The State of the Industry

27.5, The next big thing, even though it's smaller...

 
This past July, I found myself in Park City on Giant Bicycle's dime. They flew myself and a coworker whose identity will remain anonymous to protect the innocent, to SLC and then as quickly as a tour bus moves, whisked us away to The Chateau Deer Valley. They proceeded to wine and dine us for the next couple of days. Each morning they force fed us the Kool-aid and then they let us ride the bikes.

The bikes were awesome, don't get me wrong. But that is not what this is about.

The number one theme at the Giant Kool-aid feedings was, "In the past we have sucked, but this year, we think we may have knocked it out of the park, but you'll agree we at least hit it into the outfield." Yup, everything was about apologizing for the past and stoking for the future. With a bit of qualifying for the off-chance that they didn't. (I would like to point out the sport reference. I'm sure it's the first here at the Alliance and most likely will be the last. And yes I realize that cycling is a "sport.")

They apologized for past graphics. They apologized for past fill rates. They apologized for the past. And then they put us on the future and everyone had smiles on their faces (if that is even physically possible) and a bright look toward the future. I was among the smiling. I have always been a fan of Giant bikes and in my humble opinion, they are the most underrated bike manufacture.

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