grassroots programs, and getting more people outside having fun on our mountain bikes. Fuji is one of the most impressive companies I've had the opportunity to work with during my time as a racer and I am thrilled to be taking this next step in my career with them."

Fuji's brand director, Brian McKinney, said, "Lauren has been an amazing ambassador for Fuji over her last two year of racing with us. Lauren is not only a great racer, she is also a natural marketer. I'm excited to have Lauren and her passion for riding and community engagement on the team and spreading the word about the awesome new Fuji bikes that are hitting the trails in the coming season."

SAN FRANCISCO (BRAIN) — Strava has released an updated Global Heatmap, first released in 2015. The interactive data visualization is based on more than 1 billion recorded activities from Strava athletes across the globe. The map has six times more data than the 2015 version, and incorporates a wide variety of year-round land and water activities. The map was created in conjunction with Strava Metro, the company's division that offers activity data to municipal planners and others.

"A global community can seem very abstract until you see its activities visually represented in your immediate location and across the world," said Strava's CEO, James Quarles. "It's not just runners and cyclists, either – skiers, hikers, kiteboarders and even mountaineers on Everest are all counted in the more than 1 billion uploads of the Strava community."

The heatmap features data from 31 different activity types. Strava Premium athletes can also access personal heatmaps to visualize their activities over time. 

The heatmap can be viewed at labs.strava.com/heatmap.

MADISON, Wis. (BRAIN) — Saris has released a re-branding of CycleOps, PowerTap and Bike Fixation that emphasizes each brand's connection to Saris. Now each of the brands is being "endorsed" by Saris, so CycleOps has become "CycleOps by Saris," PowerTap is "PowerTap by Saris," and so on.

Two related changes: The Saris Cycling Group name has been changed to simply Saris. And the Saris Parking brand is gone; now the bike parking and infrastructure products are being marketing under the "Bike Fixation by Saris" brand. Saris Cycling Group bought Bike Fixation (then spelled Bike Fixtation) last year.

The new names officially take effect Nov. 1.

Saris is a word that combines the first names of the company's co-founders, Sara and Chris Fortune.

"Our customers want to know who we are and what we stand for," said Chris Fortune. "The answer is the same as it has been since we started: the bike, and its transformative powers, are at the heart of everything we do. We're a tight-knit team of innovators, diligently forging products for various cyclists who are just like us. Together we're committed to creating safer places to ride for not only ourselves, but for our communities as a whole. We've been working as one tribe in one farmhouse with one warehouse since we started, and today we reinforce that message and our mission - united under one brand."

Heather Fortune, the company's marketing direction, said, "Additionally, the more we heard from our customers, the more we recognized the considerable power in linking those positive relationships together. This streamlining of our brand presence will expand and solidify the confidence our customers have in our full portfolio of products, especially across categories. It will also help our retail partners tell the story of who we are and what we stand for, making it easier to seamlessly weave together this connection for our customers."

More information at the company's new website, sarisbrands.com.

OLATHE, Kan. (BRAIN) — Garmin on Wednesday reported a 3 percent increase in third-quarter revenue to $743 million, but the company's fitness segment — which includes cycling products — saw sales decline 12 percent during the period to $167 million.

"The decrease in revenue was primarily driven by the decline of the basic activity tracker market and the timing of our recent product introductions partially offset by growth in the running category," Garmin stated.

Sales in Garmin's outdoor, aviation and marine segments all posted double-digit growth to help offset its flagging automotive business, which declined 12 percent during the quarter to $189 million.

Outdoor revenue alone rose 31 percent to $185 million on strong sales of wearable devices "We experienced strong demand for the Fenix 5 watch series and expect this trend to continue throughout the holiday quarter," CEO Cliff Pemble said during an earnings call.

The outdoor division also entered the dive market during the quarter with the introduction of the Descent dive watch and introduced its first product for the baseball market with the Impact bat swing sensor.

Garmin's marine business saw third-quarter revenue rise 10 percent to $77 million. The company announced this week that it has acquired Navionics, a provider of electronic marine content and applications.

The company raised its overall 2017 revenue guidance to $3.07 billion from a previously stated $3.04 billion.

PHILADELPHIA (BRAIN) — Representatives from the bike industry can register for free admittance to the Philly Bike Expo on the event's website until noon ET Thursday, Nov. 2. There is no registration at the event. 

The show is holding industry hours Saturday and Sunday from 8-10 a.m. Registered suppliers, retailers and credentialed media are allowed in at those times.  The show opens to the public at 10 both days. 

