LAGUNA HILLS, Calif. (BRAIN) — The latest issue of Bicycle Retailer & Industry News features our staff's recent tour of Colorado's Grand Valley, home to a thriving retail community and a growing list of bike industry companies.
For more on the new issue, join BRAIN's Lynette Carpiet for a Facebook Live event on Friday at 9:30 a.m. PST on BRAIN's Facebook page.
BRAIN staff, along with sponsors and guests, toured the region by bike last month. We found a surprising variety of bike retail: While we expected a handful of high-end shops servicing the mountain bike enthusiasts who visit the area, we didn't expect the many healthy community-oriented stores in Grand Junction, where service and sub-$700 bikes are the bread and butter. We also visited a store focusing on e-bike sales.
On a sometimes rainy and even snowy trip, we visited retailers in Fruita, where bike enthusiasts and retailers helped the tiny town transition from reliance on the boom-and-bust energy industry to a more stable tourism economy, mostly built around mountain biking (along with requisite craft beer, coffee and pizza).
Up the road a bit in Palisade, locals are hoping to see some of the same, with ambitious plans for a new epic mountain bike trail that would descend about 6,000 feet from the top of a nearby mesa to the town center. Palisade already has a handful of picturesque mountain bike trails and is a destination for winery tours, often completed on rented bikes and e-bikes.
The new issue of BRAIN also includes an article on a new retail staff training option that focuses on basics of human interaction. Another piece looks at the man behind a new suspension design being adopted by several mountain bike brands.
These highlights are in addition to regular BRAIN departments like State of Retail, Mad Dog Unleashed, Retail Briefs and Through the Grapevine that are only published in the magazine.
BRAIN is published 18 times a year. Mail and electronic subscriptions are available at bicycleretailer.com/subscribe.
For more on the new issue, join BRAIN's Lynette Carpiet for a Facebook Live event on Friday at 9:30 a.m. PST on BRAIN's Facebook page.
