BikeBiz Bicycle and cycling retail news
If you missed yesterday’s round up, which included product updates from Upgrade, BikeBoss, Bianchi, Specialized, Enigma, Moore Large and many more, see here.
VELOTECH SERVICES
Aside from at the World Championships, The Cycle Show was the first chance consumers would have had to feast their eyes on the Ceepo label, now with Velotech Services.
Largely suited to triathlon, your customer has a range of framesets and builds to choose from, beginning with the entry Mamba frameset at £1,399 and spanning through to the Venom, supplied with a headset, rear brake caliper and fork, at £2,750. Though not UCI legal, the Venom is built with both aerodynamics and comfort in mind, with the rider placed directly over the bottom bracket. Velotech offers up to a 40 per cent margin to dealers carrying Ceepo. Complete builds use Rotor components as standard.
Rotor hasn’t rested on its laurels as it rides the wave of popularity, having introduced the Rex MTB cranks and rings. There’s three versions, with the Rex 2 utilising cold forging techniques. Both the Rex 1 and 2 revolve around a 30mm alloy spindle that can be adapted to fit most frames. The Rex 3 uses a steel 24mm axle. The crank arms are hollow and the Rex 1 can claim to be the second lightest crankset in the entire collection.
Last of all and certainly not to be overlooked, Spin now produces a wheel range spanning £399 through £990, each of which is hand built in Stratford Upon Avon. Carbon works its way in at £690 and all revolve around the same forged alloy hubset, with the rear offering a 48-point drive and 11-speed compatibility. As such Velotech are keen to emphasise the value for money credentials when compared to the competition. A stockist programme is to begin early in 2014. A five pair commitment will be needed to take part and an expected 30 per cent margin will be returned on a sale.
SEVENTIES
Hastings BMX specialist Seventies launched a new house label at the Cycle Show targeting the entry-level rider.
Dubbed ‘88’, there will be two bikes to begin with; a street build (Psycho) with more gusset work and steeper angles and a park rig dubbed the Lunatic. Both will retail for £299 and come specced with sealed bottom brackets and cassette hubs.
The park build will be the first bike in the UK to carry KHE’s minimalist Affix Rotor ‘gyro’, while the street rig will come supplied with three pegs.
Furthermore, BikeBiz was told that a freecoaster clad version of the Psycho will land in December, which uses the tried and tested KHE internals. The first two builds will be in stock from October and are available for pre-order now. This model will retail for £349, making it one of the cheapest ways for your customer to get their hands on a freecoaster equipped bike.
www.seventies.co.uk
CHICKEN CYCLEKIT
New kit galore on the Chicken Cyclekit booth. Both Sportourer saddles and Omega Pharma team kit join the Chicken Cyclekit catalogue with immediate effect, with stock from both present at the show. Sportourer’s extensive saddle line revolves around comfort for both men and women, with prices falling between £26 to £37. Stock should be with the distributor now.
Sticking with a saddle specialist, Selle Italia has introduced a new point of sale display capable of holding 68 of its bar tape wraps, with a buy in providing a greater margin on each unit sold.
A highlight of ours was the introduction of the 105-specced Cinelli Hobo touring bike. Some clever touches on this one to ensure a long-lasting bike. The chainstays sports a ‘spoke rack’ that holds two spares, as well as reflective accents toward the saddle.
Two new builds join the Tifosi range; the first is the urban and cyclocross suited Forte at £899 and the second the ‘Classic’, using the same geometry as the best-selling CK7, just cheaper and built with steel for the £799 price point at retail.
Ryde rims, having undergone some rebranding, are now back to making a name for themselves with products like the new Pulse Comp 260 gram mountain bike rim, said to be lighter than the equivalent NoTubes product and described by the firm as the ‘top product in the aluminium rim sector at present’. Then there’s the new road disc rim, weighing 330 grams, described by Ryde as ‘lighter than many carbon alternatives, but still a clincher.’ All Ryde rims are offset to create an even spoke tension, with spoke holes drilled from two directions to ensure a quality build.
