How do I know this stuff?

I have been around the bicycle industry pretty much all my life. My father has been in the bicycle trade for as long as I can remember. He has also been a very good cyclist in his time, riding many Commonwealth Games, Olympic Games and World Championships.

Here he is racing in Europe in the 70's.

He was always well respected in the cycling community, therefore it was only natural for him to own a bike shop. Years later he went into wholesaling and then back into his own retail bike shop, which he still owns to this day.

I can think back to when I was about 3 hanging out in his bike shop in the middle of the city. That was where my love affair with them began. When I was a bit older (around 13) I started doing paid work in the shop. Mostly in sales helping people with their bike purchases. When I was 18 I started university, where I studied Behavioural Science, and continued to work in his store for these 5 years. All up I guess I worked in that bike shop for close to 10 years.

During this time in the bike shop, and as my knowledge grew in psychology, I noticed how many dynamics were at work when it came to buying bicycles. I saw how people read the magazines and were constantly being suckered into believing the hype they were pedelled. I also noticed the dynamics that normally facilitated getting their bikes for less than other people.

Much of this valuable information became the inspiration for writing this guide!

As I grew older, my own cycling career started to develop. I was selected for several Australian teams in both road cycling and mountain biking. As a lead up to the World Championships in Canada (Mont Saint Anne), I worked for and raced with a small mountain bike team (Qranc) doing the Norba Mountain Bike Series. Because it was a small team, we would help out with day-to-day activities around the headquarters and it was during this time where I obtained a great perspective on how the manufacturing and wholesale industry operates.

Today, I'm still heavily involved in cycling helping out my father in his shop, as well as local training and racing.