Ugly electric assisted commuter bikes will be the big seller.

Can anybody make them remotely nice? They all look like nasty hybrids, which is what they are, I guess.

plaid shirts.

people looking through the windows of poorly stocked shops (whats left of them anyways) at stuff they just cant afford anymore!
well you did ask, Lmao

Road bikes to make a big comeback. Top end mtb sales to hit the floor.

29ers are just hybrids, have been around for years, they are just moving high end.

Fashion bikes – track bike look-a-likes, clean looking from courier style to commuters dressed up as urban CXs. With hub gears, wide rims. Or MAMIL machines.

seriously I reckon the modern european city bike / commuter with or withut electric will become a bigger and bigger part of the market.

10 speed gripshift.

Super tiny 250cc two stroke motox race engine that will fit in the very small front triangle of my DH rig 😀

IMO – in the next 1-5 years

Electric bikes are gonna be BIG .. as driving gets pricier.

650B designs will emerge as longer travel FS designs and phase out 26″

1×11 will arrive

Far eastern sellers (i.e the guys who make the stuff!) will gain more respect as they become more orgainsed .. and people will increasingly see cheaper-products on ebay that looks just like the one that costs 3 times more with a “known-logo” in their LBS

I reckon that come 2013 the ratio of “STW-time:riding-time” will sway in the correct direction for most on here…..

DrP

I think that a niche that hasn’t been explored very well yet is functional and fashionable bikes that appeal to the normal rider (so no one on here then) and hit the £200-£400 price mark – where most normal people feel they have spent enough on a bike to get a good one.

Some hybrids are already there – but most people want a mtb with suspension at that price – must be feasible to make a decent hardtail with effective brakes that doesn’t weigh a tonne at that price point. Some older suspension designs ought to be suitable for comfort riding rather than off road…

I’m going with electric assist city bikes.

I can also feel the increasing emergence of very high-end custom steel road framsets, traditional brazed / lugged frames, made to measure, but with little twists / tweaks. Never going to be mainstream of course, but it’ll become increasingly realistic for more people.

27.5er’s, best of both worlds, you know it makes sense.

Road bikes to make a big comeback. Top end mtb sales to hit the floor.

Won’t happen, it has already happened. From talking to people road bikes are what are selling not mtbs.

I reckon that come 2013 the ratio of “STW-time:riding-time” will sway in the correct direction for most on here…..

DrP

😆 What’s this crazy theory based on?

Active suspension ,ala f1 cars of a few years ago.

The fork (or rear shock) senses the size and speed that the bump is being hit at and adjusts damping accordingly ,allows super plushness over small bumps and big hits alike, also allows adjustable ride height and therefore dynamic headangles ,steep when going up,slack going down, automatically varies itself according to steepness of terrain and speed

thanks for all your replies everybody! there’s deffinately some areas that a lot of you are agreeing on.

-electric bikes
-hub gears / belt drive
-1×11
-electric shifting
-low end commuter/comfort bikes
-29er revolution

should be plenty to discuss in my interview. wish me luck 😉

good luck, remember you owe us all a percentage of your wage if you get the job x

Active suspension ,ala f1 cars of a few years ago.

The fork (or rear shock) senses the size and speed that the bump is being hit at and adjusts damping accordingly ,allows super plushness over small bumps and big hits alike, also allows adjustable ride height and therefore dynamic headangles ,steep when going up,slack going down, automatically varies itself according to steepness of terrain and speed

I don’t fancy carrying around a hydraulic pump with me….

just to let you know I got the job!!

I’m just going to go ahead and say it was a team effort, so thanks 😉

Well done mate

Now hurry up and get my new electric, 1×11, gear hubed, electric shifting, low end, 29er into production.

😀

so what was the job? or did I miss that?

oh, and congrats of course

I don’t fancy carrying around a hydraulic pump with me….

Just have electronicaly adjutable dampers? Cannondale had the ELO fork, noleen made a similar shock for proflex. Bionicon use the shock/fork themselves as a pump. All the tech’s there, just need someone to build it.

Is there a need for it? Not so sure, people might buy it, but not sure of a need for it personaly.

an industry theme that’s here already, German direct bike sales will grow in a big way.

so what was the job? or did I miss that?

oh, and congrats of course

it’s as a buyer for one of the big big companys. chuffed to bits. thank you!