The Bicycle Thieves - Matt Stoller
THIS! The Bicycle Thieves - Matt Stoller
There's a bicycle shortage due to, yes, monopoly. And now the monopolists are trying to build a world without independent bike shops.
Today there are a billion bikes worldwide, and in some cities, biking is a key part of taking cars off the road, improving traffic and reducing pollution. The industry is also in the midst of a serious merger wave, with major bike producers vertically integrating, particularly in the retail sector. “One thing I frequently see in my news alerts but never tweet about: Trek sure is buying a lot of bike shops,” said Peter Flax, a writer at Bicycling magazine.
