I must admit that this is the most interesting thread i have come across in a while, and having said that, half of it is greek to me (i'm no MBA). Please pardon my ignorance, but what is it, exactly, that makes bicycle companies bad investments? And how does a company like Cannondale go bankrupt? Just poor financial planning? It seems like the cycling industry/market in the US is huge, and I would have expected to see these companies doing well, not struggling.
What about Trek? Is it not a public company? Perhaps the best time to invest in Trek would have been 7 years ago, as now they will have to find new ways to grow / market themselves, etc. There was an interesting article in the NY Times about this recently...
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/26/sp...cial/26tv.html
And here's a thought (although I'm not sure if its a good one, or a possibility)...what about investing in the Lance Armstrong Foundation? Then one could support both cycling and cancer research, and be socially responsible while doing so.