Shimano Gets Coasting
The Shimano Coasting experiment has begun. For those of you who don’t know about the project, Shimano is trying to get people who don’t ride bikes to start riding bikes. They hired an outside company to study the industry and find out why people who can bike don’t bother. The outsiders figured out that gears are confusing, and the people who sell bikes are an exclusive lot that isn’t too willing to help newbs work their brakes and oil their chains.
So now Shimano is trying to affect a major shift in the way bikes are designed and sold—and they’ll make a boatload of money if it works out. Of course, if everyone in the country starts riding their bikes, then I think Shimano’s entitled to Microsoft-style cash.
Coasting is trying to make cycling accessible and fun. Their bikes don’t require much maintenance, and they come with automatic transmissions and coaster brakes. Trek, Giant, and Raleigh are all making the bikes with big chain guards and upright riding positions. They’re not for sale yet, but the Coasting website will let you get a look at the goods.
The one thing these user-friendly bikes can’t address are the places bikes are sold and maintained. It’s no secret that bikes shop employees are an exclusive bunch, and redesigning bikes with “mood grips” doesn’t do much to change that. The new bikes only takes Shimano halfway, it’ll be interesting to see how they address the other half of the reason normal people don’t buy bikes.
via bike hugger
By Rocky Thompson- rockythompson
February 21st, 2007 at 12:29 pm
If Shimano is smart (and I think they are, with this idea. Hell, I want two) they’ll address the shop-dick angle with some required merchandising and educational stuff. If shops want to sell these bad boys they’ll put their shop-dicks through mandatory training about who to sell it to and how to sell it, and they’ll put the Coaster Display Unit in their store.
If the required Coaster Display Unit ™ has some free info pamphlets or similar de-mystification of bikes paraphenalia, then you get a more educated consumer and you take some heat off shop employees. The smart way, for both shops and suppliers, to handle this is to use the coasters as a gateway drug. I think Shimano’s onto that here. Get a Coaster, learn the basics about bikes, get to like it, upgrade to something fancy and expensive.
February 21st, 2007 at 3:22 pm
What hints can independent bike stores take from Apple’s approach to retail with the Apple Store, Genius Bar, workshops…Computers and software are much more complicated than bicycles and computer geeks are almost as elitist than the most type A roadie. There’s something there…
February 22nd, 2007 at 10:28 am
No one who thinks gears are too complicated will ever ride a bike… stupid and lazy are two sides of the same coin. Did these people not have childhoods or did mommy and daddy drive the little brats everywhere? I would say two minutes on a bike and you should have that tricky gear thing figured.
February 22nd, 2007 at 3:26 pm
i agree with geraci.
another example - look at the proliferation of automatic vehicles vs manuals. it now costs MORE to buy a manual transmission vehicle because no one wants them. we are a lazy society…those companies who cater to the market will prevail…whether you are happy about that or not is your own concern.
“Is this a shifter car? I cannot drive a shifter car, alright, so we got a little situation here. I can’t drive these kinda cars! What the fuck is goin’ on! You think that’s funny? Would you like to know, smartass? Would you like to know why I can’t drive this kinda car? I’ll tell you why, I’m used to *luxury* cars. Have you ever heard of a luxury car? You know what luxury means? Ever heard of Cadillac, Cadillac Eldorado? That’s what I drive. I drive cars that *shift* themselves. “
February 22nd, 2007 at 3:46 pm
I think you’re missin’ the point here, Pembertim. These bikes aren’t being sold to shop-dicks like yourself who spank it to biker’s world, they’re being sold to people who want a bike they can pick up, pedal around, put down, and forget it exists. No derailer maintenance, no brake adjustment, no BS’ing around with it in general. Do you give serious thought to your shoes? No, that’d be ridiculous. You put em on and walk out the door. This is the wheeled version of shoes. So basically, this is the bike version of rollerskates, and we know how sick those are.
