BikeBiz Bicycle and cycling retail news
Hot on the heels of the build your own bike course news, 8Ball Bikes has told BikeBiz that it has gone into distribution, signing Colossi Bikes.
From 2015, retailers in the UK and Ireland will be able to take stock of the brand’s high-end steel and aluminium frames.
Founded in 2005 by ex-professional racer and frame builder Jan Kole, who now resides in China, the Colossi business already has a presence in countries all over the world and produces frames for a number of big brands on a white label basis. Colossi has a loyal following in Asia and some parts of Europe, and is now looking to expand into the UK and Ireland, which it says are two key markets in western Europe.
8Ball’s James Middleton told BikeBiz: "So from next year I’m targeting independent bike shops all over the country with Colossi frames and components and some full build bikes for the urban sector."
All frames are handmade, with Colossi framebuilders specialising in construction using a range of tubing including Columbus, Kaisei, Reynolds, True Temper, KVA, 4130 butted seamless tubing and Easton.
The company runs two workshops, one which produces handmade stock frames sold by retailers all over the world. And another which makes custom builds to order, where extra attention is paid to the small details, such as the hand filing of tubing and hand polishing of lugs.
For the finishing touches, the company has expertise in house, specialising in masking and painting using Dupont and the Pantone international colour scheme.
Domestically, Colossi is also a distributor for many other component manufacturers, including VP Components, Yoshida Champ, Dodici, Tektro, Aerospoke, Cinelli, H Plus Son, Innova Tires, Kashimax, Miche, MKS, Nitto, Oury, Panaracer, Sugino, and Tange.
“Through 2015, Colossi Cycling UK is going to be building up a brand following through the large network of independent retailers in the UK and Ireland. We will be offering a range of high quality frames, components and full builds targeting all disciplines of cycling from road to cyclocross, street to track, mountain biking and commuting to cargo biking,” said Middleton.
“And with almost 30 years experience in frame building, we will also be offering fully bespoke, made to measure builds in a variety of tubing to UK and Ireland consumers.”
For stock enquiries, contactjames.middleton@gmail.com
