Last week, two articles caught my eye & and I knew they'd be handy for a newsletter intro: Kyle Dawes on Cycling's Appeal to Private Equity & Bas Prass's (very) deep dive into Swapfiets.

Cycling’s Appeal to Private Equity

Why the cycling industry might be on the cusp of increased M&A activity and what it means for brands

Built on BikesKyle Dawes

Swapfiets: Nederlands icoon dat nog nooit winst maakte

De blauwe band die Nederland veroverde, zoekt naar zwarte cijfers

Duo DiligenceDuo Diligence

Both are worth your time and are considerably long reads. Some key quotes from both are below.

Kyle's Article:

• "Large acquisitions lead to profit-first thinking at the expense of quality and heritage [but] some smaller, strategic deals have actually delivered meaningful benefits to consumers." 🔗
• "2026 and 2027 could be pivotal years for the cycling industry, particularly if we see a renewed wave of mergers and acquisitions." 🔗
• "Whether we like it or not, the cycling industry will need more investment in a post-COVID world if we want the sport and the activity to continue growing." 🔗

And Bas's Article:

• "Structurally, year after year, tens of millions in the red. In 2020: €15 million in losses. In 2021: €29 million. In 2022: €31 million. In 2023: €23 million. In 2024: €14 million. Add it all up, and you're looking at a cumulative loss of over €140 million. And that doesn't include the more than €150 million that parent company Pon Holdings has pumped into the company over the years through capital injections and loans." 🔗
• "The customer base – the benchmark for a subscription business – has been virtually stagnant for three years. End of 2022: 269,000 subscribers. End of 2023: 266,000. End of 2024: 267,000. The website now claims "280,000+ members," but even if that's true, it's barely 4% growth in three years. For a company that once talked about reaching one million users by 2025, that's like wet pants after a bike ride. That ambition has since been quietly abandoned." 🔗
• "Today, Swapfiets operates in 45 cities across eight countries. Italy has been completely abandoned. Of the 60 cities where they once operated, 15 have been closed. And in most international markets, revenue is declining. Two countries are growing: the Netherlands and Denmark. The rest are shrinking—and not by a small margin. France lost more than a third of its revenue. Austria has almost 40%. Belgium, [...] where cycling is also commonplace, declined by 16%. The home market is and remains the heart of Swapfiets. With €52.3 million in revenue—57% of the total—the Netherlands is larger than all other countries combined. Amsterdam alone has 64,000 subscribers, almost a quarter of the global total." 🔗

Bas also points out a substantial outlay for performance marketing and a lack of a passionate Swapfiets community, despite the fact that 86% of all web visitors find Swapfiets on their own, without seeing an ad; proof that the blue tire is working!

My .02? Ok, three cents:

1. Both articles underscore what's right and what's wrong in our industry: the allure of getting more people to ride is big business, yet profitability remains a tremendous challenge regardless of your segment.
2. Kyle's point about cash injections often harming quality & heritage is insightful. Time and again, smaller brands manage to get by while some bigger brands, like an Icarus fable, fall from the sky.
3. After visiting Swapfiets two weeks ago and reading more this week, it's clear scale & cash aren't the obstacles here, but maybe the community and heritage parts are? Maybe cycling's most elusive quality, next to profitability, is provenance? Selling (subscriptions to) bikes may be the goal, but the long-term value lies in brands and products with heritage and soul.

What do you think?

Have a good week ahead, and, as always, thank you for reading,

Jon

February

• 🇳🇱 26 The Mechanics of Joy Live Radio Show w/ Roel Hessens
• 🇳🇱 27 Dox Under The Tracks Nº14 with 𝙁𝙖́𝙗𝙞𝙤 𝙙𝙚 𝘼𝙡𝙢𝙚𝙞𝙙𝙖

March

• 🇳🇱 8 Pathfinder Giro
• 🇳🇱 14 12hr Alleycat (Twotone HQ is the karaoke checkpoint!)
• 🇩🇪 20-22 Cyclingworld w/ 2moso Germany, Veloe, Moustache & OMNIUM

April

• 🇬🇧 24-26 BESPOKED London

Bikes

Quirk Cycles' Founders’ Batch Opens Today!

OMNIUM Introduces The Nano

TMD Locks Chooses Twotone to Launch Their First Smart Security Product: The TMD Chain Lock

Ideas

The Mechanics of Joy Nº53 W/ Roel Hessens This Thursday

Post Carry Co. – Something New Is Looming

Bikeanalytics Atlas Mountain Race 2026

Friends

SOUR's Pasta Party 32 | Bigger wheels, same Party!

Trans Aseer Mountain Range Stage One

John Watson of The Radavist on cyclespeak.com

John Watson / The Radavist

John Watson, founder of The Radavist, shares his insights on balancing life and work in the world of cycling media. Living in Santa Fe with his partner, Cari, they blend home and work with a passio…

cyclespeak

Radness

Dox Under The Tracks Nº14 with 𝙁𝙖́𝙗𝙞𝙤 𝙙𝙚 𝘼𝙡𝙢𝙚𝙞𝙙𝙖 27.02.26

Thank you for reading!
Here's to getting by & not falling from the sky this week!