February 23rd, 2007 at 3:45 pm
The gears on a typical bicycle are NOT hard to figure out! If someone cannot figure out something as simple as the gearing on a bicycle then they are not smart enough to ride. If they do go out riding they will probably not be able to figure out nor follow the rules of the rode and may get into an accident. I don’t want to be out riding with these sorts of people who are not able to figure out very simple stuff.
February 24th, 2007 at 2:17 pm
i have worked at shops for many years. the old english style beach crusiers still sell. shimano already makes bikes like this. they have 3 speeds not to hard to figure out, but people have a hard enough time using turn signals on there car. people will still have to maitain these bikes, what happens when the automatic tranny breaks? the so called shop dick will have to fix it. there is a bike out there with an auto tranny and it sucks! i have worked on them and ridden them, they dont work. tranny slips under pressure and you still have to adjust them! i ride a single speed i dont shift and i can climb hills faster then most riders on geared bikes. single speeds dont sell like hot cakes why would this bike? people who dont ride, dont want to for one reason they are not interested!
February 24th, 2007 at 5:39 pm
I’m not really buying the “can’t figure out the gears” story either - heck, I was on a 10-speed before I was 10. I’ve been riding at various times over the years, but stopped for two main reasons:
- Traffic: I live in Dublin, Ireland, where the few bike lanes don’t go where I need to, and have a habit of ending halfway across an intersection, leaving you in traffic. Most streets are so narrow that a hill means a queue of angry drivers behind you.
- Ergonomics: saddles seem to be designed to hurt me, normal riding positions have me straining my neck. Sure, it would be better if I was more fit, but why should I bend my body out of shape to suit the bike?
Gears are no fun if the roads mean you’re changing every minute or less, either, and I’ve sometimes wondered if anyone would make a CVT for a bike, even one with a limited range.
February 26th, 2007 at 3:24 pm
Like stoney I worked in a bike shop for years. Mechanics hate working on this kind of bike because when they break…they’re pretty much done. The nice thing though in my experience is that most people who buy this kind of bike are people in their older years, so maybe they’ll expire before the bike. I do agree with stoney that single speeds are the way to go. I converted my geared into a single, and am not looking back. gears just suck in general.
March 6th, 2007 at 10:41 am
[…] Worst 5 Skis in Recent Memory (24)Top 5 Reasons Snowboarders Are Cooler Than Skiers (18)Man-Hating Snowboards (14)Banana Hard Case (9)Shimano Gets Coasting (9)The Merino Follow-Up (9)Making Skis in Your Garage (9)Ninthward with Full Line of 07/08 Skis at ISPO: Ready in Riot Gear to Stop Photos (7)The Secret Life of Merino Wool (7)Hippy Propaganda: Industrialized Hemp (7)Who are we? […]
March 9th, 2007 at 9:08 am
I think that you guys are missing a key point. And that is you are all looking at this through “bikers” eyes. The gears are not impossible to figure out, your right. But the person this bike is targeted at lives in an automatic world from cars to coffe makers, hell even the TV (TiVo) and we all know that as easy as it gets yet people still love automatic. So are the dumb and Lazy? no, they are the millions of consumers and the people that are going pump life into the bike industry.
For the shop dicks out there (I was one) I challenge any of you to prove you live an automatic-free life. Electric shavers, cell phones, cars, coffee makers, and the list goes on and on. Yes, they can learn, BUT THEY DON’T WANT TO. You have to get over not liking to work on them it’s not your choice, and I am sure you will be singing a different tune if this blows up and so does your pay check…
From another article i read, and i think this really captures it, they want the bike they had when they where kids, no wires and junk, but they dont want to work hard meaning it needs gears. The Coasting bike is the perfect answer to that. that’s my 2cents.
March 9th, 2007 at 4:25 pm
Chillin’ speaks truth.
