What caused Shimano's Coasting-program to fail? (2010)
I spent some time learning the creative thinking process from an IDEO employee&#x2F;teacher while in school. One of the early steps is defining your problem by interviewing consumers, which seems like where the misstep occurred. Being an avid cyclist with nearly no friends who bike, I&#x27;ve seen that they are not intimidated by &quot;technology&quot;.<p>They are afraid of looking like an idiot. If they ride with me I look really cool with a slick bike and low profile gear, while they are riding a walmart bike in baggy shorts with a dumb helmet, while visible to hundreds of people in cars.<p>IMO the solution is not a new bike - its better group rides. Most  people don&#x27;t show up to the gym and start working out on their own, they take a class at a gym with gear and other noobs. I believe the best way to get people off the couch and biking is letting them go to a gym, with a bunch of noobs, and ride bikes together. Don&#x27;t spend $400+, spend $75&#x2F;mo. (A bike is maybe ~70% of the total cost of bike gear).<p>I have a ton of cool resources from IDEO (now quite a few years old) and the creative thinking&#x2F;ideation process, I can post them here if desired.<p>For those misunderstanding my example: The difference is looking like you know what you&#x27;re doing, and looking like you have no idea what you&#x27;re doing. Regardless of the situation (biking, at work, or talking to women at bars) not knowing what you&#x27;re doing and having that be publicly visible can be a huge hurdle to overcome.