Matt Wiebe

Matt Wiebe

Matt is one of the magazine’s original editors, penning his first article in BRAIN’s second edition in 1992. With a penchant for obscure parts, frames and brands, Matt ended up as the technical editor. He also had more bikes and bike parts in his garage than all the other editors combined. Matt said he’s looking forward to his 30-year sabbatical at the company and hopes to spend some of that “free” time walking around Interbike and checking out the goods instead of writing copy for the Show Daily.

Matt works from an office in Santa Fe. Mailing address:

369 Montezuma #248
Santa Fe, NM 87501

mwiebe@bicycleretailer.com

All articles by Matt Wiebe

Berd polyethylene spokes put wheels on a serious weight-loss plan

April 12, 2019
The Berd spokes work with hubs designed for J-bend or straight-pull metal spokes.

MINNEAPOLIS — Polyethylene spokes from Berd LLC can shave up to 200 grams from a wheel while offering an improved fatigue life compared to metal spokes. The company's technology has caught the eye of weight weenies and the National Science Foundation, which awarded Berd a $225,000 grant last year.

Posted in Product/Tech

Tire and rim standards move closer to conformity after industry push

March 6, 2019

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (BRAIN) — Installing and removing clinchers could become a bit easier in the near future as the industry has completed work with two standards bodies to revise dimensions for tire bead and rim diameters. Standards makers at ISO and ETRTO have worked together, for the first time, to revise and harmonize the ISO 5775 rim standard and the ETRTO tire standard.

Posted in Product/Tech

With tariff increases on the way, should retailers stock up? Suppliers have opinions

September 19, 2018

RENO, Nev. (BRAIN) — With a 10 percent tariff hitting bikes next Monday, and an additional 15 percent being added Jan. 1, should retailers dig deep and order all the bikes they can before the end of the year?

Posted in Industry News

Kent buys Univega brand, will relaunch it as a US-made IBD brand

April 24, 2018

MANNING, S.C. (BRAIN) — Kent International is bringing back the Univega brand, once a bike shop mainstay. The company will roll out a new line of Univega bikes — all made in the U.S. — at Interbike in Reno, Nevada, this fall, with price points from $200 to $800. The line will be sold exclusively by IBDs. 

Posted in Industry News

Sea Otter 2018: Kids' bike brands move young riders up the age spectrum

April 17, 2018
The Woom 2 14-inch-wheel model sells for $339.

MONTEREY, Calif. (BRAIN) — The big news in kids' bikes at this year's Sea Otter Classic is a host of new bikes with 26- and 27.5-inch wheels that allow kids beginning to outgrow their 24-inch bikes to have a slight step up in size but still keep kid geometry, kid-size components and kid-friendly light weight.

Posted in Product/Tech

LAB urges changes to Senate bill regulating autonomous vehicles

March 20, 2018

WASHINGTON (BRAIN) — The League of American Bicyclists, responding to the first U.S. pedestrian fatality involving an autonomous vehicle, is supporting changes to Senate legislation that would regulate the self-driving cars and trucks.

Posted in Industry News

Reports: self-driving Uber car kills Arizona pedestrian

March 19, 2018
UPDATED: San Francisco bike group calls death “entirely avoidable.”

TEMPE, Ariz. (BRAIN) — A self-driving Uber car hit and killed a pedestrian Sunday night here, according to New York Times reporter Daisuke Wakabayashi's twitter feed.

Posted in Industry News

Trump’s new tariffs put job expansion of 60 to 80 jobs on hold at Kent International

March 19, 2018

MANNING, S.C. (BRAIN) — The Trump Administration’s newly announced tariffs on imported steel and aluminum will — at least temporarily — put a jobs expansion proposal by Kent International on hold. 

Posted in Industry News

Proposed tariff increase on steel and aluminum concerns some in the bike industry

March 2, 2018

WASHINGTON (BRAIN) — The Trump administration's plans to sign sweeping tariff revisions next week could raise the price of imported steel by 25 percent and increase the cost of imported aluminum by 10 percent.

Posted in Industry News

Supplier shipments to shops fell 4% last year, but sales held tough

January 19, 2018
BPSA releases year-end wholesale sale data.
Gravel bikes gave the industry a boost in 2017.

BOULDER, Colo. (BRAIN) — A new report shows the value of bikes shipped last year was down just 1 percent from 2016 due to higher average price; the number of bikes shipped was the lowest in a decade.

Posted in Studies/Reports

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