BikeBiz Awards: Vote now for the community awards

Following the commencement of the voting process for the BikeBiz Awards last week, we’ll be highlighting each and every finalist from our list of expertly-curated accolades.

The final decision will be placed in the hands of those that know best – professionals that work within the industry day in day out and prosumers with a passion for cycling.

The online vote will close on Friday 16th August at midday and the results will determine the 2019 BikeBiz Awards winners.

Today, we’re showcasing the community awards: BikeBiz Woman of the Year and Innovation from a Newcomer.

BikeBiz Woman of the Year

Alexandra Rico-Lloyd, The Bike Club – Alex is the COO and co-founder of the Bike Club. Over the last year, she has: tripled the size of the Bike Club to become the largest private rental network in the UK , helped thousands of families start cycling whilst cutting tonnes of wasted bikes using the circular economy, developed the Bike Club’s proprietary asset management, credit underwriting and tracking software platform, raised over £1 million in a seed investment round led by the founder of Fitness First, and had a baby, Lucian.

Emily Brooke MBE, Beryl – Beryl founder and chairperson Emily Brooke MBE has played a huge role in bringing new and improved products to the UK cycling market in 2019. She was instrumental in the company’s third successful Kickstarter, to launch the Laserlight Core, which has brought Beryl’s cycling technology to a wider community of riders by providing high-quality innovative design at a more accessible price point. This was then followed by the launch of Beryl’s public bike share service.

Fran Millar, Team INEOS – Fran Millar is an inspiration to all women (and many men) who work in the cycling industry. She actively positively discriminates when hiring in order to get more women into the industry and she invests in advocacy projects like the Women in Cycling Forum where she hosted the first event.

Gretta Cole, Velorution – Gretta is marketing director and publisher of the Velorution Magazine, the industry-standard award-nominated publication for urban and electric lifestyle cycling. Now on issue six,  the magazine is globally recognised as best of class.

Jessica Strange, Velo Me – Jessica Strange was nominated for this award based on the years of passion, professionalism, time, sweat and tears she’s dedicated to encouraging more women to ride bicycles. From being the editor of Total Women’s Cycling to being the first female presenter on GMBN, she has worked hard to showcase the sport, inspire others and become more hands-on with her approach.

Judith Smith, Primal – Judith launched Primal in the U.K. in 2011 whilst bringing up two children and a husband away in the military. Like any true entrepreneur, Judith took her opportunity with both arms, leaving her job and immediately launching a brand into an already busy sector. Since then, Primal has grown year on year finding its own place with a loyal fan base across Europe.

Katharine Butler, freebike – Katharine is a pioneer in sustainable and responsible electric bike-sharing in the UK. As head of freebike UK, Katharine is leading the introduction of the fleet of new electric freebikes in London, officially the electric bike-sharing partner in the City of London. With expansion plans to roll the freebike network out throughout the capital, promoting responsible bike-sharing, the new bikes are there to get more people cycling and fewer cars on the road.

Laura Bailey, TI Media – Laura has made an outstanding amount of effort to bring more women together to show support and offer encouragement. She has organised industry rides in both road and mountain to bring women in the industry together and to open up about difficulties that we may have experienced. Laura works for UK Cycling Events at TI Media and takes pride in bringing everyone together on bikes – not just women.

Rachael Walker, Hopetech – Rachael has taken Hopetech Women from an idea and some informal meetups to a brand with international reach and a sell-out race to its name. Without dumbing down, making women’s specific products, or any of the cliched bike industry ‘appeal to women’ moves, Rachael has brought the joy of riding mountain bikes to a whole range of women and abilities.

Victoria Hood, Team Jadan Weldtite – Victoria was instrumental in developing separate women’s racing and separate categories for women with British Cycling, with the Yorkshire women’s road race league for cats 2/3/4 a huge success. There were full fields of 50 women in the first year.

Innovation from a Newcomer

ArmaUrto – A serious cycling accident prompted the now founder of www.ArmaUrto.com to develop a much-needed range of protective road cycle apparel. Mintel’s cycle-accident stats formed the basis of three years of R&D to test and deliver this unique IBD focused innovation.

Dynaplug – Only fully available in the UK from February, Dynaplug’s quick, convenient and compact tubeless repair systems have taken UK IBDs by storm with hundreds already stocking them. Feedback indicates that the arrival of Dynaplug and an easy to use, always ready and permanent tubeless repair system has been a game-changer for shops in how they sell tubeless in general and road tubeless in particular.

Feva – The Feva Star Seat represents a unique and innovative approach to riding a bike with children aged two to five years old. Made from lightweight foam, this patented product weighs less than 900 grams, the equivalent to a filled water bottle. It fits almost any bike and secured using straps, without the requirement for tools, seat post/handlebar adjustment or mounting brackets.

Hexlox – No innovation has meant more to urban cycling in the last years than Hexlox and its Anti Theft system. Suddenly there is a solution that does not compromise on quality, design and ease of use. Protect anything on your bike like the saddle, wheels, stem, breaks and lights. Since it also launched the Thru Axle, it also works on any disc brake bike with super easy installation and satisfaction.

HEXR Helmets – HEXR is the first world’s first 3D printed, custom helmet built on a honeycomb hexagonal layer, instead of traditional foam. Having been in development for six years, exhaustive studies by the founders found that poor fit undermined the effectiveness of cycling helmets. The honeycomb layer that forms the basis of the helmet is created to fit perfectly to a riders head and to protect better than any other road cycling helmet.

Revgrips – Revgrips is the world’s only suspension mountain bike grip. Patented and made in San Diego CA (imported by Cyclorise Ltd), Revgrips isolates your hands from vibrations by supporting the grip sleeve in rubber inserts mounted within the grip clamps. The sleeve does not touch the handlebar, significantly reducing vibrations that are transferred to the rider’s hands.

Tocsen – The Tocsen system consists of a crash sensor which is mounted to a helmet and a smartphone app. The system analyses crashes from cyclists and calls for help in case of an emergency if the user is not able to call for help. If the three-axis accelerometer and the sensors in the smartphone detects a strong force on the head, it will send a signal to the smartphone. The app will ask if everything is all right. If the user does not react, Tocsen will send an alarm to emergency contacts, to the Tocsen community and optionally to the rescue coordination centre.

The 11th annual ceremony is returning to the Cycle Show at the NEC Birmingham on 12th September, in conjunction with the exhibitor after-party.

Citrus-Lime has been confirmed as an event partner for this year’s Awards. The EPOS and e-commerce specialist will also be sponsoring the Best Independent Bike Dealer Award for 2019.

For sponsorship and promotion opportunities, please contact Richard Setters.

www.bikebizawards.com