More information: Dealer/industry registration | Media registration | Exhibitor list. 

LANSING, Mich. (BRAIN) – Michigan this week became the seventh state to adopt a three-tiered classification system for electric bikes.

Gov. Rick Snyder on Tuesday signed a trio of bills, backed by e-bike manufacturers and cycling advocates, that also allows e-bikes on certain trails.

"Michigan's trails and natural resources bring together Michiganders and visitors from around the world, and these bills help bicyclists experience the beauty of Pure Michigan in a new, exciting way," Snyder said in a statement.

Morgan Lommele, the e-bike campaigns manager for PeopleForBikes and the Bicycle Product Suppliers Association, said that with the Michigan legislation, 25 percent of the U.S. bike market is now covered by the industry's preferred system for classifying e-bikes — up from zero in just 2½ years.

Other states that have adopted the three-class system are Arkansas, California, Colorado, Illinois, Tennessee and Utah.

Lommele said PeopleforBikes and the BPSA worked with Bosch, which has a big presence in Michigan, and the League of Michigan Bicyclists on the legislation.

E-bikes "are the fastest-growing segment of the bicycle market and are going to play a huge role in the future of bicycling. So I'm excited that Michigan is one of the states on the forefront of the issue," John Lindenmayer, executive director of the Michigan organization, said Wednesday. "I know other states are before us, but usually we're lagging behind when it comes to policy changes."

Lindenmayer said the group started laying the groundwork for the legislation about 18 months ago. The League met with several interested groups and hosted e-bike demos for Michigan lawmakers. He said the bills moved through the legislature quickly and without controversy.

Although Snyder did not play a role in shepherding the bills through the legislature, Lindenmayer said the governor is an enthusiastic e-bike owner.

The Michigan bill allows Class 1 e-bikes — pedal-assist bikes that can reach assisted speeds of up to 20 miles an hour — to go on any rail trail or other trail with an asphalt, crushed limestone or similar surface.

However, state and local authorities retain the authority to regulate or prohibit Class 1 e-bikes on such trails — or, alternatively, to approve the use of Class 2 and 3 e-bikes on them as well. A Class 2 e-bike has a throttle and is limited to a top assisted speed of 20 mph, while a Class 3 e-bike, or "speed pedelec," is a pedal-assist bike with a top assisted speed of 28 mph.

The rail trail provision was especially important, Lindenmayer said: "We have a ton of trails — we have the most rail trails of any state."

To placate mountain bikers, the bill prohibits e-bikes on nonmotorized natural surface trails, unless approved by local or state authorities.

Lommele said her organizations are actively working on similar e-bike bills in Ohio, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Oregon, Idaho, New Jersey and Hawaii.

CARLSBAD, Calif. (BRAIN) — Canyon USA is now offering U.S. customers the option of having their bikes assembled, delivered and fit by Velofix, the mobile bike service franchiser.

Canyon bikes continue to be available shipped directly to consumers, as well. The Velofix option costs the consumer an additional $95.

"Canyon's groundbreaking direct-to-consumer distribution has demonstrated for years around the globe that our riders can expect the highest level of service and quality when purchasing online, and be ready to ride within minutes of receiving their Canyon at home or office," said Canyon USA's president, Blair Clark. "The simple setup process has satisfied hundreds of thousands of customers and is one of Canyon's many unique benefits. By offering the Canyon USA Delivery Service by Velofix we will have another option to serve the customer who desires additional personal assistance from a professional certified mechanic."

Velofix co-founder and CEO Chris Guillemet said, "We are proud to partner with Canyon USA and to offer their customers this additional premium delivery option, bike build, and bike fit by a professional certified mechanic.

"With close to 100 mobile bike shops across the United States, we are perfectly positioned to offer this concierge delivery option to those Canyon customers who are interested."

Canyon customers who chose this Canyon USA Delivery Service option will have their bicycle shipped to their local Velofix mobile bike shop. Velofix will assemble the bike, arrange a delivery time, and assist in a first fitting for the Canyon customer.

More information at canyon.com/en-us/service-support/canyon-service-by-velofix.

PORTLAND, Ore. (BRAIN) —Velotech, Inc., which owns the multi-channel retailer Western Bikeworks and e-commerce site BikeTiresDirect.com, has acquired the TriSports.com brand and has relaunched it in place of its current triathlon brick-and-mortar store and e-commerce site, The Athletes Lounge.

