BikeBiz Bicycle and cycling retail news
Core Bike 2014: Paligap, Silverfish, Chicken, SiWis and Bobbin
Ison Distribution
Ison in-house wheel brand Halo will be showing many new items including the new range of Vapour Carbon rims and wheels. We’re told that the aluminium Vapours have proved to be popular with Trail/XC/Enduro riders and the new carbon versions, fitted with 6-Drive hubs, offer lightweight performance in 26”, 650b and 29” sizes. Road riders haven’t been forgotten either as the new Caliber Stealth disc-specific rims and wheels will be exhibited alongside the rest of the expanding road range.
Halo’s BMX race products have become firm favourites amongst the 20” crowd from beginner to pro level (including World Champions) and the new range of race tyres will be available to see at Core.
Aside from the in-house brands, the new suspension range (forks and rear shocks) from MRP is set to be a highlight. Comprising of a completely new suspension line-up including the new Raze rear shock and Stage forks. Tim Fry, MRP Owner and MRP UK Brand Manager, Pat Campbell-Jenner will both be on hand to take dealers through the range.
TSG has teamed up with the shock absorption material specialist D3O to offer a range of protective pads that also offer good value. TSG products are designed by riders with many unique features and great comfort whilst riding/skating. TSG also have Roller Derby specific kneepads which have become the #1 choice for many teams and also use D3O in the new range. A completely new shape full face helmet, the Advance, debuts this year in fibreglass and carbon versions. Magnetic cheek pads, great fit and certified safety make these an alternative to current market offerings. The Substance 3.0 is a great all-mountain/xc helmet at an excellent price-point, Ison said. TSG hasn’t neglected the younger riders/skaters either with updated designs of the best-selling Nipper helmets. TSG products are all safety certified and exceed minimum standards.
Extra
Having been present at Core since the beginning, Extra is once again on hand to meet its dealers and perhaps recruit a few more.
Brooks continues to produce attractive luggage and will be showing its new Dalston Utility Knapsack, available in 13-inch at £139.99 or 15-inch sizes for £10 more. Made in Italy, the Knapsack carries three inner and five outer pockets, a waterbottle pouch and a laptop compartment. All of this is covered with a Bluesign waterproof textile and leather. Alongside the Knapsack, Brooks will show a shoulder bag called the Euston – also carried in two sizes, retailing at £139.99 for a small and £159.99 for a medium.
If you’ve yet to try them, Extra will be sampling Clif’s Shot Bloks – a great source of athlete friendly carbohydrates in Black Cherry, Mountain Berry, Strawberry and Tropical Punch flavours. A box of 18 is available, with each bar retailing at £1.99. Each packet contains six Bloks.
Fi’zi:k’s Volta saddles will be of particular interest to the dealer specialising in high-end bikes and ergonomic saddles. For the customer demanding the best, check out the £219.99 range-topping Volta.
Hope
Two key new products from British brand Hope will be at Core Bike, including the long awaited R8 front light, crafted after two years of design, operation and power refinement. The eight Cree XP-G2 LEDs generate a maximum power of 3,000 lumens (2,200 measured) through custom-made optics which blend 4x spot, 2x diffused and 2x elliptical lenses to illuminate the trail.
A new six cell battery has been developed for the R8 which will give two hours burn time on maximum power. The new ES Li-Ion battery also features a charge indicator showing battery life at a button touch. The battery case is machined from aluminium and has a rubber protection cover to allow rattle free fixing to stems and top tubes.
Also new from the house of Hope is the Hope Tech 3 master cylinder, which replaces the Tech Evo master cylinder. Hope has kept the key features of the Tech Evo master cylinder and worked to improve the ergonomics and integration on the handlebars. The Tech 3 master cylinder can operate all the calipers from Hope’s range and offers a slight increase of power of about five per cent over the Tech Evo.
Popular design features of Tech Evo remain the same, like the reach and bite point control (BPC) adjustability. The piston is actuated by a cam and a roller system to eliminate any free play and initial friction. The classic split clamp design makes the master cylinder easy to install on handlebars.
Following rider comments, Hope has worked hard to make the new Tech 3 master cylinder easier to integrate, although it does entail losing the ambidextrous design. The Tech 3 master cylinder is now directly compatible with any Shimano I-Spec type shifter meaning no extra mount is required to attach the shifter to the master cylinder. For those using SRAM shifters Hope has designed a minimalistic direct mount adaptor.
i-ride
i-ride will have De Rosa’s limited edition Sessanta bikes at the show, which is celebrating its 60th anniversary. In celebration of this landmark De Rosa is building four bikes called the Sessantas, one in each frame material. Few manufacturers are able to produce frames in all four materials – steel, aluminium, titanium and carbon – so De Rosa is making 60 limited edition Sessanta’s in each material worldwide. All of them come with Campagnolo Super Record groupsets, either electronic or mechanical and limited edition Campagnolo Bora Wheels.
Prologo has released some new saddle models and has vastly extended its range of saddles that are offered with CPC. With this technology now established, Prologo has seen fit to roll out a whole range of these saddles. CPC was originally developed for the military and then found its way into Formula 1, the drivers using it for their gloves to give grip and dampen vibrations. CPC (Connect Power Control) saddles have dense patches of short rubber tubes that provide extra grip and absorb shocks and vibrations from the road.
i-ride has also recently taken on Alpinestars as a new brand. I-ride will have all-new 2014 cycling clothing and protection along with some leisurewear including T-shirts and caps. The Alpinestars MTB range of protection and apparel draws inspiration from five decades of off-road experience. The MTB discipline continually becomes more challenging and aggressive. Alpinestars says it is committed to creating apparel that is tested and trusted by a roster of World Class MTB athletes.
Citrus-Lime
‘Clicks and mortar’ service provider Citrus-Lime will be demonstrating a fully cycle-specific retail system ranging from EPOS, Stock Control, Workshop and Supplier Integration right through to ecommerce including eBay and Amazon Stores. Citrus-Lime has tied this all together to make the system as efficient as possible for managing and running retailers’ business.
The firm maintains that there is no other provider that offers as many features as itself, which includes its Citrus-Store Mobile service and Click and Collect functionality.
At Core Bike 2014 the firm will be launching its new Customer Rewards solution, which is a ‘points mean prizes’ loyalty scheme, allowing you to earn and spend points both in-store and online through the Citrus solution.
If you would like to book an appointment to have a chat and a software demonstration please drop Grant Hadwin an email via grant@citruslime.com or just come by the room.
