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Canyon Brings Online Bike Sales to the Masses

In a world where we can buy everything from prescription drugs to groceries with our phones, it’s been nearly impossible to purchase a quality bicycle online. That’s changing fast. German brand Canyon, which has been selling directly to consumers in Europe since 2003, began U.S. distribution last year, a development that could cause a major industry shift. The company’s bikes are equal to those from other major brands—and Nairo Quintana and his Movistar squad ride Canyon at World Tour races, including the Tour de France—but because Canyon cuts out the middleman, its prices are 10 to 40 percent less than the competition. Now makers including Eminent Cycles, Franco Bicycles, and YT Industries are following suit and selling exclusively online. Here are five ways that Canyon and other direct-to-consumer brands are saving people money and reducing the cost of their bikes, like the Spectral AL 6.0 ($2,500).

1. Canyon is committed to using complete group sets, like this SRAM GX Eagle drivetrain. That translates into buying power: the company says it is the largest purchaser of Shimano Dura-Ace in Europe, and it passes along savings to customers.
2. The brand also pursues innovations that improve the ride while simplifying assembly. The integrated bash guard and cable system on the bottom of the Spectral’s down tube offer all the benefits of internal cable routing and also cut down on build time.
3. One of Canyon’s best selling points is better components for the money. The RockShox Pike RC fork and DT Swiss M1900 wheelset are a level or two higher than what you find on a comparable bike.
4. Canyon replaces an in-shop fitting session with a simple online system. Plug in a few easy measurements (shoulder width, arm and torso length, inseam), and the calculator spits out model-specific size recommendations. Should your bike not fit, you can exchange it for another size (or even model), and Canyon covers the shipping.
5. By sending its bikes directly to buyers, Canyon cuts out the labor cost of assembly. Its heavy-gauge box doubles as a workstand, and bikes arrive 95 percent prebuilt. Because you put the bike together yourself, you also get a shock pump, a hex set, and torque wrenches. It took us just 30 minutes to put together the Spectral.

The end of bike shops? Not so fast.

Will direct-to-consumer bikes spell the death of heritage brands and the end of local shops? Probably not, says Lynette Carpiet, editor of Bicycle Retailer and Industry News. “Consumer-direct sales have accelerated the process of other brands trying to figure out what to do online,” she says. Meanwhile, there’s still comfort in buying through a store. “These brands might put pressure on some shops,” says Matt Adams, president of the regional chain Mike’s Bikes. “But bikes are getting more complicated, and we’ve heard from customers that they value our expertise.”

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American Cyclists Killed by ISIS In Tajikistan

“We wanted more peaceful pedaling through gorgeous landscapes, more sleeping in open fields under clear skies, more quiet sunsets, and more friendly people….” Those words introduce Simply Cycling, a blog written by Lauren Munoz and Jay Austin, the two American cyclists who were tragically attacked and killed on Sunday while riding through Danghara, a mountainous district in Tajikistan, 60 miles northeast of the capital city of Dushanbe. They were with five other cyclists they had met on their journey along the Pamir Highway, a bucket-list bike touring road that threads through the Pamir mountains of Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan.        

In a blurry and graphic video, a Daewoo sedan swerved from the opposite side of the road to hit the cyclists, one of whom is seen being catapulted off the road by the force of the impact. Witnesses say the assailants then jumped out of the car and stabbed the two Americans, as well as Markus Hummel, a cyclist from Switzerland, and Rene Wokke, a cyclist from the Netherlands, with knives. The three other cyclists survived the attack, at least one with injuries. The U.S. embassy reported that the ministry of internal affairs has detained one suspect and killed at least three others.

According to NPR, ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack. On Monday, the Islamic State issued a bulletin through its news agency describing the attackers as “soldiers of the Islamic State.” According to the BBC, it also released a video with Tajik and Arabic subtitles of five young militant men, purportedly the attackers, sitting under a tree, pledging allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Nothing was said in the video, however, of the specific attack on the cyclists.  

Austin was featured in a 2015 Washington Post article for his innovative problem-solving approach as the chief idea administrator at the Office of Strategic Management and Planning at the Department of Housing and Urban Development. He left his the sustainable tiny house he built in Washington, D.C., and quit his job to pursue his round-the-world cycling dream.

According to her blog bio, Munoz grew up in California “occasionally cycling around the Rose Bowl” with her family, but didn’t become a serious cyclist until she moved to D.C. and became an avid bike commuter, “falling in love with the efficiency, accessibility, wellness, open air, vulnerability, community, intimacy, and joy of bicycle riding.”

Munoz and Austin started their journey in South Africa in July 2017, winding their way up to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, then flying to Morocco to pedal through eastern Europe before cycling through Central Asia. They planned to dip down to Australia and fly to South America where they would cycle back toward the United States.

Most of the couple’s blog posts express the joys of living simply from the seat of a bike. The final post, however, written by Austin from Kyrgyzstan on July 11, reads ominously:

“We don’t make it very far. A gold sedan skirts by us once more. It parks up ahead. This time, two men exit the vehicle. They stand in the middle of the road blocking our path. Pozhaluysta! the first man says, and I can't tell if it’s an earnest plea or a cruel sneer. In Russian, a lot of things can sound like a cruel sneer.

Nyet! we shout. Leave us alone!

Lauren’s in front and she threads her way in between the two men. She keeps going. I make to follow. I gnash on my pedals, lean to the left, and get in between them.

And then the man on the right pushes me off my bike.”  

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