In fact only 20% disagree that performance is essentially the same across well known brands, once price is taken into consideration.

These days most cycling products from reputable brands are high quality. From apparel, to bikes, components and beyond. In fact most enthusiast riders can get all the practical performance they need from any of the relevant products in a given category.

True breakthrough innovation will still matter, but most products in cycling - and any industry - are iterations and evolutions. For the majority of companies well engineered, well designed, well considered and well made products are baseline requirements not sustainable competitive advantages.

Some riders will continue to seek out the small differences for performance or just a love of engineering detail - perhaps a the wicking of a particular fabric or the ability setup a bike in a certain position. But our data point reinforces evidence from wider marketing theory that the majority of purchase decisions are highly influenced brand preference and physical availability.

The significant impact that brand equity has as a driver of purchase decision has been well proven in research from those studying marketing (e.g. Binet & Fields), investments (e.g. Madden et al) and even neurobiology data (e.g. McClure et al).

This month we will be releasing the next wave of our Leaderboard data to subscribers, which gives brands the ability to measure and track how their brand is tracking against competitors in awareness, consideration and desirability amongst real enthusiast riders.

If you want to discuss this finding or Leaderboard in more detail just get in touch with Doug at doug.baker@shiftactivemedia.com.