TriSports was founded in 2000 in Tucson, Arizona, by Seton and Debbie Claggett. It grew into one of the largest triathlon e-commerce sites, but declared bankruptcy in 2013 and announced this summer that it would close following a long battle with banks.

Gary Wallesen, the general manager of The Athletes Lounge, said, "This is an exciting time for triathletes in the Pacific Northwest. We'll continue the TriSports rewards program, and have already moved customer accounts and loyalty points over to our system. We've relaunched the TriSports.com website with the goal of offering a wide range of great products at the best prices, a wealth of resources for training and competing, and exceptional customer service. "

The Athletes Lounge retail store is located in Tigard, a suburb of Portland, and will rebrand as TriSports's brick-and-mortar headquarters. Western Bike Works also has a brick and mortar location in Tigard and another in Portland. BikeTiresDirect also has a brick-and-mortar store at its warehouse in Portland.

The Claggets have consulted with Velotech during the transition.  "We're confident that TriSports will be in good hands, in particular due to Gary's insight and experience," said Seton Claggett.

Wallesen has been involved in triathlon since the 1980s as a competitor, coach, and business owner.

Following TriSports closure this summer, its assetts were purchased by Dan Empfield and Mark Montgomery. Empfield, the publisher of SlowTwitch.com, said the pair were only "temporary custodians" of the brand. In a column on Slowtwitch, Empfield said "I didn’t (and don’t!) want or intend to own a retail store, not least because it would be pretty uncomfortable teaching bike fit to retail bike fitters every year if I was their competition. Just, I felt there was still gas in this business’s tank."

Empfield said he bought the brand to help keep it alive and also to learn from the Claggetts. In an email to BRAIN on Wednesday, Empfield said he and Montgomery were continuing to sell off inventory they acquired, but that Velotech had acquired TriSports' domains and trademarks.

"We will liquidate the remaining inventory in a way that is the least disruptive to the IBD community as we can find," Empfield said. "If there was a way we could have sidestepped buying the inventory we would have, but we couldn’t and there you have it.  For a short period of time there will be two entities selling things that are sorta kinda Trisports.com branded:  The eventual and into the future, Trisports.com online retail operation, and our own liquidation of many tens of thousands of dollars of Trisports.com logo’d apparel, water bottles and whatnot. ...

"Once all that Trisports.com logo’d inventory is liquidated the only remaining expression of Trisports.com will be the entity owned in Portland, Oregon.  We’ll try to liquidate everything as quickly as possible to head off any confusion in consumers’ minds, and so we can stand clear of the efforts of the Velotech folks to build their new brand."

Besides Western Bikeworks, BikeTiresDirect and TriSports.com, Velotech also operates the e-commerce sites cyclocross.com and urbancyclist.com. The company is co-owned by Jay Torborg and Lou Doctor. 

SAN MATEO, Calif. (BRAIN) — GoPro on Wednesday reported a 37 percent increase in third-quarter revenue to $329.8 million and net income of $14.7 million, compared with a loss of $104 million in the same quarter a year earlier.

GoPro launched its new flagship Hero6 Black action camera at the end of the quarter. Up to that launch, the Hero5 Black was the best-selling digital image camera in the U.S. for four straight quarters, and the NPD Group reported that during Q3 GoPro's Karma was the No. 2-selling drone priced at $1,000 or higher, GoPro stated.

The company also said it significantly reduced operating expenses in the quarter, reaching a three-year low.

"GoPro has turned a corner, restoring growth and profitability to our business," founder and CEO Nicholas Woodman said in a statement. "We are dedicated to growing as an innovative company, while being a vigilant steward of shareholder capital."

The results surpassed analyst expectations, but GoPro shares fell in after-hours trading following the company's lower-than-expected guidance for the fourth quarter. The company is forecasting sales of $460 to $480 million during the important fourth-quarter holiday period, while analysts had expected $521 million.

GoPro is set to launch its Fusion 360-degree spherical camera at the end of November.

SCOTTS VALLEY, Calif. (BRAIN) — Fox Factory reported record sales of $127.4 million in the third quarter, up 16.9 percent from the same period last year. In its bicycle division, which includes sales through the Fox, Marzocchi, Race Face and Easton Cycling brands, sales were up 8.8 percent in the quarter. Year to date, Fox's bike-related sales were up 8.5 percent over last year.

