I just stopped into Veloshop downtown. When I saw the front window broken out and Molly, the shop’s owner, on the phone and in a somber mood, I expected the worst. Turns out, last night someone broke her window and made out with several thousand dollars of bike parts. For a small shop like Molly’s, … Read more
PepsiCo, the global corporation that owns brands like Doritos and Gatorade, has taken notice of an ad by iconic Portland bike shop, River City Bicycles. At issue is one of PepsiCo’s oldest and most valued brands, Quaker Oats.
[Van for sale] The news is no longer simmering, it is boiling over. Kinesis, the Taiwanese parent company of Mountain Cycle has decided to chart a new course for the local bike brand. The future of the brand is still up in the air, but my sources tell me that it will not include Portland. … Read more
[Retail Manager, Josh Sweet] Universal Cycles has set up shop in Northwest Portland. The company was founded about 10 years ago as an online retailer based in San Francisco and online sales remain a large part of their business today. They’ve been in Portland for 5 years, but their previous storefront was just a tiny … Read more
A few hours ago, an employee of Portland-based bike manufacturer, Mountain Cycle left a suspicious comment on my recent post about the Specialized/Stumptown Saga. The employee wrote, “I don’t think Specialized will be bothering Mountain Cycle any longer. More news to follow…” Then, after being prodded by another commenter, he added, “I have not been … Read more
The March 1 issue of Bicycle Retailer and Industry News (BRAIN) includes a story on the Specialized/Stumptown saga, which first broke on this site back on January 31st. BRAIN is a well-known bike industry trade magazine that goes out to every bike shop and manufacturer in the U.S. The article is not available on-line, but … Read more
[Vanilla Trike! (Photo: MTBR.com)] The North American Handmade Builders Show was held in San Jose, California from Friday to Sunday. The show’s intent is to highlight the work of small, custom bike builders. Portland had an impressive contingent on hand, showing off a tremendous flair for craftsmanship and aesthetic detail. Notably present were Joseph Ahearne … Read more
[Seth’s card] A few weeks ago I asked if you had questions for Kryptonite because I was going to meet with one of their tech guys, Seth Samson. I printed out all of your questions and brought them to dinner. Here are your questions followed by answers I managed to scribble down over beers and … Read more
Local bike component manufacturer, King Cycle Group/Chris King Components has just released the results of their “Pretty and Strong” promotion. Over a four month period they donated a portion of the sales of a limited production run of pink parts to Oregon and SW Washington chapters of the Susan G. Komen Foundation. The final donation … Read more
The “Stumptown” incident is far from over. The Oregonian covers it in their business section today with a front page article by Helen Jung. Helen also writes about it on her blog. This story has sparked 139 comments so far on this site alone and has spread all over the Internet. Specialized has definitely struck … Read more
[In case you haven’t been following the Specialized and Mountain Cycle saga, read this post first.] Yesterday I sent an email to Specialized’s legal person, Kim Arca. I wanted to give them the chance to make a statement because I felt like by saying nothing they were only making things worse for themselves. Here is … Read more
[Not to be confused with Stumpjumper] [UPDATES: A reader has posted the cease and desist letter from Specialized. See it here. (PDF) *Specialized responds.] North Portland based Mountain Cycle and global bike giant Specialized Bicycle Components of Morgan Hill, California are locked in a disagreement that neither side is backing down from. At issue is … Read more