Which Way to the Bike Industry, Please?
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An outsider's view of today's bicycle industry, in the throes of technological change and demographic shifts in commuting patterns, but trying to find balance and to see things in perspective.
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Which Way to the Bike Industry, Please?
- 1. ¡°Which Way to the Bike Industry, Please?¡± By: John F. C. Cheong, Ph.D. Feedback and comments to: johnc@spacemachine.net.Rev.2016.0622 bicyclette.
- 2. Bicycle Industry Value Chain (This Way):
- 3. Three Business Processes 3-Part Logistics Along the Bicycle Value Chain:
- 4. Bicycle Maker¡¯s Value Chain My nose says this other way¡ The Bicycle Value Chain: Do the Math? Seekmargins you must.
- 5. A ¡°Demand-Pulled¡± Sales + Distribution Model? ¡°Plan A¡±: Not Pushing Through (Not Enough Margins)? ¡°Plan B¡±: Pull A Backup (Just in Case)? It¡¯s easy! ¡ still the pavement! Q: ¡°What is the hardest part about learning to ride a bike?¡±
- 6. What Does a ¡°Build-To-Order¡± Operations Look Like?
- 7. Is ¡°Direct-to-Consumer¡± Business Model Viable? (3 Examples of Selling Simple, Stylist, and Affordable Bikes Online) New Companies Year Founded 2009 2014 2009 Founder(s) College Students Dave Weiner Fleetwood Hicks Headquarters Venice, CA New York, NY Dallas, TX Initial Funding $15K USC grant + $10K family loan $550K/$30K Kickstarter Bootstrapped Investment None None $500K Shark Tank Pitch Annual Sales $650K (2012) $2.1M (2014) $500K (first 6 mo) $500K (2014) $2.0M (2015) ASP of Bikes < $1,000 $399 $385 What a Typical Bike Look Like?
- 8. A Commuter Bike Ad of One Person¡¯s ¡°Dream Bike¡±:
- 9. Battery-Powered Illuminators: Integrated vs. Retrofit? Lync 5: $1,469 One Detachable 4-hr Battery Two Tail Lights 500 Lumens Front Light $16 $39 $140$50 $17 $229 $68 €39Battery-Free, Frictionless
- 10. What Riders Agreed On: ¡°One Battery Too Many.¡± Batteries are completely unnecessary on this bike. I have a dynamo front wheel on all my bikes, with permanently installed lights. No batteries, powered by rolling down the street, can't feel any drag at all, and they meet German requirements that they not blind people by actually putting light on the road, not just into driver's eyes. Building the lights into the frame is great, but they should be powered by a dyno hub, not a battery pack. My lights are on whenever I'm riding, day or night, and I never have to worry about charging a thing. Just try any Vanmoof bike, they've had the integrated lighting for years, along with integrated hub dynamo's and a far more refined design than the Lync. And a lower price at that! The battery is a great idea but why not charge on the bike... a tiny generator would make this work. They've been around forever to power incandescent... with LEDs you need a fraction of the juice. It looks nice, but for $1,300 you'd think they could throw a dyno hub on there. It wouldn't be enough to keep a 500 lumen light going constantly, but it should extend the battery life somewhat. 8 Speed: $1,298 Lync 5: $1,469
- 11. Isn¡¯t This What Commuters Look for in a Bike? (It¡¯s Been Around for Some Time; Available Online, Too!) Zero Theft Zero Hassle Zero Wire Connection $1,298 $1,098 Zero here would be nice!
- 12. Basic Logic of Marketing for a ¡°$300 Lights Package¡±¡ Kangaroos are good riders; but they don¡¯t ride at night, and are easily distracted by phones. Rhinos are invincible riders; they almost never worry about brake lights or turn signals. The ¡°Lights Package¡± (all integrated for just $300) Frogs are fragile, confused riders; but they already upgrade to the scooter (with all the lights plus GPS navigation). Pigs are lazy, sloppy riders. They don¡¯t signal turns; and always forget their batteries. Now, who remains in the universe of riders who¡¯ll be needing a $300 ¡°Lights Package¡±? Phone Mount & Head Light & Tail Light & Brake Light & Turn Signals & Don¡¯t-Steal-My- Bike & More¡!
- 13. Finding Balance + Seeing Everything in Perspective¡ The greatest riders of all: the dogs, of course! Dogs hail from a proud lineage of great cyclists. And then some, if an investor!
- 14. Hmm¡ An ¡°Island Economy¡± for Bikes Down Under? Look Ma, ONE hand!
- 15. Not A Pipe Dream? How Hard Could It Be? This is after all, a bicycle.