Spokes & Strategy: Marketing the Bicycle

Character is hard to measure and easy to spot, and it matters more than follower count.In this episode of Spokes & Strategy, Brandon Morphew talks with Yuri Hauswald, a former 24 Hour Solo mountain bike racer, 2015 Unbound Gravel 200 champion, 2023 Gravel Cycling Hall of Fame inductee, longtime GU Energy Labs athlete manager, and co-owner of Merchant Cycles in Emporia, Kansas. This year Yuri returned to Unbound with a different goal, starting last and passing as many riders as he could to raise money for youth cycling in the town that shaped his career.What You'll LearnWhy Yuri chose to start dead last at Unbound this year, and how that decision tied directly to a youth cycling fundraiserWhat Yuri actually looks for when evaluating athletes for sponsorship, and why character outweighs metrics like follower countHow referral-based trust works in athlete sponsorship, and why it mirrors how small businesses earn new customersWhat Merchant Cycles has learned about surviving a business built around one massive week of revenue each yearWhy consignment relationships with vendors helped the shop recover from an inventory and staffing miscalculationHow a Kansas youth cycling team grew from four riders to over twenty, and what that growth says about community over competitionYuri Hauswald is a former 24 Hour Solo mountain bike racer and the 2015 champion of what is now known as Unbound Gravel. He was inducted into the Gravel Cycling Hall of Fame in 2023. He has been a GU Energy Labs athlete for over 20 years and now manages GU's elite athlete roster and PR storytelling. He is also a co-owner of Merchant Cycles in Emporia, Kansas.Learn more about Yuri Hauswald:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yhauswald/Twitter/X: @YuriHauswaldSupport youth cycling in Emporia, Kansas:Yuri's fundraiser: https://app.99pledges.com/fund/yurichasetherace/yuri-hauswaldLearn more about GU Energy Labs:Website: https://guenergy.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/guenergylabs/Spokes & Strategy is brought to you by Miso Partners.Follow Miso Partners:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/misopartners/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/misopartnersWebsite: https://misopartners.com/

Some businesses chase a bigger vision. This one just tries to do a good job, every single time.In this episode of Spokes & Strategy, Brandon Morphew talks with Mike McCormack, founder and race director of the Breck Epic, a six day mountain bike stage race in Breckenridge, Colorado. Mike also runs a communications business and has spent decades working in youth cycling and trail access. He and Brandon talk about making hard calls in real time, building culture without forcing it, and what it actually takes to earn sponsorship loyalty in a crowded market.What You'll LearnHow Mike decides when a stage needs to be cancelled for weather, and why he calls it an easy decision even when it is not an easy dayWhy Mike believes trying to build culture on purpose is the wrong approach, and what naturally creates it insteadHow the idea of unreasonable hospitality shaped the way Breck Epic thinks about surprise and delight for ridersWhy sponsorship is a two way street, and what Mike means by needing to deserve loyalty rather than chase itWhat the Superloop Series is, and how it is filling a gap between racing and big supported group ridesWhy Mike thinks growing riders matters more long term than growing racersMike McCormack is the founder and race director of the Breck Epic, a six day mountain bike stage race in Breckenridge, Colorado. His work also includes youth cycling initiatives, trail access advocacy, and a communications business.Learn more about the Breck Epic:Website: https://breckepic.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/breckepicLearn more about Mike McCormack:Instagram: mikemac01LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mccormikeSpokes & Strategy is brought to you by Miso Partners.Follow Miso Partners:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/misopartners/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/misopartnersWebsite: https://misopartners.com/