Fox does not break out sales dollar totals for its bicycle and power vehicle sales in its quarterly reports. Power vehicle product sales were up 27.3 percent in the quarter and 39.9 percent year to date.

Across all its businesses, gross margin increased 140 basis points to 33.4 percent compared to 32.0 percent in the same period last fiscal year.

Fox raised its fiscal year guidance. It now expects sales in the range of $468.5 million to $473.5 million and non-GAAP adjusted earnings per diluted share in the range of $1.50 to $1.54.

"We are pleased to report another quarter of record sales and earnings results which exceeded our expectations," said Fox's CEO Larry L. Enterline. "Our third quarter results reflect continued broad success across both our powered vehicle and bike businesses. Looking ahead, our team remains committed to further building the FOX brand presence in our existing product categories and consistently pursuing new market opportunities."

The company said the increase in sales of bike products "primarily reflects new product introductions, favorable spec positions, and strong sell through with certain higher growth OEMs."

Fox also reported that it has spent $3.17 million year to date on litigation expenses related to several patent lawsuits with SRAM. 

BOULDER, Colo. (BRAIN) — This month IMBA is launching a new fundraising push to fund dozens of pre-approved new mountain bike trail projects around the country. The organization has identifued 68 trail and bike park projects in 31 states that will benefit from the fundraising.

"These projects are a product of the hard work of dedicated volunteer mountain bikers who are making their communities better through trails," said Dave Wiens, IMBA's executive director. "It is our pleasure to introduce a campaign all across the country that supports mountain biking, mountain bikers and trails."

IMBA is reaching out to individuals and the bike industry to raise money, which will be distributed equally to the 68 projects. Although the campaign is not being done through Kickstarter or similar site, IMBA said Dig In should be viewed as a giant "crowdfunding-esque" project. 

This campaign supports 500 miles of new trails, the maintenance of 140 miles of existing trails, 10 new bike parks and/or pumptracks and four trails that will specifically serve the growth of National Interscholastic Cycling Association high school mountain bike racing.

Individuals can support the campaign through Dec. 31 in several ways:
• Give where they ride, making a tax-deductible donation directly to their chosen project.
• Make one donation to be divided equally among all 68 projects.
• Shop with one of IMBA's corporate partners giving back a portion of profits to Dig In.

REI, FOX Racing Shox, CLIF, G-Form, SRAM, Niner Bikes and PeopleForBikes are seeding the campaign. Headsweats, Showers Pass, Shredly, Orange Mud and ZOIC are donating a portion of sales during the campaign to Dig In projects. MTB Project is hosting a fundraising match campaign to support Dig In.

More information at win.imba.com/digin. A complete list of the projects can be seen at docs.google.com.

CHICAGO (BRAIN) — Unlike many of the other markets the BRAIN staff visited on our Dealer Tours, there's been no turnover among the Chicago-area retailers we visited in 2013. If you value stability and you like speaking with the same shop owner year after year, then Chicago is your market.

In our December print issue, BRAIN is revisiting a few of the markets that we've visited on our Dealer Tours over the last few years. Chicago is one of the markets that we're checking in on. 

Of the 14 shops we visited four years ago, none have closed. Three shops have expanded while one downsized.

And it is not just the shops that are stable. A commuter and family dominated market means it is relatively free from chasing every new trend suppliers try out. Chicagoans use bikes for transportation or to efficiently move kids around, bringing service dollars into shops all year long.

Service demand is so high that a few shops were running two shifts of mechanics and still found it hard to keep up. Ciclo Urbano started its own mechanics school to help high school cyclists turn their passion into a career as well as keep on top of its own service needs. Still the supply of mechanics was so tight that many owners said their service departments were perennially understaffed.

There has been one big change since our visit: Jim Kersten of Edgebrook Cycle & Sport restarted the Chicago Area Bicycle Dealers Association and its trade show, which has grown quickly over the last three years. The CABDA show is scheduled to be twice the size it was last year as area retailers get an important trade show tailored to their needs and seasonality.

Another change: Divvy, Chicago's bike share program, launched a month after the BRAIN visit, and is now one of the nation's largest share programs. Has Divvy grown area sales, or cut into them? It's a question we will ask.

E-bikes and cargo bikes, relatively new categories three years ago, were just starting to carve out their place in the Chicago market when we visited. We'll be asking retailers whether those categories and others have impacted business.

BRAIN's Matt Wiebe is writing about changes in the Chicago market. He can be reached at mwiebe@bicycleretailer.com.