March 13th, 2007 at 11:59 am
[…] Top 5 Reasons Snowboarders Are Cooler Than Skiers (22)Man-Hating Snowboards (14)Shimano Gets Coasting (12)Banana Hard Case (9)The Merino Follow-Up (9)Making Skis in Your Garage (9)Hippy Propaganda: Industrialized Hemp (8)The Secret Life of Merino Wool (7)Cadence Clothing (6)North Face White Collection (5)Who are we? […]
March 15th, 2007 at 1:52 pm
[…] Man-Hating Snowboards (14)Shimano Gets Coasting (13)Banana Hard Case (9)The Merino Follow-Up (9)Making Skis in Your Garage (9)Hippy Propaganda: Industrialized Hemp (8)The Secret Life of Merino Wool (7)Cadence Clothing (6)North Face White Collection (5)Cannonbaaaall, Cannonball Coming! (5)Who are we? […]
March 16th, 2007 at 6:52 am
I agree with Chillin Biker’s point. Sure this concept is going to illicit a few negative responses on a blog post. Most people who comb the web for bike content are already cycling enthusiasts and are not the target market for a product like this.
I think that the bicycle industry is finally realizing that they need to actively pursue new customers. Most people in the industry are there because they love bikes, so I think in the past the marketing and design departments at big bike companies have had some trouble relating to the average non-cyclist. Thinking from a different perspective is part of the challenge with any design project. As a designer, I love to see bikes like these even though I personally commute on high-end road and track bikes. These coasting bikes aren’t for me personally, but they are the most exciting things I have seen from the bike industry in years. I think Shimano was smart to collaborate with IDEO on this concept and I think it will pay off for them in the end.
March 27th, 2007 at 12:12 pm
I hope that Shimano’s new automatic coaster thing works out, but I doubt it’s going to be the next profit wave for the bike industry. Pembertim is right: the reason bikes aren’t more prevalent as daily transportation is NOT because they are maintenance-intensive machines. It is because people prefer to ride in a car. In many cases, people simply can’t use a bike because of infrastructure — no reasonable bike lanes to safely ride to work, storage for your bike at work, or a shower when you get there. Hence, the bike that is perfectly good continues to gather dust in the garage during the off-season, and it gets some fun weekend rides in the summer. That’s just not a reason to buy a new super-duper auto-shifting comfort bike.
All that said: i applaud the industry for offering comfort bikes in addition to the high-performance models. If the large bike manufacturers were smart, they’d go one step further and offer comfortable trikes for retired folks to cruise the boardwalks, golf courses, and beaches. A tricyle is a better option for older folks, and perfect for hauling a set of golf clubs or a couple bags of groceries. Sure, i’d haul all that stuff on my bike, but most people would not…
March 28th, 2007 at 4:06 pm
Thanks for defending the ultra-casual bike rider, Chillin. I just bought a Raleigh Coasting after going over 20 years without riding a bike. I rode daily when I was in college, so I could shift gears just fine if I wanted to. And my car has a manual transmission, so I understand that shifting can be fun. But at least until my new Shimano gear box breaks down, I plan to use it happily as I totter around with my wife and baby. I promise to do my best to keep my eyes open and stay out of the way when the rest of you zoom past me.
March 30th, 2007 at 3:48 pm
What in the name of Jerry Brightonhammer was that all about?
I dont’ know but it doesn’t make sense to me.
April 2nd, 2007 at 6:07 pm
[…] The Trek Coasting Lime Bike began shipping today, and it’s coming with a trunk in the seat. It’ll be nice for carrying around a sandwich or maybe some Power Beans for your energy breaks. It’s selling for $500 to $580 in all its auto-shifting glory. Good luck figuring out how to get the seat open. […]
April 13th, 2007 at 8:43 am
Notthatdumb: Where did you order the Raleigh Coasting bike from?
I can’t find a single retailer in the WashingtonDC area who carries either the Raleigh or the Trek Lime products.
Spring is almost here (actually it came but then winter staged a come back) and I WANT A COASTING BIKE!!!!
P.S. My 10-speed is too covered with cobweb for me to pull that out…
April 18th, 2007 at 10:34 am
Sam, I found my Raleigh at my neighborhood bike shop before they sold out. I read somewhere that there won’t be any more shipped to retailers until June, but maybe you could put in an order now. Good luck. I’m still extremely pleased with my bike, although it would be nice on hills (even very short ones) to be able to override the automatic transmission, just as one might sometimes do driving a car.
