BikeBiz Bicycle and cycling retail news
Confirming the rumours, Sir Chris Hoy revealed this morning that he will be launching a bike brand under the ‘Hoy’ name, exclusively with Evans Cycles.
18-months in the making, the line-up will begin with three road bikes and four city bikes, but the future will see the brand expand into a number of categories. A limited edition track bike is in the works too.
This morning’s launch didn’t reveal what the bikes will look like, but early models will come in youth sizing, we were told. Hoy didn’t rule out growing the range to include accessories and helmets at some future stage.
When the question was put to him, Hoy said the brand wasn’t going to be in direct competition with fellow Olympian Chris Boardman’s range – exclusively sold through Evans rival Halfords – emphasising that the range will have more emphasis on the enjoyment of cycling.
Sir Chris said: "It’s a dream project and something I can see myself doing for five, ten, 20 years ahead."
He added: “Cycling has been a central part of my life from an early age and has helped me achieve so much. I want to help more people experience the power and enjoyment of cycling, as well as demystifying it and making it accessible to all. That’s why I decided to create a brand that embodies this vision and my passion.
“Evans Cycles are the ideal partner to help reach this goal. They are one of the UK’s most highly regarded cycle retailers and I’m really excited to be working with them to deliver a new brand that can share my enjoyment of cycling with a whole new audience.”
At the launch, Sir Chris emphasised that he is closely involved with the development of the bikes and hasn’t just put his name on a range of bikes. In a press statement released later he said: “I’m really enjoying building my brand from scratch. There are so many aspects that need to mesh perfectly and finding that balance has been very exciting and rewarding. I’ve been working very hard on developing the brand values as well as the visual features, which will appear on all of the bikes.”
Evans Cycles CEO Nick Wilkinson added: “This partnership is the perfect opportunity to bring together Britain’s most successful Olympian and the UK’s leading specialist bike retailer. We have experience of building bikes since 1921 and share Sir Chris’ passion for cycling, with the belief that it should be fun and accessible for all. This is a perfect way to build on the success of the Olympic Games and inspire more people to get into cycling.”
