BikeBiz Bicycle and cycling retail news

That's the view of Matt Mannelly, president of sales and marketing at Cannondale, quoted in an upbeat piece in the business section of the Hartford Courant, Cannondale's local newspaper. Mannelly was hired last October following the ousting of Scott Montgomery, son of the company's founder. The newspaper feature mentions the outsourcing of apparel manufacturing to the Far East and the $1m upgrade of the Connecticut factory. Will this emphasis on the 'Handmade in the USA' story scotch speculation that Cannondale will have to start buying in some of its frames from the Far East? Cannondale execs won't comment, but with some of its road forks being produced in Taiwan, trade commentators see it as only a matter of time before some frames are made there too.

All the Trek marques - Gary Fisher, Klein, Lemond and Trek – will be participating in the Green Transport Plan tax-saving scheme that's run by employers and enables employees to spend twice as much on their bikes for no extra expense. More brands will no doubt join soon...

Get your votes in quick, the cut off is midnight tonight.

According to one trade source, this is going to be a funny year. There could be a shortage of bikes, or a glut. EU10 countries, immune to anti-dumping regs, are currently stuffed to the gills with low-end bikes, ready to be rolled out when the European Union is enlarged. But, as the Word document here demonstrates, as the year progresses Shimano components will become as rare as hen's teeth

The German bicycle brand has been missing from the UK market for 2+ years, although Reece has been handling warranties. Now Univega wants to up the ante, and boost sales away from its German heartland.