Bicycles / Cycling and Beer

A bike with a fixed drivetrain (i.e. 1 gear only). Google is your friend.

 

A fixie is a one speed very stripped down bike. It is also stripped of breaks, part of it being that it makes the bike stripped of minimal parts and very light and fast. It is often used by urban commuters, and the bike because of its limitations is often very non appealing to thieves.

So it is also appealing to hipsters if one could say, I do see many in DC riding them (mind you with no lid and their ipods stuck in their ears)

I wouldnt buy a bike without breaks (some put them on by the way ), but to each their own.

Any other more riders want to chime in with anything I missed or got wrong feel free to add.

 

Sorry to step on your toes.

 

I think you hit a lot of it with your second post, lifestyle. The PNW, Cali, Colorado, New England all have active outdoor activity bases. At my local brewery a couple nights ago, a couple guys had a trail map out, retracing the 20 mile hike they had done that day. They were really ready for a couple beers. There's an active cycling group that ends their weekly, year-round Wednesday night ride at the brewery every week, dinner and beers to follow.

And, my town is a college town, and somewhat hippie-ish as well, both cultures that use bikes a lot. All 5 local breweries have large bike racks, that often full, or near so. College kids will drink anything, and if they can ride their bikes to the bar, so much the better. The "hippies" are trying to save the planet, and save themselves a few bucks, by riding their bikes to do things that are often done by car. The number of bikes I see with DYI racks and fenders attached is large, as is the number of 5-gallon buckets converted into panniers. These folks will stop for a pint on the way to/from the store.

So I think it all ties into a lifestyle thing, whether it's a couple of Brahs talking about how they just shredded Galby on the DH bikes, the cool mom having a pint before getting home, the kid trying to get through school without running up a lot of debt, or some folks training for a big ride/race, the beer and bikes just kind of fit together like a chain and cassette.

 

Just teasing ya, sometimes does not translate well on forums

 

Another Roadie, though less intense than some of the above (averaging ~125 miles/week these days).

I simply find the hobbies to be natural compliments. I'll wrap up my workday around 4 and go spin for 30 or so miles. A beer after that is always delicious and not at all a recovery beverage like the occasional thread here tries to suggest.

Last weekend my wife and I participated in a local Bike Fest where beer was served. Then we biked over to a brewery.

I never thought of myself as such a hot demographic. I certainly don't have much disposable income - it all went/goes to my bike/gear...but what's left usually goes to beer and brewing supplies.

So...no...I'm not really answering the OPs questions as to why there's the connection and why some breweries are drawn to it. To me there just is. They're my two favorite things, anyway.

 

Yeah I agree - I don't see the roadie = tons of disposable income correlation either. Here in NYC, there are definitely guys on five figure bikes, who (let's be honest) probably don't get the most out of them. But for every one of them, there are several guys who make do with what they can. Personally, once I've paid for bike upkeep (which usually involves some unforeseen cost each month), beer and a contribution to savings, there's not a whole lot left each month that doesn't get eaten up by the usual rent/groceries/bills etc.

 

Gotcha, no problems at all.

 

Bikers and drunks have a lot in common, they both ignore traffic signals.

 

Why not runners? Simple. Runners don't gear up like they think they're going to win the boston marathon to exercise. Cyclists however feel the need to dress head to toe like they're competing in the Tour de France. There's your marketing secret. Where are they gonna put their logo, on my running shoes?

 

What gear do you need to win the Boston Marathon? A good set of shoes, some lightweight shorts and a shirt. Just throw on an old brewery shirt and it looks like you're sponsored, right?

I was a commuter in Boston for several years and fell in love with cycling as a sport. But I resisted Lycra for a long time. Now that I'm converted, I can honestly say it makes a huge difference. I finally talked my wife into investing in a pair of cycling shorts and she (a longtime runner) immediately noticed. We wear ridiculous looking clothes because it helps.

