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Guests: Matt Stoller; Tom Kellogg (encore presentation)
My first guest is Matt Stoller, the research director at the American Economic Liberties Project. The organization is Non-profit and non-partisan, the organization is part of a growing, cross- ideological movement to combat monopolistic corporations and the systems that entrench their power.
But, what does that mean and how does their work relate to the bicycle business? In fact, it does – in a way that I think may both interest and infuriate you.
Matt’s article titled “The Bicycle Thieves” appeared his newsletter BIG on 
Substack back in January. In it, Matt calls out those who are trying to build a world without independent bicycle shops.
Over the past few decades, the bike industry has become more and more consolidated.
Where we used to see robust competition and innovation from the likes of Sun Tour and Stronglight, to name just a couple, we now see just Shimano with SRAM and Campagnolo running distant seconds and thirds and a smattering of companies treading water in the bottom of the barrel.
Where we saw independent bicycle shops literally on almost every corner in America, we now see Trek and Specialized “company stores” as the two behemoths buy up smaller independent shops with the intention to either take them over or shut them down.
The bicycle industry isn’t, of course, the only place this is or has been happening – consolidation and “vertical integration” has been going on in pharmacies, groceries, and, with Amazon in the mix, just about every other industry on the planet.
The antitrust laws and regulations that have been on the books for decades have been loosened, ignored, or conveniently disregarded with little political will to strengthen or enforce them.
This begs a big question for me (although there is more than one!) Is this a good thing? And, if so, for whom?
Is it possible that the pendulum is beginning to swing in the other direction and, is there political will to help it along?
*** Here is the link to the February 17th FTC Meeting information as mentioned on the show.
In the second half of the show, I’m offering up an encore presentation of another iconic framebuilder – one who influenced our custom bicycle world for years and years. And, since it was his birthday this past week, I thought I’d bring him back.
Tom Kellogg may no longer be building frames, but his contributions to the artisan bicycle world were and continue to be immense. Happy Birthday to him and you can hear our conversation in the second half of the show.
So, I thought I’d offer up a few news stories that have been buzzing around the bike world this week along with an encore presentation of an interview with the one and only 
And, if you are waxing nostalgic on that story, the incomparable Sheldon Brown was remembered this week. He passed away February 4, 2008. Brian and I met him at one of the trade shows a couple of years before he died. He was a fascinating guy with a crazy smart brain. His site lives on, with all of its amazing content, because of his wife 
off in a shop that sits in a 
Looking forward to some new places to ride this year? How about the
and county commissioner, give us the background of the area and an overview of what you can do, where you can stay, and some of the great opportunities coming up for 2022.
We begin today with 
to consider the disposal of your used-up battery. The estimated lifespan is about 5 years – although I don’t have a good translation of that in hours and/or miles. During the
Then, we check in with one of my favorite industry people – 
more
Yes – this is a mid-week episode and I really enjoyed the conversation with my guest, 
broadened their topics to include issues on women, people of color, and disabled athletes.
will make it easy, convenient, and desirable to NOT get behind the wheel of your car every time you go out and instead begin to rely on more convenient, less expensive, and cleaner transportation.
Lexy Savvides
Tom Parker. He’s a civil engineer, a rabid cycling enthusiast, and the ride director for what sounds like one of the coolest cycling events for 2022 – The 
While not everyone wants to don a costume and ride, those who do will be joined my hundreds more at Day of the Tread.
When Dr. Gabe isn’t out riding his recumbent tandem with his wife Diana, he’s reading and researching science and medicine and offering his research and findings to you in the form of a free weekly newsletter.
The situation in Afghanistan is deteriorating daily – famine, illness, and now a world that seems to be looking away, is making evacuating women – especially women athletes – cyclists – more dangerous and fraught with more complications.
triathlete he thought wheelsets were too expensive. As an engineer at Oxford, he conducted a groundbreaking study into bicycle wheel aerodynamics with Dr Steve Faulkner at the sports engineering department of Nottingham Trent University. The resulting study produced what is now Parcours – his wheel manufacturing company that offers a variety of models.
Now, Parcours is partnering with
Of course, that doesn’t mean just any fat – there’s good fat and bad fat and 
science-based sports nutrition techniques to feel and perform at your best. You can find out more about Natalie and her work on her 
There are 5 E’s of a League of American Bicyclist’s “
recently the League announced 57 new Bicycle Friendly Communities for 2021.