At last week's Shift Cycling Culture Barcamp, I tried to bring a dose of PMA (Positive Mental Attitude), not only to the conference but to the industry:
In my session, we talked about grassroots organizing, leaning on local partners, communication with a personal tone & ways to step up and improve. My personal examples:
- In-Person | From Roll Call to Dox Under The Tracks: the power of regular face-to-face events on the bike or otherwise to build community shared memories and opportunity.
- In-Market | Our recent ride with Hunt, Classified, Albion & Jaegher, Velofollies isn't known for social rides (was this the only one?), and fewer people would have known without leaning on a local partners to build the buzz
- In Your Inbox | Feedback from this newsletter and those read each week: a personal tone + regularity builds rapport, response & trust.
- Organize Instead of Complain | hating on Eurobike is de rigueur, but when's the last time those taking potshots in their posts took cues from the 3 points above and brought people together?
Thursday's Barcamp felt like the perfect venue to drive these points home, as the collaborative nature of the event not only brought industry colleagues together to collaborate on challenges we all face, but it also fostered a feeling of shared success across competitors realizing that we're not out here to beat each other in the end but to all help make sure that the bike can win!
Have a good week ahead & thank you for reading,
Jon
Twotone is celebrating 11 Years and we've updated our annual offer: Every paid subscriber makes a big difference! Thank you! 😊
February
- 🇳🇱 26 The Mechanics of Joy Live Radio Show
- 🇳🇱 27 Dox Under The Tracks Nº14 (Artists TBA)
March
- 🇳🇱 8 Pathfinder Giro
- 🇳🇱 14 12hr Alleycat (Twotone HQ is the karaoke checkpoint!)
- 🇩🇪 20-22 Cyclingworld Düsseldorf
Bikes
The OMNIUM CXC V4 - Now Available
Netherlands' Market Figures 2025: Fewer Bikes Sold, E-Bikes Sales Remain Stable
Redactie Tweewieler
"The number of new bicycles sold in 2025 [in The Netherlands] decreased by 7 percent compared to the previous year (795,968 units), while total revenue remained relatively stable at €1.53 billion (-1.3 percent). This is according to research by the RAI Association and BOVAG, conducted by Nielsen IQ." [Article in Dutch]
« Je ne suis pas un grimpeur, mais j’aime grimper. »
Moustache interviewed me after a few days of riding the Dimanche 29 Gravel in Spain. Watch the interview here.
Ideas
Cycling behaviour in 17 countries across 6 continents: levels of cycling, who cycles, for what purpose, and how far?
Lian van Leeuwen's 2026 Shift Cycling Culture Barcamp Recap
Lian van Leeuwen
My 2nd Barcamp was more inspirational than ever & with a great group! Focused on sustainability, everyone brought a topic & hosted a workshop. I think this format is brilliant and forges valuable friendships & knowledge transfer across brands that otherwise would be too competitive to collaborate. Already looking forward to next year!
How did the bike industry get into such deep trouble?
wadewallace
Certainly a recurring theme even half a decade down the road. Kudos to Wade & team at Escape for this very thorough serieslong-term. In the next few weeks, he and his colleague Suvi Loponen will be investigating the longterm hangover the bike industry is still experiencing from the pandemic, and the reasons behind these after effects. I'm looking forward to it!
Friends
Upward Downwards & Upwards again
The market is 'looking a bit messy': Bike industry insider warns of flood of carbon frames and the effect of US politics on industry
Andy Carr
My friend Maxe at Standert is saying what many of us are also seeing.
666gravel Presents The Unholy Edition
Radness
Emile Bouwman | Who's Yo Daddy?!
Does your Dad do gap to wallride? Nah, didn't think so. Emile's latest edit is up on Dig BMX. Watch it on YouTube!
Thank you for reading!
Here's to coming together to make sure the bike can win this week!