29th August 2022

The Spokesmen Cycling Podcast

EPISODE 305: Sexy Urban Bike: In Conversation with Knog CEO Hugo Davidson

SPONSOR: Tern Bicycles

HOST: Carlton Reid

GUEST: Hugo Davidson, CEO, Knog

TOPICS: Knog, 20 years young this year, started with a scattergun portfolio of bike products, a messy mix of messenger bags, shoes and cycling gloves, tapping into the zeitgeisty fixie-cum-singlespeed scene of the early to mid 2000s. But there was also the Tadpole, a LED handlebar light with front and rear facing LEDs. This turned out to be the Australian design company’s breakthrough product, far more in demand from a global audience than the eye-of-the-beholder soft goods. But it was the next LED offering which made the company’s fortune. Shaking up the technical but staid lighting market, Knog’s halo product was the Frog, a silicone-covered LED that, with its much copied stretchy tail, could be easily, quickly and securely strapped and unstrapped from seat posts and handlebars. More than 10 million of these iconic bike lights been sold since 2006. 

In this half-hour episode you’ll hear how Hugo invested to protect the company’s IP and how the edgy marketing of its early days — a punk messenger aesthetic — morphed as Knog matured.

LINKS:

https://www.ternbicycles.com/

https://www.the-spokesmen.com/

https://www.knog.com

EPISODE 305: Sexy Urban Bike: In Conversation with Knog CEO Hugo Davidson

The Spokesmen Podcast has been produced since 2006 by David Bernstein and Carlton Reid. It is a show dedicated to the issues and events of cycling in all of its many forms. It features cycling insiders including those from the media, marketing, manufacturing, racing, and advocacy.

Sports

Wilderness

EPISODE 352: Laura Laker

EPISODE 351: Andy McGrath — God is Dead

8th April 2024

The Spokesmen Cycling Podcast

EPISODE 350: AA’s Think Bike Redux 

SPONSOR: Tern Bicycles

HOST: Carlton Reid

GUESTS: Chris Boardman, Jeremy Vine, Edmund King


LINKS: 

https://www.the-spokesmen.com/

https://www.ternbicycles.com

https://twitter.com/CarltonReid

TRANSCRIPT

Carlton Reid  0:12  
Welcome to Episode 350 of the Spokesmen cycling podcast. This show was engineered on Monday 8th April 2024.

David Bernstein  0:28  
The Spokesmen cycling roundtable podcast is brought to you by Tern bicycles. The good people at Tern are committed to building bikes that are useful enough to ride every day and dependable enough to carry the people you love. In other words, they make the kind of bikes that they want to ride. Tern has e-bikes for every type of rider. Whether you’re commuting, taking your kids to school or even carrying another adult, visit www.ternbicycles.com. That’s t e r n bicycles.com to learn more. 

Carlton Reid  1:04  
I’m Carlton Reid and on today’s super short show we hear from Chris Boardman and Jeremy Vine, plugging that from today, the AA is relaunching its 10 year old ‘Think Bike’ campaign. This nudge-like promo encourages drivers to fit small Think Bike wing-mirror stickers to remind them to look out for those on two wheels. Back in 2014 the AA printed a million of these stickers and distributed them to members promoting the giveaway with a YouTube video featuring a good-looking naked cyclist appearing in wing mirrors demonstrating that if people chose to truly look before manoeuvring, there’ll be fewer casualties out there. Did the campaign save any lives? Impossible to prove either way, of course. And some might argue that 10 years down the road the feral attitude towards cyclists in particular from some motorists is worse than ever. But that a motoring organisation is still going out of its way to promote a critical road safety message is something that’s to be applauded.

The concept for a wing-mirror sticker came from AA patrolman Tony Rich after his friend was killed in a motorcycle crash. The idea was then championed by AA president who’s not only an arch motorist but also travels around London on a folding bike. Edmund cycles recreationally, too … I know that because he often sends me photos of him riding his mountain bike wearing the ipayroadtax Lycra jersey that I sent him ages ago …  So before the sound bites from Chris Boardman and Jeremy Vine here’s Edmund King …

Edmund King  3:01  
It is now 10 years since we launched our Think Bike sticker campaign. But unfortunately, the message is still as relevant today as it was a decade ago; far too many people are being killed and seriously injured on two wheels,  whether cyclists or motorcyclists. So we will be spreading the message again, to all drivers to think bikes. 

Chris Boardman  3:26  
It’s hard to believe the Think Bike sticker campaign launched 10 years ago, and I was there when that happened, the idea to make drivers just a little bit more aware of the vulnerable road users around them. Really glad to see that the AA is reinvigorating the campaign. And I’ll be glad to join in and help.

Jeremy Vine  3:43  
And I’m so pleased to see that the AA is doing this because if you’re on two wheels, you do feel quite vulnerable. And I always think when you’re in a car, and I drive too, you don’t always see that that person on the bicycle is a mum, a sister, somebody’s son, someone’s grandfather, maybe even their great grandfather. So thank you AA for thinking bike. 

David Bernstein  4:07  
This podcast is brought to you by Tern bicycles.  The good people at Tern are committed to building bikes that are useful enough to ride every day and dependable enough to carry the people you love. In other words, they make the kind of bikes that they want to ride. Tern has e-bikes for every type of rider. Whether you’re commuting, taking your kids to school or even carrying another adult, visit www.ternbicycles.com. That’s t e r n bicycles.com to learn more. This podcast is brought to you by Tern bicycles. The good people at Tern understand that while a large cargo bike can carry oodles of stuff, many of us prefer something a little more manageable. That’s why they’ve come up with the HSD e-cargobike for folks with big aspirations to go car free, delivered in a compact size, with its rear shock, 280 kilos, and a combined hauling capacity of 180 kilos. The robust new HSD is stable and easy to manoeuvre, even when under load. And with its Bosch eBIKE SYSTEM tested and certified to meet the highest UL standards for electric and fire safety you’ll be able to share many worryfree adventures with a loved one whether it’s your kiddo or Nan. Visit www.ternbicycles. That’s t e r n ternbicycles.com to learn more

Visit www.ternbicycles. That’s t e r n ternbicycles.com to learn more.

Carlton Reid  5:06  
And that’s it for today’s show. Thanks for listening to episode 350 of the Spokesmen podcast, brought to you in association with Tern Bicycles.   Show notes and more can be found at the-spokesmen.com.   The next episode, a rather longer one, will be a chat with cycling writer Andy McGrath, author of God is Dead and other cycling books …. meanwhile get out there and ride …

EPISODE 305: Sexy Urban Bike: In Conversation with Knog CEO Hugo Davidson

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