BikeBiz Bicycle and cycling retail news

Phillip Darnton has penned an explosive piece for the Nottingham Evening Post. He called the sale of Raleigh and Sturmey Archer’s factory sites a “smash-and-grab for cash”, which mirrors part of the Bikebiz.co.uk coverage of Derby Cycle Corporation’s actions in 1999 and 2000. This site said Derby had created a mess it would take years to clean up, that the careless sale of Sturmey Archer was a big mistake and that certain US-based Derby execs were guilty of managerial incompetence and gross negligence. Darnton doesn't go that far but his outspoken comments are certainly illuminating.

Haymarket is the UK's biggest expo organiser and acquired Bike 2002 from Future in November 2001. Many of the features were already sorted for the show that finished yesterday but Bike 2003 could be a very different animal, the show manager tells Bikebiz.co.uk. For a start, there's going to be a big 'London to Brighton' type bike ride, organised in association with the British Heart Foundation. More roadie stuff too. But can Haymarket entice back the bikes-on-sticks exhibitors?

Late in 2000, Bikebiz.co.uk carried news on a German proposal for all two-seat child-trailers to be fitted with brakes. In March 2001, the German government looked close to nodding through the proposal, which would have meant child-trailers throughout the EC having to fit expensive brakes. The patent on these brakes was held by the engineer recommending child-trailers should have them fitted! Trailer manufacturers worldwide teamed up to fight Dr. Wobbin's brake. And last week, they won, preventing a US vs Europe trade spat

And 107 other sports! Cbeebies is the new BBC1 and BBC Digital children's channel. A new sports programme called Freestyle launches this week and uses computer-game imagery to encourage kids to get out and play sports. And talking about computer games, the new X Box console is now BMX-friendly as the Dave Mirra Playstation game gets a Microsoft makeover...

Digital maps, that is. £1200 worth of OS paper maps can now be purchased in a 12 CD set for £250. IBDs could sell on the software and the GPS devices and the bike mounting kits, and then email their customers with shop-ride details complete with grid references and marked-up OS maps