April 18th, 2007 at 10:48 am
[…] Topeak’s Jango bike line wants to move into on the user-friendly bike market that Shimano is trying to get off the ground with their Coasting project. Instead of offering a simple bike with automatic shifters and a coaster brake like Coasting, Topeak is marketing their bike as a modular commuter with endless flexibility. The stem is adjustable for height and length and, well, the seat height is adjustable, too, I’m sure. Topeak is building the Jango bikes drilled to accept special Topeak add-ons like lights and horns. […]
April 24th, 2007 at 5:39 pm
[…] The Shimano Coasting Post started the debate on the automatic vs. manual shifting of bike gears. Trek Bikes is using that technology with their LIME bike under the slogan “ride at your speed.” […]
May 3rd, 2007 at 9:22 pm
I own seven bikes, everything from multi-thousand dollar custom jobs to several 3speed town bikes I literally found at the curb. My daily ride now is an old Ross EuroTour with a Shimano 3 speed hub. It gets me to work, the store and just farting around the neighborhood in normal cloths with room in the back cargo racks for what ever I feel like taking with me. Now I’m all about practical bikes that serve a functional purpose (ie. take the place of a car trip).
My only problem with Shimano’s Coasting group is that they dumbed down a three speed and made it overly complicated with computer control!!! Come on! Its a damned three speed internal hub. I understand that people get confused with multideralier geared bikes but if you can’t figure out a three speed internal hub than I just got to wonder about your brain’s cognitive functions.
I still think the industry has got it all wrong. It’s not the gearing people can’t figure out People just want a “normal” bike like they used to have back in the day that was practical, had fenders and chain a guard so they can go to the grocery store in normal cloths. Basically the bikes you see all over places like Copenhagen, Amsterdam and Berlin.
Shimano got it wrong but Electra with their new Amsterdam line got it right!
June 6th, 2007 at 11:26 am
I have to applaud Shimano, Trek, Raleigh, Giant, and all the other bicycle manufacturers that are building bikes that appeal to the non-cyclist/casual rider. The goal here is to create bicycle communities across the country and give alternatives to the automobile. I believe that the coasting campaign is a step in the right direction to get people onto bikes to cruise around town to their local coffee shops and farmers market or wherever and build healthy, bicycle friendly communities. If the casual rider does this then maybe they’ll step it up and begin commuting to work and then getting into road or mtn biking. I’ve been riding for over 10 years as a mountain biker and commuter and I plan on purchasing one of these coasting bikes for those days where I am too lazy to go for a long, gnarly, ride and instead go to the coffee shop and park. Granted I could do this on any bike, but it’s just more comfortable on one of these cruisers and gives me that kid like feeling that is happy.
June 19th, 2007 at 8:54 pm
I just had knee surgery and found out I need a total knee replacement at the tender age of 45. My surgeon warned me that extreme hill climbing was not advisable, but cycling was a good alternative to high impact sports. I had already sold my expensive road bike, because I was sick of the pain inflicted by long, hilly rides and the competitive nature of my friends on what were supposed to be “fun” rides. I tried using my old mountain bike, but it was a strain on my back and neck. BikeKid got it right: not everyone wants to go out and pretend to be Lance Armstrong every weekend. I liked the idea of just getting on my bike, like when I was a kid, and riding to the neighborhood coffee shop or grocery store. I’m plenty smart enough to figure out the gearing on a more complicated bike, but I just don’t feel like doing it every time I want to run a quick errand. I like to actually see what I’m passing when I ride, and I don’t want to be clipped into my pedals when I’m riding through city traffic with stop signs at every corner. The knee surgery was the kicker: time to find an easy-going way to cycle. I tested a Trek Lime tonight and felt like it took 20 years off me–needless to say, it was the “bike dick’s” easiest sale of the day. P.S. Lived in the Netherlands for a year and I feel like I’m back there again. I hope this really catches on.
