Steve Frothingham

Steve is in his second stint at BRAIN. He was here at the beginning in 1992 while still working for a bike shop in Santa Fe, N.M. He wrote several articles for BRAIN's first issue and later joined the staff, eventually becoming managing editor and then executive editor.

After leaving BRAIN in 1997 he worked for several news organizations including The Associated Press and VeloNews before rejoining BRAIN as web editor in 2011.

He is based in Longmont, Colorado, and is an enthusiastic (and slow) road, mountain bike and cyclocross rider.

sfrothingham@bicycleretailer.com
/twitter.com/#!/stevefroth

All articles by Steve Frothingham

Wrench Science owners hope to sell fitting and configurator platforms, other IP

April 7, 2025

BERKELEY, Calif. (BRAIN) — The owners of Wrench Science, the custom bike e-commerce site that closed earlier this winter, are looking to sell its remaining assets, including two custom-built online platforms: one that facilitates online bike sizing and a configurator that lets customers spec custom bikes with compatible parts.

Posted in Retail News

Bike maker takes steps to avert an unexpected million-dollar tariff charge

April 4, 2025
Tern GSD photo courtesy of Tern.

If Tern’s shipments don’t arrive from Vietnam before Wednesday, or get diverted, the cargo bike brand will be on the hook for about $1 million — cash — in tariff fees. Until this week, the company had planned on zero.

Posted in Industry News

Portuguese factory partners with Cardinal to open US bike assembly plant

April 4, 2025

(BRAIN) — Cardinal Cycling Group, the owner of the Time bicycle brand, is partnered with Unibike, a Portugal assembly factory, to open a painting and bike assembly factory in the Spartanburg, South Carolina, area this year.

Posted in Industry News

Analysis: Industry is certainly uncertain, now

April 3, 2025

(BRAIN) — While the industry is still searching for answers to detailed questions about the tariffs' implementation, Trump's Rose Garden announcement made clear that price increases are inevitable in the bike industry.

Posted in Opinion/Analysis

Where the US gets its bikes, and the new tariffs on those nations

April 3, 2025

(BRAIN) — The U.S. imports most of its bikes, along with e-bikes, bike parts and frames and accessories. The new tariffs announced by the Trump administration Wednesday apply to all of the above and more.

Posted in Industry News

Norco and HLC end sales agreement in the US

April 3, 2025

PORT COQUITLAM, British Columbia (BRAIN) — Two years after announcing that distributor HLC would handle its sales in the U.S., Norco Bicycles said it is resuming direct sales in July.

Posted in Industry News

Administration closes Chinese de minimis loophole again

April 3, 2025

WASHINGTON (BRAIN) — The Trump administration said the $800 de minimis loophole on Chinese imports will end on May 2.

The administration had announced Feb. 3 that it would close the loophole on shipments from China, Mexico and Canada.

Posted in Industry News

Borealis Fat Bikes suspends bike purchases due to tariffs

April 3, 2025

Borealis Founder and CEO Steve Kaczmarek said "responsible planning" is impossible in the current climate.

Posted in Industry News

‘No decision’ on an Interbike return, Emerald says

April 2, 2025
A scene from the 2018 Interbike in Reno.

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, Calif. (BRAIN) — Despite surveys and many conversations with industry stakeholders, Emerald Expositions has not made a decision about bringing back the Interbike trade show in the near future, the company told BRAIN.

Posted in Industry News

SRAM investigating 'cybersecurity issue'

April 1, 2025

CHICAGO (BRAIN) — SRAM said it has hired outside specialists to investigate an IT systems outage that caused the company to shut down its wholesale ordering system and other systems last month. 

Posted in Industry News

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