marketing differences between the US and Europe?
 

I'm an American living in the Netherlands and really only got interested in biking after I moved here so my knowledge of how things work in the US is rather limited, I'm afraid.

I visited my daughter in the US last year and we talked a little about bikes and I stopped into just one bike shop (Ames, Iowa) just to have a look.

It seems, as a rule, at least over here, when you buy a bike it comes complete. Lights, suspension, mud flaps/guards ... even a shopping basket for some models, is part of that brand's particular model. I gathered from my daughter, that in the US you pretty much bought a basic model and added what you wanted. Is that, in fact, how it is in the US?

Here there are two very major brands (Batavus http://www.batavus.com/ and Gazelle http://www.gazelle.nl/ ). Every year they come out with new models, new colors, new feautures, but 99% of the bikes are essentially complete (and not discounted) ... no need for options, per se.

How are things different between the US and Holland? I thought this might be a good idea for a thread ... or not. DH

Let's open it up to see what it's like in various parts of the world.

Cretainly in Australia you buy the bike and then go shopping for the lights, mudguards etc as you need them.

Wouldn't some of the differences between marketing in the US and Holland be in the fact that the bicycle is often a primary commuting vehicle in the flat Dutch country, while in the US it's sold usually as a recreational vehicle? Therefore fenders, lights, racks and attachments like that would almost be mandatory equipment there. In the US I think more of a diverse group of people buy bikes, whether for racing, fitness or just plain recreation.

Media, sorry, I did not mean to leave out the rest of the world in my original post. After living in the Netherlands for a while, I was amazed to hear what I consider 'standard equipment', is an option to be added to the 'basic' bike elsewhere.

There are two main brands here (Batavus and Gazelle), but the brands known the world over (Giant, Trek come to mind) are sold here as well. I have no idea how they are marketed here and I'll stop by my local shop and speak to the owner.

One thing I'll mention here and my daughter pointed this out. The overwhelming majority of bikes sold here have conventional handlebars ... one sits upright on the bike. She (and I) find that much more comfortable when riding (as opposed to the racing bikes with their racing handlebars).

i think that is a lot of it. it is also that although things like lights are also required in the US, very few people actually have them and the authorities almost always won't do anything if you ride by without lights or reflectors or whatever. in most of Europe, it is just tradition and a given that bicycles will be ridden more more than just recreation and everyone else has lights and fenders, so why would you not use them?

the average US customer doesn't even want these things (the first thing many US buyers do is remove the reflectors)

in Germany you can buy basic utility or touring bikes which come equipped with everything (rack, front headlight usually dynamo, reflectors, fenders, bell, etc) or you can buy more expensvie recreational bikes like road-race bikes or mountain bikes which tend to be marketed and sold more like US stuff without fenders, lights and accessories.

in sum: the US has virtually no market for "city" bikes and although slightly more, a very small market for "touring" bikes. in the less expensvie market (say $500 or less) US customers would rather buy a Wal-mart 30 lb full-suspension "tough-looking" mountain bike look-alike than a "boring" sold city or touring bike with fenders and rack like the Euro style that would actually serve better and last longer...

Most bikes sold in the US are sold for recreational use. People don't want to pay for something they don't need (fenders, lights, racks) because they simply can't imagine riding in the rain or biking to work instead of driving.

Bikes used for urban transportation are far more common in Europe, where commuting distances tend to be much shorter, parking tends to be even more non-existent, and fuel prices are much higher.

However, let's not over-generalize when we talk about "bikes."

In Europe, mountain bikes, road bikes, etc. -- bikes sold for recreational/athletic use -- are no different than they are in the US. It's that in Europe the category of "all-rounder," a bike that's suitable for commuting, touring, audax, etc. -- is very well-developed, whereas that category is almost non-existent here.

However, it's still true that often the very same bike (look at Cannondale's US and European sites, for example) is sold fully equipped in Europe but not in the US. Different markets.

RichC

I seem to remember reading that some time in the 70's, Raleigh or somebody tried to market a fully-equipped bike in the US, and it flopped. Too bad.

Some larger shops will sell fully-spec'd bikes, but they are few and far-between. All shops will sell you the extras, though. Remember, 95% of all bikes sold in the US are for recreational use, not for commuting. That's the main difference between us and, say, Holland or Japan.

Some shops will throw a few 'extras' on the bike so that you thnk you're getting a wonderful deal.

The need for 'fully spec'd' bikes is very low in the US and only in a few areas. There are few cities that are 'bike commuter' friendly and even fewer Americans that are willing to expend the time and energy to commute by bicycle. Perhaps it's because we have become a nation of convenience, fast-foods and cell phones. None of which go together with bicycling.

Here's a commuter bike for rainy days.

