BikeBiz Bicycle and cycling retail news
As a well-informed member of the bicycle trade, you’ll already know that Core Bike 2012 kicks off this Sunday (January 29th). What you might not be aware of is what you can expect to see at the show, so here’s the third part of our guide to some of the brands and products appearing. Find the first part here and the second over here.
i-ride
If top secret product launches are your cup of tea, then you will be pleased to hear that i-ride has something so secretive and under wraps that dealers may be only able to see it under locked-in-room conditions. The product in question is from De Rosa. We’d tell you more, but we’d have to kill you (or at least get you to promise to keep it quiet), so find out more at Core.
What we can tell you about is a special Eddy Merckx competition being promoted at Core. It’s one for the dealers, with a visit to the Eddy Merckx Factory combined with a ride on the Flanders Sportive cobbles in the offing. Other prizes are available too. Zipvit’s expert nutritionist David Smith will be at the show to impart his professional knowledge on diet and nutrition programmes to interested dealers.
There’s also new product from the autumn/winter clothing ranges from Northwave and Campagnolo Sportswear. Northwave’s innovative Speedplay compatible Extreme shoes will be featured. Other highlights include the Argon 18 E-118 frame, and Red Wind clincher carbon deep-section wheels, new to Fulcrum’s range. Continental tyres will also be on hand to answer questions and show the winning Grand Prix TT Clincher.
Hope
If you missed Hope’s appearances at the key shows over the past few month’s you are in luck, as the latest parts launched at those events will also be at Core. And if you have caught up with the brand recently…there may well be a few extra suprises you hadn’t caught wind of yet. The only way to tell is to head to Hope’s stand at Core, of course.
Among the latest product launches from the brand is the 1295 and 29er wheel set, along with the recently introduced Bash Guards and Chain Rings. They’ll all be on show alongside the V-Twin cable to hydraulic brake convertors.
Hope will also have the final production version of the Flat pedal at Core Bike, with confirmed pricing and availability.
Aside from new products, the brand will be demoing its recently launched business-to-business site, which features an easy product finder, extensive parts lists and ‘How-To’ guides.
Paligap
Paligap has expanded into three rooms for the 2012 show (Monza suite, Syndicate rooms S6 and S11) and will be launching a number of new brands to the UK market as well as new products from our main brands Cycleops, Powertap, Saris, Ritchey, FFWD,DMT,VDO, Stans NoTubes to name but a few.
Seminars for Torq nutrition with the brand owner and product creator Matt Hart will be held, as well as for the eagerly awaited Cycleops Powercal which is a compact, lightweight, versatile inexpensive power meter customised to a rider’s own biometrics that can be used both on and off the bike.
The summer-launched ABD BMX range will be housed in its own room along with the P&A range. Avanti will also be unveiled for the first time to the UK dealer network covering all categories of the market, road, mountain, path and trail as well as the New Zealand Best design award winning Chron Evo II frameset.
Axiom Performance gear will debut at the show and Biologic’s full line can also be viewed in the Monza suite for the first time since Paligap took over the UK distribution. A buy-in package will be offered with great margins for new and existing customers.
Experts will be on hand from the majority of Paligap’s brands to discuss briefly or in depth their respective product ranges and this will include, Challenge tyres, FFWD, Ritchey, Cycleops, Saris, Powertap, VDO, Muc-off, Cipollini, Biologic and PDW.
Dealers should remember to stop by for a bag of goodies to thank them for their support during the first ten years of Paligap being in business. New dealers are very welcome too, the firm says.
Saddleback
Brand new and heading to Core is Mulebar’s latest – Kicks Café Cortado, the latest flavour to Mulebar’s Kicks fast energy gels. Like its sister flavours of Cherry Bomb, Lemon Zinger and Apple Strude, Café Cortado is made using 100 per cent organic and natural ingredients, with the added oomph of 100mg of naturally occurring guarana caffeine. Packaged in eye-catching, innovative 37g sachets, which are easy to open while on a bike, the gel provides an incredible energy boost during exercise, as well as helping with recovery post training, the brand says. It was developed in conjunction with athletes like Eneko Llanos, the 2010 Xterra World Champion, Javier Gomez Noya, the 2010 ITU Triathlon World Champion and elite Ironman Marcel Zamora, the Kicks gels are nature’s carbohydrate equivalent of Rocket fuel.
Saddleback will also be bringing a host of other brands to its debut Core showing, of course, including Bont’s new shoe range – including the redesigned A-three road and all new Sub-8 Triathlon models – and Castelli’s full summer range featuring the new Triathlon range, patented Sanremo Speed Suit, new dealer tools and a first look at Castelli’s Garmin 2012 Pro Tour range.
Also appearing are Chris King’s new R45 road hubs, the Smart ENVE wheel range, Felt Bicycles’ 2012 models (including the full 29-inch wheeled NINE range). For Goodness Shakes samples will be available for dealers to sample, Vredestein newly introduced touring tyre line will be at Core too, also featuring the new Freccia Tri Comp mid-range road tyre and tubular tyre. Find out more at the show.
