Chris Writes.

Just read the article in Road magazine about Floyd Landis and Team Ouch – reminds me again that he is clearly the same stand-up, straight-up guy I was once lucky enough to share dinner with.  I can only applaud his tenacity through the past two years, and say that I’m looking forward to seeing him obliterate critics and competitors at the tour of California.  I truly, honestly hope he wins it – mostly because I think he deserves it, and I’d love to see his new team do well.  Domestic racing often gets overshadowed, so it’d be nice to see these guys make a big mark, early.  Reality is that however it shakes out, it will just be damn good to see him back racing.

Just noticed that Dell has lept into the idea of empowering SMB’s to use social media, and they’ve put together some clever guides (and a slick facebook page for it) to share what they have.  Check it out here

Seems like they’ve got a good collection of starting points, though their facebook primer could stand to be a little friendlier to the new users out there…but it’s still workable.

Seriously folks, whether you’re a bike shop or a florist, if you’re not on top of this stuff soon, you’re going to be playing catch up in a world where tribes are already forming.  And if you’re not there already, do you know where your current tribe is *right now*?

A recent economist article pointed out a new purchasing pattern surrounding netbooks.  It would seem that computers, for most normal use, are now getting cheaper instead of more powerful.  Perhaps we’ve reached the pinnacle of what is (currently) required for 90% of the world’s users (web browsers, email, photos, youtube).  A small number require the processing power of FinalCut or Autocad, but not many.

In a similar vein over even just the past 5 years, bicycles have exploded forwards in terms of advances in aerodynamics, weight, stiffness, strength, suspension, and drivetrain capabilities.  And over that same timeframe, as is common in the bike biz, the trickle down of the best of these features have massively improved the quality of mid-range and entry-level bikes below them.

I wonder if we could be on the cusp of an enthusiast price softening, where it now costs less than ever before to buy a bike that is, by nearly all measures, truly fantastic?  Years ago, Keith Bontrager said to me that “there weren’t many bad bikes made anymore”.  It seems this is only becoming more true.  Compared to the declining quality of products in other industries, yet again, the bike industry gives us a reason to feel like we’re doing something good for the people out there who actually ride bikes, and enjoy riding.