Accell's North American Struggle: Why a European Powerhouse Keeps Stumbling
Accell could dominate European cycling and still bleed money in North America. The two markets are not the same business — and the company eventually admitted it.
Sports Lab
Shimano's 43% Profit Slump and What It Signals for the Whole Industry
When the world's biggest component maker reports a double-digit profit collapse, it is not Shimano's problem alone. It is the industry's thermometer — and the same margin trap keeps snapping shut every cycle.
The KKR Acquisition of Accell: Private Equity Bets Big on European Cycling
KKR took Accell private for €1.56 billion in 2022 — the largest deal in cycling's history. Three years later it had written off roughly €1.1 billion in equity and ceded control to lenders. A boom-era bet that met cyclical reality.
Heritage Goes Financial: Pinarello's Path Through Private Equity
When a framebuilder synonymous with Tour de France winners takes institutional money, the business of bicycles stops being a family affair. Pinarello's trajectory is a window onto how cycling's heritage brands are being professionalised — and what gets gained and lost in the process.
Colnago and the Gulf: What a UAE Buyout Says About Cycling's New Money
In May 2020 the most storied name in Italian framebuilding sold a majority stake to an Abu Dhabi fund. Five years on, with sales reportedly tripled, the deal looks less like heritage changing hands and more like a map of where cycling's capital now lives.
Beyond the Headline Rate: US Bicycle Trade Enters a New Phase
Every tariff announcement produces a burst of coverage about rates and retaliation. The real transformation of US bicycle trade is happening underneath that noise — in sourcing decisions that will define the industry for a decade.
The 15% Ceiling: What the US-Taiwan Tariff Deal Actually Secures
From a 32% shock in 2025 to a 20% interim rate to a 15% ceiling in early 2026 — the US-Taiwan deal did not cut tariffs so much as insure Taiwan's bicycle exporters against the worst case.