Industry Special EP4: Survivors and what comes next

Shift Cycling Culture has spent seven years working to make the cycling industry take sustainability seriously. Founders Lian van Leeuwen and Erik Bronsvoort, and executive director Sandra Brandt, join Suvi Loponen to talk about where Shift came from, why the industry so often stays silent on sustainability, what pro racing could do better, and what it would actually take to change things.You can find out more about Shift’s work and sign up for their courses here.

Episode 4 of this special industry series looks ahead at the future of the cycling industry after years of volatility. We draw on dozens of interviews with distributors, brand leaders, retailers, and skeptics to explore where growth might come from, who won’t survive, and how pricing, Chinese brands, regulation, and community will reshape the landscape. It’s a candid, sometimes uncomfortable, but ultimately optimistic look at what’s next for the bike world.Note that this episode is cut off part way through and the full audio is available to our Escape Collective members who fund our work. If you'd like to become a member, please go to https://escapecollective.com/overnightsuccess to receive a 50% discount on your membership for a limited time while this series is running. Last but not least, we'll be doing a Q&A episode. Please submit your questions here: https://escapecollective.com/hello/

They seemed to arrive overnight: Chinese bike brands turning up in the WorldTour peloton, in your local shop, and all over your feed. But almost no one inside the industry thinks it was sudden at all. Most of the bikes we ride have been built in Asia for decades, so perhaps it was only a matter of time before those factories started putting their own names on the down tube.This episode digs into why these brands are expanding now, and the competition this poses for many Western brands who are already struggling. We cover China's national strategy behind the rise, the role COVID played as an accelerator, government subsidies, the domestic price war, and aspects of vertical integration. To become a member so you can listen to this full episode, head over to www.escapecollective.com/overnightsuccess

In episode one of this series — 'False Dawn' — we looked at the mistaken optimism the bike industry faced when the world opened up after the pandemic.The more you dig into this story, the clearer it becomes that the boom and bust was only the surface. Underneath it, something more fundamental had already changed.In this episode — which we're calling 'The Ground Shifted' — we hear from people who work at various levels of the supply chain about how the customer has changed, how the selling landscape has been redrawn, how private equity saw opportunity and moved in, and all the unexpected forces that have held back recovery — layered on top of structural problems that were already there long before COVID ever arrived.Please note that this is a preview and the full version of the series can be accessed by becoming an Escape Collective member. You can find out more about how to join here: http://www.escapecollective.com/OvernightSuccess 

In our last Industry Special series, we asked how the bike industry got itself into such deep trouble. What we found was a supply chain riddled with problems, a leadership culture built on false optimism, and an industry that mistook a pandemic bump for a permanent new normal. They called it the bike gold rush. Sadly it came to an abrupt end. Since that time, businesses have gone bankrupt. Shops have closed. Thousands of employees have been laid off. So the question has changed. We know how the industry got into trouble. Now we're asking something harder: why can't it get out?Over the past few months, my colleague Suvi Loponen and I have spoken to leaders and employees across the industry to find out if this is something far more systemic than COVID ever was.The following 4 episodes after this one will be exclusive for our members. If you want become a member, go to www.escapecollective.com/overnightsuccess to sign up for a limited time offer.

In January 2025, I sat down with Rapha's newly appointed CEO, Fran Millar, after she'd been in the job for about three months. Founder and previous CEO Simon Mottram stepped away from the business in 2021 and hired William Kim as his successor. Kim was brought in as an outsider with impressive experience in luxury fashion and retail – Burberry, Gucci, Abercrombie & Fitch. Unfortunately he lasted less than a year, and after Kim stepped away in 2022, Rapha internally promoted François Convercey and Daniel Blumire as co-CEOs. Blumire left the business shortly after, and the sole leadership position was left to Convercey until Fran Millar was appointed in August 2024.In that period of multiple leadership changes, Rapha faced increased competition, a pandemic, and what many would say was a loss of focus while trying to expand and appeal to a larger market – all while being newly owned by the Walton Brothers' investment fund RZC.It's been roughly a year and a half since I first spoke with Fran about her vision for Rapha's future. In this interview, we check in on what she's been able to do, what's been more challenging than she anticipated, and where her focus lays now.

In this episode we take a deep dive into Rose Bikes - a 120 year old bicycle brand that many of you may not have heard of, and that's about to change. Rose Bikes is a German  company that sells direct to consumer, similar to Canyon. Founded in 1907 as a small family workshop, it evolved into one of Europe’s early adopters of the D2C model. Thank you to my colleague Suvi Loponen for doing this interview. You'll be hearing more from Suvi on this channel much more in the future, so stay tuned! If you like this podcast and want to hear more, please support our work by becoming a member: https://escapecollective.com/join/ 

In this episode, we are going deep inside the founding story of Cannondale, which has arguably been one of the most innovative bike companies in the world to this day.The founder who is the main character in this story is Joe Montgomery. But he wasn’t a hardcore cyclist as you might expect. He was an entrepreneur who liked building things, hired his customer, and figuring it out as he went. Sadly, Joe passed away peacefully on January 2, 2026. Telling Cannondale's origin story in this episode is Joe's son, Scott Montgomery. Scott lived and breathed Cannondale for most of his career, is synonymous with leadership of his father, and is more than able to do the story justice. If you like this podcast and want to hear more, please support our work by becoming a member: https://escapecollective.com/join/

This episode's guest is Rachel Burnside, who is the creator and force behind Uplift, a mentoring and networking program she built from scratch to support women working in the cycling industry.Uplift started simply: connect women early in their careers with senior women who'd already navigated the road ahead. But it's grown into something much bigger - a global community with over a thousand women in the bike industry, and  live events at Sea Otter, Eurobike, the Tour de France Femmes and many other smaller ones. All of it built in Rachel's spare time, powered by goodwill, and kept free for everyone involved.We talk about how Uplift works, what she's learned across five rounds of mentoring, the role of male allies, and what it'll take to keep more women in cycling for the long haul. Find out more at www.shiftactivemedia.com/uplift/ and you can get in touch directly by emailing [email protected] you like this podcast and want to hear more, please support our work by becoming a member: https://escapecollective.com/join/

In this episode replay, I speak to Phil Liggett about how he got his start in commentating, how he met Paul Sherwen, how he’s been doing since Paul’s untimely passing, about his relationship with Lance Armstrong, and the cut-throat nature of his position at the top of his profession.Liggett is undeniably the most recognisable voice in cycling and his dulcet tones have brought the sport we all love into the mainstream through his ‘Liggetisms’, through his descriptions of châteaux, and through his partnership with co-commentator Paul Sherwen.Many enthusiasts say that Phil is long past his prime and should retire. There’s no denying that the media landscape is a very different place now than it was when Phil started commenting — before many of us were even born. But Phil has witnessed and called so many of cycling’s most significant and historic moments; moments that made us all jump out of our chairs with excitement. You have to thank Phil for being part of those memories. Personally, I bookmark my years by who won the TdF in that particular July, and Phil and Paul’s voices are part of that.Phil is now 76 years old and has been commentating since the late 70s. Think about that. His impact on the sport and his pioneering role have been tremendous. These days, while he might get some details wrong while calling a race in front of millions of people, I call tell you first-hand through many interactions with him that he’s still sharp as a tack. And as much as you don’t want to hear it, his commentary isn’t really for you or me, the hardcore cycling fans – it’s for the people who immerse themselves in the Tour de France once a year, and who still love him.From aspiring pro bike racer, to journalist, to commentating with Paul Sherwen for 33 years, Phil is now in the twilight of his career. I sat down with him to hear how he got started, and to learn about some of his struggles along the way.