Finally, LAS’s 40th anniversary Victory Supreme helmet lands from October, set to retail at £189 and carry the magnetic clutch closure that’s now largely found on the brands £100 plus lids.
VISIJAX
An interesting one here for retailers looking to bolster their stocks of winter commuter jackets. Visijax can offer retailers a 50 per cent margin on its £98 jacket, which comes in orange or yellow and sports flashing lights on the sleeves. These run on three AAA batteries. The jacket’s tailored to cycling too, with a fleece collar, reflective strips and a dipped tail among the many features present.
4EVER
Catching BikeBiz’s eye thanks to a ‘seeking UK distribution’ sign on its booth, 4eva told us that it hopes to make inroads in the market soon.
The Czech Republic-based brand produces a number of electric bikes, mountain bikes, both hardtail and full-suspension and catering for various budgets, as well as the odd hybrid build. Take a look at the line, including the range-topping Virus XX at 4ever.cz/en.
NEMESIS
New to Nemesis, eGlove are experts in tailoring gloves to various markets, including the equestrian and snowsport trades and now the firm has a cycling specific unit. Each in the line works with touch screen mobile phones, though the cycling product is tailored with the introduction of lock stitching, reflective strips and gel padding where necessary. Point of sale units holding 24 pairs are now available via the distributor and these come with sample gloves for customer to try before they buy.
Casco has been experimenting with aerodynamics, bringing to market a £219 dual core lid with ‘adaptive aerodynamics’, which sees the helmet blend glasses with the contours of the dual core chassis. Stock of the white colour is with Nemesis now, with black following in March. Alternative visors are available in clear or orange at £49.99 each. All Casco helmets carry a three year crash replacement promise, including the new £129, multi-ply electric bike lid, dubbed the e-Motion.
IMG DISTRIBUTION
IMG house-label Proper had a few prototype parts on a display bike at the Cycle Show. The Acala stem takes Proper’s typical clean lines one step further, utilising a wedge to secure around the steerer tube and a recessed indent to hide the top cap. Both front and top load versions are set for release, with the latter offering 20mm of rise and both coming in 49mm reach only.
The Vanguard sprocket is CNC machined from 7075 and will land in 25, 27 and 29 tooth versions. The key thing about this sprocket, aside from the full bash coverage, is that it will come with shims to offer 22mm, 19mm and socket drive cranks. Expect both products to be around early in 2014.
Sunday has ventured into the kids bikes market, introducing a 16 and an 18-inch wheel version of its Primer complete, both retailing at £269.
All 2014 bikes get an upgrade to the Tripod seat system, while the popular aftermarket Springfield brake is dotted through the range, giving the even entry bikes great stopping power.
At the top-end, Jake Seeley’s new Broadcaster in ‘army green’ is now with IMG and retails for £499. At the very top though, you’ll find the Soundwave Special at £799. Carrying Odyssey’s thunderbolt cranks, Anti-Gram hubs and a several other aftermarket parts, IMG calculate that built up separately, this build would cost around £1,300.
VIP BIKES
VIP Bikes is once again inviting retailers to become stockists of Velocite’s framesets and components, telling BikeBiz that it can also look at UK assembled custom build supply via partners.
The Cycle Show also gave crowds the chance to ogle the new Magnus frameset, with a complete build created for the exhibition. Claiming to have shaved five per cent off the prior version’s weight, the revamp further bolsters what was already a stiff frame, adding Di2 compatibility, though without the need to choose to go electronic in advance thanks to some subtle blanking caps.
Co-founder of VIP Mark Almond told BikeBiz: “All direct sales are now stopping and we’re looking to have no more than 30 accounts nationwide, so can offer large territories to our partners.”
Almond also hinted that further ‘complementary’ brands were being considered as additions to the stable.
