What cyclists want today is less and less in line with what the industry offers them. The gap is growing - for economic, communicative and cultural reasons. And it can no longer be overlooked.

1. The price bubble

The fact that prices are exploding is nothing new - but how far they have moved away from the reality of customers is. Whether it's increased production costs, positioning strategies or internal fixed costs: none of this changes the fact that people simply won't buy a bike that is too expensive. Period. Anyone who charges the price of a high-quality full-face helmet for motorcyclists for a 200 gram bicycle helmet should ask themselves whether something has gone fundamentally wrong here. And yet a glance at the price lists of the major brands shows that this understanding is still lacking in many places: This understanding is still lacking in many places.

2. E-bikes - missed potential

E-bikes were once supposed to be the means to get motorists on their bikes too. But after the coronavirus hype, disillusionment has set in. Many have fallen back into their old habits or switched straight to the much cheaper electric scooter. Nevertheless, the industry is reacting as if there were only motorized mountain bikes left. In doing so, it forgets those who once made mountain biking great: sporty riders, weekend adventurers or young people who are simply looking for an affordable mountain bike for beginners. Instead, they outdo each other in battery size and motor power. The soul of the sport? Increasingly ignored.

Seniors with e-mountainbikes now dominate the trails, while young people are hardly being picked up by the sport. The coolness factor of mountain biking could have been preserved and new target groups tapped into at the same time. Thanks to motorization, the age at which the sport is an issue has increased by at least ten years. That's a good thing. It's just a shame that traditional mountain bikers have been forgotten at the same time and their time window has effectively been shortened by 30 years. The industry has lost its compass in its exclusive focus on growth figures. Mountain biking today is, soberly speaking, a sport for well-off senior citizens.

3. Branded clothing for the cow pasture

Anyone who rides the trails at the weekend knows that it's less about style and more about riding. But if you look at the clothing from big brands, you might think that mountain biking is a fashion show for financially strong target groups. T-shirts for 80 euros, bike shorts for 100. The reality? Many have long since turned to cheaper alternatives. But instead of adapting to this reality, the industry is stubbornly sticking to the high-end course. It's almost as if many product managers haven't set foot on a real trail for years.

4. The social media bubble

In hardly any other area is the alienation from the grassroots so clearly reflected as in social media. The cycling industry relies on aesthetically perfect influencers who are more at home in fitness studios than on Alpine passes. Semi-silky reels with half-naked models on 15,000-euro bikes may bring in likes, but not customers. Their marketing focuses on visibility rather than relevance, on reach rather than community.

Platforms such as Instagram have become pure showrooms where people are more dazzled than informed. Yet a mountain bike is a technical product that requires trust, understanding and real information. But instead of engaging with the target group, they press "Boost", look at the Like numbers and consider it a success.

5. China understands the customers - the industry doesn't

While the Western bike industry is preoccupied with itself, Chinese providers are pushing forward with speed, efficiency and a clear view of the market. Aliexpress is showing how to sell functional products at affordable prices. The Chinese brand DJI has shaken up the e-drive market in a short space of time. While the established players are sticking to their existing structures, others have long been setting new standards.

The bicycle industry has maneuvered itself into a bubble of lifestyle, technology fetish and price illusions. Contact with the grassroots has been lost in many places. If you want to re-establish this, you have to ask yourself a simple question: What do cyclists really need - and not just: what can be marketed better?

The author Marco Toniolo is the editor of MTB-Mag, the most important mountain bike platform in Italy. He has been following the sport of mountain biking as a journalist for over twenty years. The original article (in Italian) is available at:
mtb-mag.com