BikeBiz Bicycle and cycling retail news
BikeBiz: The Federal 2013 product is out now, how’s it gone down with riders so far?
Federal bikes designer, Anthony Lau: Everything has been well received and held up really well. As a result of the teams input we have made some minor revisions, but nothing major.
What trends have influenced the design of the latest product? Is weight still a concern of the average BMX rider?
The most important part is the functionality. With what the team puts bikes through these days we need products that will hold up to what they can throw at it. Once we’ve dialled that bit in we then look to try and keep the cost reasonable for the end-users and weight is really an after thought these days.
Anything you or the team are particularly excited about for the year ahead? Any trips or promos?
2013 is going to be another heavy year from Federal. Recently Stevie Churchill, Anthony Perrin, Matty Long and Roy Van Kempen were added to the team. Make sure check out the below Barcelona edit.
How much feedback/input have you had from the team’s riders this year? Any of their ideas made it into production?
We work very closely with our team riders and always value their opinions on ideas and prototypes. A lot of their input does have an influence over the finished product. For example, Mark Love had loads of feedback on the initial design of the Contact grip, even coming up with what diameter the flange should be.
For dealers looking at BMX product stock, what advice would you give them on colours, bar sizes and other trends?
Everything feels oversaturated at the moment, so our new range simplifies things, focusing on black, chrome and a couple of selected colours to match the new frames. Regarding bar size, the last few years have seen a continued upward trend to the point where the most popular size for us is now split between 8.75 and 9-inch rise.
The dominant sprocket size is still 25 tooth, front and top load stems have now reached parity and mid seats still dominate the market. Free coaster hubs are on the rise again and tyres are still getting fatter.
And at what stage are you at with 2014 samples?
Currently we have a Stevie Churchill frame at testing stage and a new hub guard being evaluated. Next month sees the new Federal stems, Revolution sprockets and plastic pegs being released to the trade.
Is the Lacey frame still your best-seller? Are there any changes to that for 2013?
Dan’s frame is still our best-seller, but Bruno is catching up fast. The new version of Dan’s frame out this month builds on that success with changes to the gusset, revised graphics and a fresh translucent red colourway.
We tried all sorts of new ideas on different samples, but Dan felt things where perfect as they were.
Tel: +44 (0) 845 3103670
Email: sales@seventies.co.uk
W: www.federalbikes.com
