I ran across this post from James Thomas of the Bicycle Design blog last night. It shows a prototype Trek Stop (think truck stop) that’s currently located outside a bike shop in Madison, WI. Think of the Trek Stop as a vending machine merged with a mechanic’s bike stand wrapped in the styling of a gas station awning. The vending machine sells all of the basics you may need while out and about on your next ride including tubes, patch kits, water bottles, etc. I could see these units being a success in areas where bikes shops aren’t currently found - in dense urban areas, near parks and trails that handle a lot of cycling traffic, or near mass transit hubs. Overall I think it’s a great concept whose time may appropriate with the cost of gasoline on the rise and the renewed interest in bikes as viable commuting options.

It’s been a few months since I attended Interbike 2007 in Las Vegas which, for those of you who aren’t familiar, is one of the largest bicycling industry trade shows on the planet. All of the big bicycle manufacturers are there with their new bike line-ups for the coming year and all of the accessory and clothing manufacturers vie for the attention of bike dealers in hopes that they’ll pick up their product lines. It’s a great opportunity to see what’s going on overall in the industry and peep the newest innovations and products before they hit the general consumer. It’s also the perfect place to notice trends that will shape the industry for the next few years. Since the show, I’ve been thinking a lot about some of the trends I see in bike design and marketing.

Change in the bike industry traditionally starts on the fringes and then gets picked up by the mainstream market, so it’s fitting to look at some of the smaller players in the field to see where they see opportunity for new products and ideas. Passionate, small players are the ones willing to take risks, so its interesting to see what opportunities they see in the market. The following report is my unscientific, off-the-cuff observations of developing trends in the cycling industry.

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