Will They Stop The “Idaho Stop?”

In 1982 Idaho passed a law allowing cyclists to, in essence, to treat a red light as a “Stop” sign and a “Stop” sign as a “Yield” sign.  This piece of legislation made cycling both safer and more efficient:  It allowed cyclists to proceed through intersections ahead of turning vehicles and to keep up their rhythm.

At the time the law—now commonly called the “Idaho Stop”—was enacted, it was went almost unnoticed. That may have to do with the fact that the Gem State was, and is, one of the least-populated in the USA. Also, I suspect that there weren’t many transportation or even recreational cyclists there four decades ago. I haven’t been there, but I suspect that most adult cyclists were passing through (and enjoying the scenery) as part of an inter-state or transcontinental tour.

Ironically, planners and legislators finally took notice of a law passed in a mostly-rural state when current “bicycle culture “ developed about 25 to 30 years later, when jurisdictions from Portland, Oregon to Paris, France adopted versions of it.

Now, one has to wonder whether the “Idaho Stop” will survive in its namesake state.

Boise, the state’s largest city, is part of Ada county. Its highway district (ACHD) currently consists of five commissioners, all elected. Cyclists seem satisfied with the arrangement.  The cynic in me says that’s the reason why there’s a bill moving through the state legislature that would add two new commissioners—one appointed by the governor, the other by the commissioners themselves.

Some in the local cycling community fear that the law, if passed, could tilt the ACHD in tonmore anti-bike position and stall, or end, bicycle infrastructure creation and improvement.

While a governor’s appointment might not seem to have much immediate impact, there is fear that it could have outsized influence on the current commissioners and the election of future commissioners.  Such a fear is not unfounded in one of the most Republican—and pro-Fake Tan Führer—states in the nation. While previous Republican lawmakers in the state and nation seemed to take a laissez-faire attitude toward cycling and cyclists, too many current party leaders (and members), taking their cues from FTF, are openly hostile to us.

I just hope the “Idaho Stop” won’t be stopped—in the place of its birth or anywhere else.

Tariffs On Bicycles And Bike Parts--To Curb Illegal Immigration and Fentanyl Importation?

A Getty Image

 

One of the gusts in the storm of the opening days of Trump's second term is a round of tariffs on goods from Canada, China and Mexico.

Yesterday, the charges against Canada and Mexico were paused for 30 days,  but the ones aimed at China are still in effect.  Meanwhile, the United States Postal Service rescinded its announcement that it would cease accepting packages coming inbound from China and Hong Kong.

So what does all of this have to do with the cycling world?

Well, the effects on levies on Chinese goods--imposed on top of the duties and fees already charged--seem obvious at first glance.  About 87 percent of the bicycles sold in the United States are made in that country.  So are most accessories and helmets, and many items of footwear and clothing.  But those all of those items still account for only half of the money spent on bicycle-related goods in the US, mainly because most of the bikes are for kids or low-end models for adults.  While some carbon and other high-cost frames are made in China, the majority come from Cambodia, Vietnam and other countries.  "The specialty bike industry has moved out of China," one manufacturer's representative declared. "Any one that is still there has only themselves to blame."

Even so, many bikes and e-bikes that are "made in" Vietnam, Cambodia or even North America or Europe are built around frames that are made in China to be finished and assembled where they are "made."  And even if the frames are welded and painted in the US, there's still a good chance that some parts are made in China. So even if the manufacture of mass-market bikes returns to these shores (most of the bikes, or more exactly, frames built in the US are custom or limited- production), whether or not the tariffs will apply isn't clear.

As for our neighbors to the north and south, together they account for about a thirtieth of the sales volume of bikes and bike-related products from China sold in the US. Spinergy has been making wheels for bicycles (and wheelchairs) in Mexico for at least three decades; other companies, like Yakima, also made products there but have since shifted production elsewhere. But there hasn't been significant bicycle production in the country for decades; its best-known brand--Windsor--is now made in Asia and sold via eBay and direct-to-consumer outlets.  Most of Canada's sales in the US come from companies that operate on both sides of the border; thus, a bike coming crossing the northern border is likely to have come from elsewhere.

There are rumors that Trump will target the European Union next, but that--and retaliatory tariffs, if the EU decides to impose them--would be attached mainly to automotive and agricultural products, two categories in which the US is running a trade defecit.

Does all of this mean that you should run out and buy a new bike or helmet or stock up on parts you might need?  I don't know.  And what is the Fake Tan Fuhrer's rationale for the tariffs?  Fentanyl imports and illegal immigration.  How those things will be affected, I also don't know.  Nor do better minds than mine.

QBP: DEI!

 Blame it on DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) and the organization’s “woke” agenda.

At least, that’s what he-whom-I-will-not-name would do if he paid any attention to the bicycle industry.

I’m talking about Quality Bicycle Products which, as their name implies, supplies fine bikes, parts and accessories to retailers. They are known in the industry for their efforts to promote DEI, not only within their own ranks, but also the industry.

One example of the latter was their mechanics’ school, which offered scholarships to “women, trans, non-binary, non-conforming or intersex” US residents who worked in the industry.

Notice that I wrote of the school in the past tense:  It closed about a year and a half ago. Were he President, and had he paid attention to the bike industry, the Fake Tan Fūhrer (FTF) would have screamed, “DEI! Woke!”

 In reality, QBP’s decision to close its academy had, to some degree, to do with the “bust” that afflicted the industry after the “boom” early in the COVID-19 pandemic. Then again, other schools, like that of United Bicycle Institute, have had waiting lists. 

Why? Well, schools like UBI and Appalachian don’t limit their enrollment to people already employed in the industry. While some UBI and Appalachian students work in the business, others are young people or career-changers who want to work in the bike trade. Still others are home mechanics who simply want to improve their skills.

On the other hand, QBP’s policy meant that few mechanics, of whatever gender identity or expression, could attend. Few bike shops could or would pay the tuition (and lodging and travel expenses) to send their mechanics to school: Shop owners and mechanics usually train employees themselves and expect those employees to augment their knowledge with online resources. (In my day, we used books and manuals.) So, attendees tended to be either scholarship recipients or better-paid employees of bike-related companies—like QBP.

Speaking of whom:  QBP is laying off two percent of its workforce. That will be the company’s third reduction of staff numbers in just over two years. Of course, QBP isn’t the only bicycle-related concern to let go of employees (or close altogether) in the wake of the “crash” that followed the “sugar rush,” so to speak, of increased demand during the pandemic. But if FTF were watching:  “DEI! Woke agenda! Send the military to the border!”