“Not a lifestyle, not for fitness: it’s an experience. People like the idea of riding a bike just as they like the idea of going to the park, farmer’s market, lake, picnic, outdoor music/arts, festivals or chatting with neighbors.
Unfortunately most people don’t do it as often as they would like.”
-from Shimano Coasting marketing materials
The bike industry has been buzzing about Shimano’s new Coasting component group since spy photos from Trek’s dealer-only show made it to the web back in August. But so far, official details from Shimano have been scarce.
There isn’t much official on the web (the Coasting website is password protected and won’t be publicly viewable till January), and the only photos and reviews have come from pre-production examples from the Interbike trade show back in September.
Coasting-equipped bikes will be available nationally in March 2007, with a marketing focus on select “bike-friendly” cities*. Portland is one of them, and bikes will be available in dealers here by February. Portland’s official marketing push is planned for June (in hopes of sunny weather).
