BikeBiz Bicycle and cycling retail news
1. Shimano unveils road disc brakes; UCI ratification can’t be far behind
As widely expected, Shimano has launched road disc brakes. Currently the UCI does not allow race-use of disc brakes for road bikes, so can we expect to see a change in that area soon?
2. Toyota launches ‘road bike of the future’
So you’re a car manufacturer and you want to show off the best of your engineering skills. How best to do that? By producing a bicycle. In Toyota’s case, the Lexus F Sport, a ‘road bike of the future’ that was built in the same place they make their supercars.
3. Survey says motorists want cyclists to don helmets & pay to use roads
A survey from Consumer Intelligence found that 75 per cent of cyclist would be in favour of a compulsory helmet law. For more on that and other highly contentious and debateable issues, click on the link.
4. ‘Go Dutch’ to be plugged by BBC’s One Show
A few years ago the prospect of a discussion on cycling on primetime TV that didn’t solely focus on the negatives associated with cyclists (see the story above) would have seemed unlikely, to say the least. Watch highlights from the show on the link above.
5. Wiggle reports 20% turnover increase
Online bike retail goliath Wiggle revealed its latest financial titbits this week, as well as throwing some light on its plans to grow overseas.
6. New faces join the Singletrack team
One wag on Twitter pointed out that some of the ‘new’ faces at Singletrack are in fact more ‘weather caressed’ than new, but nevertheless there have been some personnel changes at the MTB mag and site, details of which can be gleaned over the link.
7. ‘Record sum’ received for damages in fatal cycle incident
The family of a cyclist killed on A414 received undisclosed record compensation after going through the courts
8. Wi-Fi equipped Levitation Bike is a pedal power house
This futuristic concept bike might not have much of a saddle (maybe we won’t need them in the future?) but it can power gadgets and boost your home’s electricity reserves. And forget about carbon, it’s made from kitchen counter-top material Hi-Macs.
Onto the videos that we’ve seen circulating this week, starting with British Cycling’s round-up of the action from on the Elite Circuit Series Round One in Otley.
This slightly less energetic video is from Morvelo. As they note, it’s not edgy and there’s "no high-def shots of soil being sprayed out from a corner… it does contain the reason we all first fell in love with cycling. The ability to escape. It also features one of the true characters of the handbuilt bicycle world, Jon Chickens, who loving makes beautiful steel frames from a small old shipping container on a farm in Sussex."
Finally as we’re slap bang in the middle of holiday season, here’s what amounts to a big plug for Pure Mountains’ cycle holidays in Spain. Sadly, BikeBiz has used up most of its holiday allowance already, but there’s always next year.
