S-TEC Shop Talk

Do you manage your bike shop's social media accounts? What if you had free access to the photos and videos created by the brands that you sell in your store? Then you should know about Promoboxx.

Andrew Glenn of Promoboxx and Scott Forrestall of Shimano North America tell us how it works.

Sign up for Shimano / Pearl Izumi's Promoboxx account through http://shimanopimarketing.com

Follow Promoboxx's social channels

Facebook: http://facebook.com/promoboxx

Instagram: http://instagram.com/promoboxx

Twitter: http://twitter.com/promoboxx

Do electric mountain bikes belong on trails used by hikers, equestrian riders, and regular mountain bikers? Or do they only belong on trails designated for motorized vehicles? This contentious question was the focus of a panel discussions held at the 2017 E-bike Summit, and the answers were a lot more nuanced than you might expect.

Panel members are Dave Wiens, the Executive Director of International Mountain Bike Association, Photographer and trail projects expert Leslie Kehmeier of The Wide Eyed World, John Riley of Trek Bicycle, Ken Miner of Haibike USA, and Troy Lee. Randy Neufeld directs the SRAM Cycling Fund, and moderates this discussion.

Follow People for Bikes

peopleforbikes.org/e-bikes

facebook.com/PeopleForBikes

instagram.com/peopleforbikes/

twitter.com/peopleforbikes

Follow Bicycle Product Suppliers Association

http://bpsa.org

The Bicycle Product Suppliers Association and PeopleForBikes conduct an annual E-bike Summit for stakeholders in the ever-expanding electric bicycle phenomenon in North America.

Shimano hosted the 2017 event in their Irvine, California headquarters, and this is the first of two panel discussions held during that session.

Follow People for Bikes

peopleforbikes.org/e-bikes

facebook.com/PeopleForBikes

instagram.com/peopleforbikes/

twitter.com/peopleforbikes

Follow Bicycle Product Suppliers Association

http://bpsa.org

Project Bike Tech is a high school vocational program like auto shop, but for bicycle mechanics. Mercedes Ross, their National Director, recently stopped by Shimano North America Bicycle HQ to share the latest news about Project Bike Tech.

Follow Project Bike Tech:

http://projectbiketech.org/blog

http://facebook.com/ProjectBikeTech

http://instagram.com/projectbiketech/

Road tubeless tires ride better and reduce flats compared to traditional road bicycle tires. But their higher air pressures make them different from mountain bike tubeless systems, and there's some safety fundamentals you must know.

Jim Malta of Stan's No Tubes drills down into tubeless rim and tire technologies so you can reap the benefits of road tubeless tires with confidence.

Follow Stan's No Tubes on Facebook

facebook.com/notubesfan

In a 20 group, retailers from noncompeting markets meet to help each other improve. Business metrics like inventory performance, sales by category, payroll, marketing spending, and rent are shared and analyzed. Peers help overcome your weak areas, and you'll help them in your strong suits. Build trust, friendships, and learn from allies who've been in your shoes.

Follow on Facebook:

National Bicycle Dealers Association

https://www.facebook.com/NBDA2015/

The Mann Group

https://www.facebook.com/TheMannGroup/

The secondhand bicycle market is huge. What is your shop doing to help old bike sellers become new bike buyers?

In this episode, we speak with three guests who've built big businesses out of used bicycles: Bicycle Sport Shop of Austin Texas, Colorado's The Pro's Closet, and Bicycle Blue Book of San Jose, California.

Follow our guests on Facebook:

https://facebook.com/bssaustin/

https://facebook.com/theproscloset/

https://facebook.com/BicycleBlueBook/

With 106 store locations, Performance Bicycle operates the largest bicycle retail chain in the United States. Finding good employees and training them to deliver a consistently high level of expertise is challenging even at a single-unit business.

How does Performance implement hiring, onboarding, and continuing professional development for staff across all experience levels of their enterprise? We speak with Sam Felts, Director of Store Operations for Retail and Training and Gene Carleton, Spin Doctor Services Coordinator to learn what tools they utilize.

Follow Performance Bicycle

facebook.com/performancebike

twitter.com/performancebike

instagram.com/performancebike

You may have heard recently about a bike mechanic who was recruited to work for NASA. It's no fluke that Stevo Partida, also a certified aviation mechanic, was hired away to work on spacecraft.

This episode takes us to Bike Effect in Santa Monica, California. We talk to shop partners Alison Letson and Steven Carre to learn how Bike Effect approaches customer relationships more like a fine dining restaurant or boutique hotel than a typical bicycle retail store.

Follow Bike Effect

facebook.com/bikeeffect

instagram.com/bikeeffect

twitter.com/bikeeffect

Renting downhill bikes is a big summer business for the bike park at Alaska's Alyeska Resort. We talk to shop manager Steve Bartholomew to learn the do's and don'ts of the rental business.

Even if you don't have a bike park in your backyard, you can still rent the bikes in your inventory. Spinlister Pro is an app that simplifies the process for bike shops and renters alike. We speak to Spinlister's Marketing Director, Curren Bates.