We Don’t Need Less Cycling Stuff. We Need More Cycling Community

Rick Sutton is right: we’re drowning in cycling gear.

There’s more choice, more brands, and more noise than anyone can reasonably navigate. But “less stuff” isn’t the real cure. The problem isn’t oversupply. It’s underconnection.

The gap isn’t in the showroom. It’s in the space between a bike purchase and a rider’s first real experience of belonging.

Sondre Norland, CEO of BikeFolder, captures this perfectly: people buy bikes because they want community, activity, connection, and experience. But the moment they roll out of the shop, they’re on their own. No map. No invitation. No pathway into organized cycling or community rides.

You bought a bike. Congratulations. Now what?

Most newcomers don’t fall out of love with cycling. They fall out of place.

We’ve built an industry great at selling equipment and terrible at welcoming people.

Roll up to any club ride.

If you’re new, under-geared, or still finding your fitness, the experience can be brutal. Not because cyclists are unfriendly, but because the system has no structured on-ramps. No “start here.” No gentle pace groups. No continuity from “I bought a bike” to “I belong here.”

Gyms figured this out decades ago. Indoor cycling did, too. Cycling, real-world on the road and on the trails, generally hasn’t.

The real crisis isn’t too much gear. It’s too few invitations.

There are too few community entry points, routes built for beginners, welcoming first experiences, and places where a rider can show up and feel seen, safe, and supported.

Sondre’s pilot in Norway — connecting someone’s newly registered bike to local clubs offering beginner-friendly introduction sessions — is the type of bridge the industry needs. It turns a product purchase into a pathway. It transforms “stuff” into “experience.”

It’s a small step with massive implications:

• More riders become real riders.

• More people ride consistently.

• More communities grow.

• More shops thrive.

• More casual participation events exist and flourish.

• More families, friends, and workplaces begin to ride together.

The industry keeps looking for a commercial fix. But the real fix is cultural.

If we want more people riding, buying, upgrading, joining, showing up, and sticking around, the answer is painfully simple:

• We need more community, not more inventory.

• More connection, not more carbon layups.

• More time on bikes with others, not more SKUs.

• More clubs with open doors.

• More local rides with real structure.

• More ways in.

Cycling doesn’t grow because products get better. Cycling grows because people feel like they belong.

When they do, everything else including sales, participation, loyalty, advocacy, follows naturally.

Rick is right to say our gratitude should be higher than our expectations.

But gratitude grows fastest when we’re outside together. Riding, laughing, learning, welcoming new riders, and remembering that the reason we all started wasn’t gear.

It was community.

Until the industry understands this, truly understands it, we’ll keep misdiagnosing the problem. Not too much stuff. Not too many brands. Not even the boom-and-bust cycles.

The real issue is connection. The real opportunity is belonging.

Cycling doesn’t need fewer brands. It needs more bridges.

... and more people waiting at the other side to say,

“Hey! We're glad you’re here. Come ride with us.”