MTB News Round Up: November 6, 2008

Wow, seems like there’s alot of MTB and cycling-related news I haven’t been able to get to lately so I’ll have to blast it all out at once. We’re also starting to post some news items in the MTB forums as well so keep your eyes peeled! Dorel profits rise 142% year over year! For …

Wow, seems like there’s alot of MTB and cycling-related news I haven’t been able to get to lately so I’ll have to blast it all out at once. We’re also starting to post some news items in the MTB forums as well so keep your eyes peeled!

Dorel profits rise 142% year over year! For those who aren’t familiar, Dorel is the parent company of Cannondale, Mongoose, Schwinn, and GT. From the article I read it sounded like much of the sales gains at the company came from Pacific Cycles which distributes Schwinn and Mongoose bikes to mass retailers like Wal-Mart and Target. Cannondale sales rose as well but were hampered by supply issues with carbon fiber models. Sounds like LeBron did pretty well on his investment in Cannondale 😉

New interstate bike routes approved for US: An ambitious plan to create bike corridors to connect urban, suburban, and rural areas in the US has been approved by highway and transportation officials. The network of more than 50,000 miles of routes along roads and trails would be the largest bike network in the world and is expected to increase the number of non-motorized trips in the US. Maybe $4-a-gallon gas wasn’t such a bad thing… at least it got people thinking about bikes again!

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Bike helmets – for dogs? There was a discussion on the forums about mountain biking with dogs but somehow this isn’t what I pictured. While the Hunter Dog Bike Helmet isn’t safety rated at least your dog can feel like he’s part of the group when you take him or her out on the MTB trail.

San Francisco Bicycle Expo and Swap November 29-30: rideSFO is hosting the first annual SF Bike Expo and Swap at the Cow Palace and it sounds like a mini Interbike that’s open to the public. Exhibitors include everyone from bike manufacturers, eco-friendly vendors, bike shops, teams, and advocacy groups. Events like demos, pixie bike races, and raffles will take place over the weekend which should make this a great event. Might be a good chance to pick up a sweet mountain bike for cheap…

New Cleveland mountain bike trails questionable. Sorry to end this post with such a bummer but perhaps it will spur area riders to action. We wrote about the experimental mountain bike trail project undertaken with Cleveland Metroparks last fall and even named the trail system one of the best urban mountain bike trails in the US but it sounds like the parks department isn’t happy with the arrangement. According to this article park officials are upset about mountain bikers creating rogue trails and illegally riding on equestrian and hiking trails. I think I have a solution: build or designate more trails for bikes, not less!