From that moment on, the ordinary bike was a Plus Enduro. Just the word: plus. You can't put a more positive spin on a trend, can you? You have to hand it to the American marketing people. They have a soft spot for snappy terms.

After two years of being a sinker

Now guess how long the bike that had just become a plus bike was in the store? Two days! What does the salesperson learn from this? Not only does "sex sells" apply, but the latest maxim is "plus sells". Or as an electronics store would probably headline it: "Plus is cool".

Not a clown act

And that's how it really was in the store: the buyer's eyes immediately lit up at the sight of the semi-fat tires. "Yes, that looks cool. It's not such a clown thing, like those bizarrely large fat bike tires". And the plus aspirant went even further: "With these fatbike riders, I can't get rid of the feeling that they have to compensate for something. A lack of size in certain body parts, for example."

Sex sells - plus sells

The salesman immediately realized that what the trade press was saying was not true: Plus bikes are not for anxious riding technique dummies or even for women. The plus bike positions itself as a suitable companion for the size-sensitive and self-confident gentleman who has nothing to compensate for. And what would the American marketing man say in just two words? Size matters.