Christmas time has just arrived - and spring 2016 has probably already been forgotten by many. Here's a reminder: spring 2016 was legendary and consistently rainy, with constant rain from the beginning of May to mid-June. And in the bike industry, there is a (truism) that nothing is more detrimental to business than a rainy spring. What's the truth in that?

Workshops not working to capacity

"The start was promising, sales were already going well in mid and late February and the order book for repairs was very full. Then came a slump with the long period of bad weather that I have never experienced in my more than 25-year career," says Reto Burki from Tropical Bike & Fun Shop in Solothurn, giving an insight into the start of the 2016 season. Robin Bauer from Bauer Sport in Wettingen also talks about the difficult start that corresponded with the bad weather: "We had extremely few customer conversations and customer frequency between April and June". And just like Tropical, Bauer Sport's workshop was not hit by a storm at the height of the season: "For the first time, we were not working to capacity in the workshop between May and July," says Robin Bauer.

Not just the weather's fault

But it wasn't just the constant rain that made for a mixed season, reports Martin Wüthrich from Rennshop Wüthrich in Burgdorf: "We had a below-average mountain bike season. And the weather wasn't to blame. Because we had an above-average season in the road bike, city/trekking, e-bike and children's bike segments."

Unclear, unsettled

Wüthrich sees the reasons for the lower demand in the market itself: "Today's unconventional variety is causing uncertainty, especially among end consumers. In the store, we can feel this uncertainty among customers for high-quality mountain bikes because customers increasingly need more time to make a decision, inform themselves via several channels and then ask again, then test several models before finally making a purchase decision. The large selection certainly plays a major role here, and our job as dealers must be to be able to competently support the customer in their purchase decision."

Bauer takes a similar view: "We are sensing uncertainty among customers. First came the 29", then 27.5" and now the plus sizes. Customers are taking a wait-and-see approach to buying and are very interested in foreign countries and the internet." Burki formulates another reason for a difficult environment: "The discount war that major distributors have taken up the cause of is having a rather tedious effect, because despite everything, people would be prepared to pay the price for good quality."

A way out of the current confusing market situation for mountain bikes can be seen at Rennshop Wüthrich. "The Habit from Cannondale was a sales highlight. It has a concept and makes a statement. The whole bike was designed, implemented and presented with a specific type of rider in mind."

Improvement in sight

Luckily, the whole season was not characterized by a lack of concept and bad weather. "Things picked up a bit towards the summer vacations, but things didn't really take off. In the fall, things really took off again and helped the year not go down in history as a top flop," says Burki about the situation in Solothurn. Robin Bauer says: "Business picked up again in August and September and we were able to sell good bikes again. At Rennshop Wüthrich, the mood is really positive: "Mountain bike sales picked up again towards the end of the 2016 season and the new 2017 model year, which we see as a positive sign for a good 2017 mountain bike season."