July 17th, 2007 at 12:02 am
Shit! Many of you are full of IT! I rode bikes as a kid and teen. Broke my skull riding when 11 years old - btw, there were NO helmets back then. Birthdate 1957, so I turn 50 this year. Later on when in high school, I needed to bike to school on my 10-speed. I never did figure out when to shift,there is a monster hill quite close to Helix! Waytoo many choices, I guessed and checked, but never felt like I understood the whole shifting thing. . But everyday I made it to class and the downhill part going home was sweet.
Now as a 50 year old, I want to bike to work, it is less than a mile from home, but I do not want to do the whole gears thing. I certainly could do it, but to have the automatic shifter figure it out as I pedal is SWEET!
Me and my bike are going to revolutionize my community, just you wait!
August 21st, 2007 at 5:41 pm
[…] They say the bikes are for people passionate about cycling on one end, and then they turn around and talk to you like the last time you saw a bike was when a bear was riding it at the circus. My guess is that Civia Cycles will be nothing more than an entry-level Shimano Coasting knockoff. […]
September 23rd, 2007 at 7:37 am
I just bought the Raleigh Coasting bike - and I love it.
I think this automatic coasting idea was brilliant marketing, because there is a whole segment of the population who perhaps haven’t been on a bike in a while, are intimidated by the bravado of the ‘A’ rides and riders mentality, and/or just want to casually enjoy cruisin’ around without all the pressure, hype, work, etc.
When I was a kid, my sisters and I, while visiting our grandparents, would rent bikes to ride on the boardwalk of Atlantic City in the early morning. It was flat cruising and it was easy, but the feeling was a totally zen one whose memory still delights us today. Maybe it is a part of the past, but maybe it’s also something whose time has come (again - only better.)
Like several others posting above me, I haven’t been on a bike for years. I do have a Trek Antelope with 21 gears, which I purchased around 16 years ago (and yes - I do know how do use the gears!) but for a number of reasons, I just haven’t gone riding in a long time
I saw this bike at a local sporting goods shop when I was buying bikes for my seven-year-old twins. After stewing about the whole idea for several weeks, I decided that this was the bike for me, to get me back into it again. The guys in the bike department of this store (which was huge and carried a wide and varied range of bikes) were very enthusiastic about Shimano’s automatic 3-speed, and took the time to explain why it was such a great idea as well as the mechanics of how it all worked. (So much for snarky bike-dicks! I’d buy from these guys again any time!)
Anyway, my Raleigh Coasting is comfortable, fun to ride - and pretty, to boot. it’s the talk of my neighborhood right now, and that is just fine with me.
May 15th, 2008 at 9:15 am
My parents are in their early 70’s and love to bike. My mother has a problem figuring out the gears and can never find a bike seat she likes… she also does not like straight handle bars that her current bike has. She will go through phases of not riding because of those issues. I think this bike is a great idea and it would promote biking for the older generation! I’m curious how many gears it changes into because just having 3 would not be enough. Coster breaks might take some getting use to for her and I think having an option for traditional breaks with this shamano system would be good. Anyone have any other suggestions for comfortable bikes for senior citizens?
June 12th, 2008 at 9:22 am
If there was a diagram on the gear shift like there was when I learned to shift a car so very many years ago, maybe I could figure out how to shift a 10 speed. I don’t know what the pattern is and all I can find on line is something about gear ratios (which I never had to know to shift a car properly). When I was a kid there were no 10-speeds and I was lucky to have any kind of bike. There must be something between stupid and lazy and changing my cams from 42 to 39 or what ever that info was that was way over my head. I am just riding in the neighborhood with my grandchildren so I don’t think anyone is at risk but I am still doing too much reshifting trying to find the right spot. I have some fear of falling and breaking my bones so I would appreciate a simple, non-condescending explanation of what I need to keep from going too fast down hill and the best way to make it up hill without killing myself, short of getting off and walking. PS. The grandkids are riding bikes without gears so I can’t use their experience.