Spokes & Strategy: Marketing the Bicycle
The show where the business of bikes meets the joy of riding. Hosted by Brandon Morphew of Miso Partners, it’s a free-flowing conversation about how independent shops, athletes, and brands can evolve in a changing industry without losing the soul of cycling. From sales strategies and storytelling to customer engagement and community, each episode explores how to modernize the way we sell and celebrate bikes, balancing innovation with authenticity. No jargon, no hard sell, just real talk from two riders who love this world and want to see it thrive.
EP 26: Building Premium Bike Tools in the USA with Jason Quade
When the people who design a tool also make it, the feedback loop is twenty feet long.
In this episode of Spokes & Strategy, Brandon Morphew talks with Jason Quade, founder and owner of Abbey Bike Tools in Bend, Oregon. Jason describes his job as owner, welder, designer, and floor sweeper. He and Brandon talk about what it takes to make tools in the US, how customer requests turn into products, and what a smoother repair department looks like from a toolmaker’s point of view.
What You’ll Learn
Why Jason believes a brand that makes its own products gets faster feedback, carries less inventory, and keeps tighter control of its ideas
How a customer request becomes a real product, and when a one-off tool is worth adding to the line
How Abbey balances tools built for professional mechanics with tools recreational riders will buy
What Jason looks for to tell whether a shop’s service area is flowing, from service writing to where tools live
Why “we’ve always done it this way” is a warning sign, and how Jason keeps a team improving without breaking what already works
Why Abbey waited so long to advertise, and how Jason plans to judge whether it is working
Jason Quade is the founder and owner of Abbey Bike Tools. A welder by trade, he worked in bike shops and race support before building the company’s first tool at a race mechanic’s request. Every Abbey tool is made and assembled in Bend, Oregon.
Learn more about Abbey Bike Tools:
Website: https://www.abbeybiketools.com/ (https://www.abbeybiketools.com/)
Learn more about Jason Quade:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-quade-233344347 (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-quade-233344347)
Spokes & Strategy is brought to you by Miso Partners.
Follow Miso Partners:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/misopartners/
(https://www.instagram.com/misopartners/)Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/misopartners
(https://www.facebook.com/misopartners)Website: https://misopartners.com/ (https://misopartners.com/)
2 Nov 2026
Spokes & Strategy Ep 25: Why Tall Riders Get the Speed Wobble, and How Lennard Zinn Solved It
A bike that shakes uncontrollably at speed is not bad luck. It is physics, and Lennard Zinn has spent over 40 years solving for it.
In this episode of Spokes & Strategy, Brandon Morphew talks with Lennard Zinn, a former US national team cyclist, physicist, founder of Zinn Cycles, and author of the world's best selling bicycle maintenance guide. Lennard explains how a terrifying high speed shimmy on a descent led him to start building his own frames, why tall and heavy riders still face unique stability challenges today, and how setbacks throughout his life and career became turning points rather than detours.
What You'll Learn
Why bike "shimmy" happens, and what frame geometry, tube size, and rider weight have to do with it
How Lennard went from racing on the US national team to building custom frames after a single terrifying descent
Why 3D printed titanium made e-bike production possible for Zinn Cycles, and how it unexpectedly protected the business during the pandemic
Why Lennard sees early injuries, business setbacks, and even a heart arrhythmia diagnosis as gifts rather than losses
What has gotten harder, and easier, about maintaining your own bike since Lennard wrote his first repair manual in 1995
What advice Lennard would give someone starting a career building bikes today
Lennard Zinn is a former member of the US national cycling team and a lifelong endurance athlete. He has reported for VeloNews for 30 years and is the author of the world's best selling guide to bicycle maintenance and repair, along with The Haywire Heart. He holds a degree in physics and has built custom bicycles for over 30 years as the founder of Zinn Cycles.
Learn more about Lennard Zinn:
Website: https://www.zinn.bike/ (https://www.zinn.bike/)
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennard-zinn-0b1ba02 (https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennard-zinn-0b1ba02)
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zinnlennard/ (https://www.instagram.com/zinnlennard/)
Spokes & Strategy is brought to you by Miso Partners.
Follow Miso Partners:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/misopartners/ (https://www.instagram.com/misopartners/)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/misopartners (https://www.facebook.com/misopartners)
Website: https://misopartners.com/ (https://misopartners.com/)
28 Oct 2026
Spokes & Strategy Ep 24: Why Employees Leave Retail, and What Shop Owners Can Do with Ron Thurston
People rarely leave a job over money. They leave because nobody showed them where it was going.
In this episode of Spokes & Strategy, Brandon Morphew talks with Ron Thurston, a two-time bestselling author and retail leadership expert with over 30 years of experience at brands like Apple, Gap, West Elm, and Saint Laurent. Ron spent a year and a half living in an Airstream, traveling the country to talk with frontline retail workers for his podcast Retail in America. He and Brandon talk about what actually keeps good people in a shop, what a leader owes their team before asking for more, and where technology fits into a business built on human connection.
What You'll Learn
Why a lack of clear career path, not pay, is the number one reason retail employees quit
What a simple ten minute shift opener and closer can do for team communication and retention
Why Ron recommends blocking 20 to 30 minutes a day for team development or self development, even in the busiest shops
How to coach a team when the owner themselves struggles with the people side of the business
Where AI tools genuinely help a small retail operation, from coaching to inventory planning to customer outreach
Why Ron tells people to choose their manager before they choose the brand they work for
Ron Thurston is a two-time #1 bestselling author, business strategist, and keynote speaker with over 30 years of executive retail experience at brands including Apple, Gap, West Elm, Tory Burch, Bonobos, and Saint Laurent. He is the author of Retail Pride and Human Pride, and the creator and host of the Retail in America tour and podcast, which documented frontline retail stories across 30 states.
Learn more about Ron Thurston:
Website: https://www.ronthurston.com/ (https://www.ronthurston.com/)
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rthurston/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/rthurston/)
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/retailpride/ (https://www.instagram.com/retailpride/)
YouTube (Retail in America): https://www.youtube.com/@retailinamerica (https://www.youtube.com/@retailinamerica)
Spokes & Strategy is brought to you by Miso Partners.
Follow Miso Partners:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/misopartners/ (https://www.instagram.com/misopartners/)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/misopartners (https://www.facebook.com/misopartners)
Website: https://misopartners.com/ (https://misopartners.com/)
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Spotify
5.0 / 5
4 ratings
Contact Spokes & Strategy: Marketing the Bicycle
Guest appearances
Books guests
Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.
Host of Spokes & Strategy: Marketing the Bicycle?
Claim your podcast to manage its listing and keep your show details accurate.
Pod Engine is an independent podcast discovery and analytics service and is not affiliated with or endorsed by this podcast. Artwork and show content belong to their owners. Full legal notice.
Explore this show Podcast research with Pod Engine
