BikeBiz Bicycle and cycling retail news
GoCycle
Karbon Kinetic’s creation has come a long way in a short space of time. Bagging Gold at the Eurobike Awards last year, Gocycle appeared at Cycle Show before attracting enough praise to earn it a spot in 33 Evans Cycles stores (60 per cent of the retailer’s footprint) and John Lewis’ flagship Oxford Street store. From taking part in Bike Week, to garnering praise for its design, this British innovation is also available through the new-to-the-UK Best Buy chain.
Angleset, Cane Creek
Cane Creek’s headtube angle tweaking headset was finally revealed to an expectant trade in June. Providing a method for riders to simply adust a head-tube angle, the innovative product allows for six angle adjustments, ranging from 0.5 degrees to 1.5 degrees in one slick package. Set to appear as a stock or upgrade option on a number of 2011 bicycle models from the likes of Intense, Pivot, Santa Cruz and other high-end manufacturers, the Angleset will be available from September.
Timex Global Trainer
With a whopping 150 years of watch building experience, and three decades with the Ironman brand, the Global Trainer is Timex’s first entry into the cycle-specific market bringing speed, cadence sensors and compatibility with a range of power metres to cyclists on a watch strap.
Bike Revolution
Bike Revolution has made a big impact on the trade with its crime-combating service. In a nutshell it is a free, online service for registering bikes, but the brains behind the operation have gone one step further and have already attracted attention from the likes of the Met Police. The firm has created a growing community of people able to watch out for bikes and check whether they’ve been stolen. Anyone with a smart mobile phone can read a tagged bike and instantly determine if it has been stolen and contact the owner by email instantly.
Lynskey Pro 29 Frame
Joining Hotlines at the start of 2009, Lynskey went on to impress with its revamped titanium 29er frame – the PRO 29. The twisty marvel provides precision handling and stability without sacrificing that all-important rider comfort. The high-performance frame boasts a multi-shaped tubeset for stiffness, slinky aesthetically pleasing lines and race-proven geometry.
BikeHub iPhone App
The soon-to-launch BikeHub iPhone App represents the kind of forward thinking that keeps the cycle industry firmly on the right route (ahem) for the future.
Paid for with cash from the BikeHub levy, this cunning piece of software allows users to plan their journeys by bike and to pinpoint their nearest independent bike dealer IBD if they need repairs en route, or just fancy looking at some new gear. The app will link up with the also soon-to-launch BikeHub.co.uk.
Cobra Tube, Fly Bikes
The Cobra is a slither of linear tube designed to fix a flat in seconds. The patented design can be inserted into the tyre without the need to remove and re-align the wheel. Unveiled at the start of the year and with a snake charming print ad to boot, the Cobra can replace a flat in less than two minutes with the help of a good pump, according to Fly. The cyclist takes off one side of the tyre, takes the flat tube off and the Cobra just slides in. Simples.
APLS suspension system, Pronghorn Bikes
The Anti-Power-Loss-System was pitched as providing the best of both worlds for mountain bike suspension. The rear shock absorber is mounted on the top tube, better utilising the rider’s energy and delivering power efficiently to the back wheel when required by the cyclist. The brains behind the APLS sus system is Pronghorn, which ended last year looking for a UK distribution partner, then picked Surf Sales up in March.