A bike leaves the shop working. Nobody knows what happens to it until it comes back broken.In this episode of Spokes & Strategy, Brandon Morphew talks with Umberto Javarone, founder and CEO of CrankPal, and Nico Abbruzzese, CrankPal's COO and partner, who also owns a bike shop in Milan focused on triathletes. Umberto's background is in aircraft maintenance, and Nico brings hands-on service industry and shop ownership experience. Together they built a workshop management platform paired with a rider app that predicts when bike components are likely to need attention, closing the gap between visits instead of waiting for something to break.What You'll LearnWhy predicting bike maintenance is more complex than it looks, and how mileage, time, and weather all factor into component wearHow CrankPal's feedback loop uses real workshop data to improve its predictions over timeWhy progressive onboarding helped shops actually adopt the platform, instead of overwhelming them with every feature at onceHow a universal parts catalog saves a shop from manually building out inventory from scratchWhat a real service experience looks like from pickup to quote approval to delivery, without a single phone callWhy Umberto and Nico see communication between shop and rider as just as important as the maintenance prediction itselfUmberto Javarone is the founder and CEO of CrankPal. His background includes bicycle and aircraft maintenance, along with years working in operations and urban mobility.Nico Abbruzzese is CrankPal's COO and partner. He owns and runs a bike shop in Milan dedicated to triathletes and endurance athletes.The CrankPal iOS app for cyclists is now available on the App Store. Download it here: https://apps.apple.com/app/crankpal/id6801326831?ct=spokes-and-strategy&mt=8Learn more about CrankPal:Website: https://www.crankpal.com/en-US/workshops/LinkedIn (CrankPal): https://www.linkedin.com/company/crankpalLinkedIn (Umberto Javarone): https://www.linkedin.com/in/umbertojavarone/LinkedIn (Nico Abbruzzese): https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicoabbruzzeseInstagram (Nico): https://www.instagram.com/nicosdao/Spokes & Strategy is brought to you by Miso Partners.Follow Miso Partners:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/misopartners/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/misopartnersWebsite: https://misopartners.com/

Most businesses see their analytics. Only Google sees what a customer does before they ever click.In this episode of Spokes & Strategy, Brandon Morphew talks with Mike Blumenthal, co-founder and analyst at Near Media. Mike has spent over two decades studying local search and consumer behavior, and built and sold multiple companies along the way, including Gather Up and Local U. He and Brandon talk about what actually drives a customer's decision to choose one local business over another, and what that means for a bike shop or brand trying to earn trust.What You'll LearnWhy Mike closed his family's five million dollar retail business, and what that experience taught him about trust and business partnershipsHow Mike's user behavior research shows people making decisions differently by category, and what that reveals about the role of reviewsWhy brand recognition acts as a hidden ranking signal Google uses, even before a customer clicks anythingWhat a "lifestyle business" model could look like for a bike shop beyond fitting and selling bikesWhy build quality and buyer education matter more than ever as e-bikes bring in a new kind of customerWhy Mike believes it's never too late to start riding, at any ageMike Blumenthal is co-founder and analyst at Near Media, where his research focuses on local market behavior, including how consumers search for and choose businesses like personal injury attorneys. He previously co-founded Gather Up and Local U, and ran his family's retail business for over two decades before moving into local search and consumer research.Learn more about Mike Blumenthal and Near Media:Website: https://www.nearmedia.co/LinkedIn (Near Media): https://www.linkedin.com/company/nearmediacoLinkedIn (Mike Blumenthal): https://www.linkedin.com/in/mblumenthal/Twitter/X: @mblumenthalSpokes & Strategy is brought to you by Miso Partners.Follow Miso Partners:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/misopartners/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/misopartnersWebsite: https://misopartners.com/

The algorithm decides what you see online. At a trade show, nobody is deciding that for you, and that is the point.In this episode of Spokes & Strategy, Brandon Morphew talks with Jim Kersten, show director of CABDA Expo and a third generation bike shop owner in Chicago. Jim explains why he built CABDA around regional timing instead of one massive event, what trade shows still do better than online discovery, and why he believes the bike industry's biggest problem right now is execution, not ideas.What You'll LearnWhy CABDA moved away from a single national show to regional events timed around when shops can actually leave the floorWhat "organized serendipity" means, and why unplanned conversations on the show floor can matter more than scheduled meetingsWhy Jim believes the industry doesn't have an idea problem, it has an execution problem, and what that looks like in practiceHow CABDA measures success beyond total headcount, including the mix of shops and businesses attendingWhy some major brands skip trade shows to run their own dealer events, and what Jim thinks they are missingWhat Jim tells any shop owner deciding whether to make the trip back to CABDA this yearJim Kersten is the show director of CABDA Expo, which produces bicycle industry trade shows built around independent bicycle retailers, brands, distributors, and the service providers who support them. He also owns and operates a bicycle shop in Chicago that has been in his family for almost fifty years.Learn more about CABDA Expo:Website: https://cabdashow.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cabda_expo/Learn more about Jim Kersten:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jim-kersten-98197725Spokes & Strategy is brought to you by Miso Partners.Follow Miso Partners:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/misopartners/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/misopartnersWebsite: https://misopartners.com/