Friday News And Views

BMC is another company suffering from economic headwinds.

 Rumors Dominate Worrying 2024 Outlook:

I continue to see and listen to (on YouTube) that many brands and companies are having difficulties navigating the poor economic situation cycling is suffering through now. 

From brands like Swiss bicycle manufacturer BMC cutting employee hours back to rumors of one of the large bicycle parts distributors having difficulty staying afloat, things seem precarious, to say the least, in the cycling sector. 

A report came out on Tuesday of this week that Shimano's sales were way down and profits were cut in half. That's crazy!

Of course, if you are looking for deals, it doesn't get much better than it is now for someone looking to buy a bike or high-end parts. That won't last forever, and it remains to be seen if that by marking down so severely and flooding the market with product that it will perhaps damp any demand in the near future as people will have bought what they needed and won't be open to buy for some time. 

Some punters in the sector feel that will affect the market for at least two to three more years. Who will make it out the other side when it comes to brands and companies? Time will tell. 

Image courtesy of Twisted Spoke

Twisted Spoke Debuts Single-Serve Pour-Over Coffee:

Last year I went on a ride and stopped at a local park and made some pour-over coffee. It was a very pleasant experience and I've wanted to do that some more coming up this year.  

Now, I realize I am about 20 years late to this, or more, and that I know nothing about "how you are supposed to do this". However you are supposed to do that. Anyway, I received a presser recently that Twisted Spoke, the company famous for its CBD products, has a non-CBD coffee in single serve, pour-over packets now. 

I have zero affiliation with Twisted Spoke, and maybe other companies do this same thing, but I thought it was pretty cool. It would make what I was trying to do easier. What, if anything, do you do for coffee out in the field on a ride? Let me know in the comments. 

Image courtesy of SOMA

SOMA Announces New Vesrion Of Juice 29"er:

Lots of folks may not know, or remember, that SOMA was one of the first to offer a 29"er frame set for folks which was a great value and set many riders off on the path of big wheels. 

That frame set was the Juice 29"er, and it has been offered by SOMA almost as long as the Surly Karate Monkey. In fact, in many ways the Juice has followed the Karate Monkey's development with some important differences here and there, as with the previous version's belt drive capabilities. 

That feature, ironically, has been left off the latest version of the Juice which  is being billed as a somewhat "old school" single track/bike packing/all-day MTB with some modernized features like a steeper seat tube angle and a lowered bottom bracket. they did not go for a slack head tube angle, at least not anything like most of this year's hardtails. With a Soma 485 axle to crown rigid fork ($289.00 extra), the head angle comes out to be a relatively conservative 68.5°. The frame is single speed compatible with sliding drop outs. The frame comes in two color choices, the orange (shown) or a "Desert Metallic" which is a kind of champagne metallic color.

The Tange tubed frame has clearance for up to a 29" X 2.4" tire or a 27.5" X 2.8" tire. Price for just the frame alone is a reasonable $699.00. You can purchase one at the SOMA Shop HERE. 

Comments: It has been a while in coming, but I have often thought that the absence of a reasonably priced, high-value, single track oriented 29"er hard tail was sorely missing from choices out there. This Juice hard tail is a welcome breath of fresh air in a world of choppered-out downhill oriented hard tails that handle like barges on climbs and single track. 

I only wish that this bike had the capabilities to deal with bigger 29"er tires. But be that as it may, it is a great alternative to the usual slack, low, and long 29"er which currently dominates the marketplace. 

New Guitar Ted Podcast:

A new episode of the Guitar Ted Podcast just dropped last night. In it we have some pre-interview banter, N.Y. Roll and I, and then we bring on Dave Pryor.

Dave has been the person I have interviewed the most. He is one of the principals of the unPAved of the Susquehanna River Valley gravel event in Lewistown Pennsylvania. Dave did understudy work in gravel race promotions at Unbound and has a long history of putting on cyclo-cross and other grassroots events on bicycles. So, he has a very unique perspective when it comes to events, how they are put together, how people integrate into them, and more. 

Anyway, if you want to check it out click the link HERE.
 

That's a wrap on this week's FN&V. Thanks for reading Guitar Ted Productions!