In terms of the sponsorship aspect, most of what I see cyclists wear are either fairly generic, though purpose-built clothes. Many wear the kit of the club or group with which they ride - often they're sponsored by local business because cycling can be a profoundly expensive hobby. So these kits often do have some logos. By and large, most cyclists I see around don't wear knockoff gear that looks like pro kit because it's cheesy. Everybody know's you're probably not sponsored by Tinkoff-Saxo. I have one jersey that's styled that way and I bought it because I needed one it was on sale - $20 - instead of the $80+. Because yeah, if I'm going to be doing to same physical activity for 2+ hours at a time, you're damn right I want to be wearing the right clothes for it. Why just wear a Sierra Nevada t-shirt when I can get the appropriate article of clothing for my other hobby? Those three pockets on the back absolutely get used on every single ride.

 

Don't forget about New Belgium.....a brewery inspired by a bike ride by the founder through Belgium....very active in the cycling world....

http://www.newbelgium.com/Events/tour-de-fat.aspx

And beers like Fat Tire, Shift etc....

 

I know for a fact it is possible to get a DUI on a bicycle. Huntington Beach CA apparently had the highest rate of bike DUIs.

still I ride too pubs and watering holes all the time. it's better than driving.

 

because there's nothing better than a cold craft brew after a long ride.

 

Interesting question, think I will put it to a few of my drinking pals for their opinion. You are right, other than skiing, there are almost no beer companies or brands in the craft beer industry tied in with any other sports that I can think of. BMC splashes a bit of sporty stuff on their packaging during football seasons sometimes, and always with the POSale displays, but even for BMC I cannot think of any of their beers named for sports either.

I live in an advanced bike friendly town and beer/bike bars are very common, all the popular ones have big bike racks at least outside but a few even have them indoors as well. New Belgium has always promoted a couple of big events here in Arizona every year for bikes and beer.

 

You must have missed the posts where others told me I was wrong and I fessed up.

 

That's maybe a little broad with the brushstrokes no?

Just to be clear, I like running as well as riding. But I see many amateur runners who are probably kitted out with way more stuff than the men/women who are winning the Boston marathon. Pro = singlet, shorts and lightweight running shoes that probably have minimal support and set you back around $100. The keen amateur who follows by two hours later, will have everything from a visor, to a fuel belt, to compression socks, to maximum arch-support $160 shoes.

Riders on the other hand, unless they're multi-millionaires, will never be able to have all the kit that a pro uses. And while I agree, the guy wearing the full Rapha Team Sky kit with $3,000 carbon rims looks like a tool while he tootles along at 12mph, spending some money on proper kit is totally worth it. Try doing a long ride in the winter when it's 20F outside, in a fleece and sweatpants, then report back.

Edit - and to answer the other part of your point, runners still wear shirts, so a brewery could just as easily create a brewery running shirt / singlet, than they can a brewery cycling jersey. Probably cheaper/easier to manufacture actually. But they don't. So clearly there's a link between riding and beer, that's not there for running and beer.

 

From here: http://online.wsj.com/articles/rise-of-the-five-figure-bicycle-1408489679

Some 30% of dedicated cyclists have household incomes of $100,000 or more, the association says. In the overall population, 22% are in that income bracket, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

For any company to be able to market to a group where 30% have $100k+ incomes is a dream. Fact is, cycling just draws a lot of people with money. That doesn't mean that every cyclist is rich, but a heck of a lot are.

 

I'm not saying I don't dress like a tour pro when I play golf, because I do. Does it make me play better? Idk probably a little because I feel better about myself.

Personally the answer I provided I believe is spot on. Marketing for the brewery is what drives the connection. Yes, I used to deck out head to toe in Under Armor to run in the winter here in MI, I no longer do that as my membership to the Y allows me to work out indoors in the winter. So why would a brewery market apparel to me when a pair of old basketball shorts and a t shirt are perfectly fine for my runs and workouts?

I feel like it would be better served for breweries to try and connect with golfers to cross promote their product. Beer can be and is consumed during the game. I've already seen at multiple brewery shops golf polos and towels etc, also I have seen more brewery sponsored golf outings versus running races. I have no data to back this up but I would guess that an average golfer spends more money on their "craft" than an average runner does. Idk to me it makes sense that the connection is driven by the possibility of promoting the product.