I was amazed looking at the Batavus site in seeing "kids" bikes sold with chainguard, fenders and lights! Furthermore, it's too expensive to import this bike through mail order so you couldn't buy one because it's cost prohibitive. Yet, each one of those bikes are tens times better than anything sold at Kmart.

I see what people do to "convert" american made hybrids and roadbikes into commuter bikes. In my opinion, it's a big time compromise at best. I see people attaching cheap Planet Bike fenders that fall off all the time or get stolen once you park since it's a clip on. To make matters worse, you see them carrying around front, rear lights and batteries EVERYWHERE they go with the constant task of keeping them recharged. I see many bike commuters riding around with a back pack since the cycle didn't come with a rack. To top it off, they get their pants dirty from the chain and think nothing of it!

A simple commuter bike with fenders, chain guard, dynamo lights and rear rack makes too much sense. It's a shame that Breezer (www.breezer.com) and Dahon (www.dahon.com) are but a few cycle companies that actually make commuter bikes the Dutch would be proud of.

Hey, what shop did you stop in? I work at Bike World in Ames, IA. We are one of only two shops in Ames so chances are 50/50 that you where there. Just curious.

Dahon.Steve ... you mentioned dynamo lights in the previous post. This is getting a bit off topic, but the Batavus I just bought (to replace my stolen bike) came with roller brakes and the dynamo is built into that.

I think they use magnets to generate the electricity as there is no change in the drag if the front light is on or not. This was all new to me and came as a pleasant surprise. I'm sure I pay a small penalty in weight, but since I use my bike for pleasure and not for racing, it's not a big deal. This 'dynamo' makes no extra noise and produces no extra (as far as I can tell) drag.

Someone in this thread mentioned the police and how they usually don't enforce the law re lights on a bike. I actually seen the Dutch police control groups of bikers ... if it's dark and your light isn't on or broken, you can get a ticket. You'll read about that the next day in the paper.

... the off topic police will be giving me a warning pretty soon ...

yeah, in Germany you're pretty likely to get stopped by the police if you ride downtown at night without lights or happen to ride by a cop --- although they tend to give warnings rather than tickets i think (i ride with lights like 98% of the time so i wouldn't know)

and technically in Germany you can get a ticket riding during the DAY without a light based on the idea that anyone riding could be out long enough to be in the dark so must have lights. although there is an exception for "performance" or "racing" bikes which are currently defined as less than 12kg i think -- although this is an old law assuming only light road bikes were "performance" and doesn't technically include freeride and downhill bikes - "performance" bikes are exempt during the day from the light-requirement.

i have various battery lights for my commuter (the new Cateye LED is awesome!), mountain and road-race bikes, but for my city-bike i have a good old European dynamo --- ALWAYS there and you never forget it at home and the batteries never go dead.

dynamos are perfect for riding in the city and probably 70% of the German cyclists use dynamos - most are the tirewall type but there are others. in the US they are very hard to find and most bike shops either look at you funny or laugh at you if you ask for a dynamo - "man, that's like OLD technology. join the current century dude..." they're usually not bright enough (2-5 Watts) to light up totally dark paths, but to BE SEEN they are ideal.

Slide13, the bike shop I referred to is on the main street. I don't remember the name of that street, but the cars were all parked at an angle to the curb. As far as I remember, the 'main' street was only a few blocks long ... this was right in the 'downtown' part of Ames.

My daughter, at that time, lived a stones throw from the college and I just walked to the center of town from there (no bike).

Since it's a college town, I'm guessing the store will continue to do good business. I was there in May of last year ... and for some reason I remember that they had just moved(?).

At any rate, they were kind to me and let me look around.

Re Ames ... my daughter would leave her house unlocked. Amazing that can still be done, huh?

Ok, that is the other shop in town. They are a nice shop, a lot smaller then ours though. They are a very new shop, started by some employees of an older one that went out of buisness. Ames is a nice town, pretty safe. I enjoy it here.

OK I'm in sales (not of bikes, but similar rules apply). In general (and excuse the sweeping generalisations).

The American market for most goods works on the basis of mass production, stack it high, sell it cheap and get two for the price of one. The Americans won't pay extra for quality or optional extras.

The Northern European market works on the basis of exclusivity, and they will if possible avoid the mass produced item, if something better can be got even if it costs twice as much.

This reason Amercian companies like Costco (who sell low cost bulk foodstuffs in the USA you have to pay a large sum for annual membership) failed and when bust in Europe until they changed their model. same applies to Dunkin donuts or Taco Bell. Household names in the USA, failed companies in Europe.

Therefore whilst the basic bike may be same, in Europe it comes fully loaded whith marginally higher spec items, in the USA it's a real basic model and you pay extra for items that are not really optional on a bike that will be used properly. Also as pointed out most American bikes son't get the sort of milage that it's European counterpart gets in a lifetime.

Also explains why Harrods has never opened a store on 5th Avenue, and if you want a handbuild frame in the USA it comes from Europe