BikeBiz Bicycle and cycling retail news
Bike Hub divvied up £100k between three projects in July, all of which were designed to increase cycle numbers. Bikeboost from Get Cycling of York, Age Well on Wheels from the LCC and DarloVelo of Darlington received the funding boost, while a Bike It style scheme for Scotland also got boosted by cash from the Bike Hub general kitty. There was further good news north of the border when the Scottish authorities announced they would be investing £15m on green travel.
The month also saw Saddleback sign up to the Tour of Britain, while Halfords called for a tax break on children’s bikes. Dorel added the Iron Horse brand to its portfolio and Giant moved its ‘fastest bike’ – the 2010 Trinity Advanced SL – into production.
The national press stepped up its cycling coverage too, with The Independent saying bike demand had tripled in a year.
The cycle trade didn’t really get a ‘silly season’ this year, with a barrage of stories affecting the trade in August.
The ACT/ActSmart reported record sales for IBDs in its sales survey and online got a boost too, with Wiggle racking up record summer sales. Fisher Outdoor Leisure announced it would be parting company with Dahon – and Zyro said that it would taking the folding brand on. But perhaps most significant of all was the news that UK bicycle imports were down in 2009 by a whopping 35 per cent for the first five months of the year.
August also saw Dahon reveal details of an electric bike, Brompton headed into the US and Evans Cycles unveiled its 35th store. But thankfully, August did get its share of light relief when Lance Armstrong announced a series of impromptu rides via Twitter.
