News
World News Round-up
The End of WiggleCRC in Australia? A recent article in Bike Europe implied that WiggleCRC’s days in Australia could be over for ever. At their peak about from about 15 years ago to a decade ago UK based Wiggle and Northern Ireland based Chain Reaction Cycles were both widely disliked names amongst Australian bicycle retailers.…
How’s Business – December 2023
Welcome to How’s Business, brought to you by Knog – Australian designed and lighting up the world. With Christmas approaching, for this month’s follow-up question I asked, “What do you think the Christmas holidays and summer season will be like for you and your store?” In keeping with this holiday theme, I spoke to a…
Ongoing Pain for Shimano from Huge Malware Attack
Sakai, Japan Cycling media around the world have been reporting on a malware attack that has seen thousands of confidential Shimano documents leaked to the public. The source of these reports is this article in the tech website Escape Collective. In case you don’t want to wade through that fairly long and detailed article, here’s…
E-Bike Import Value Is Approaching Conventional Bikes Value
Canberra, ACT As all Australian bicycle industry members know, for more than a year now we’ve been in a situation of overstock, leading to discounting that is eroding profit margins for both wholesalers and retailers. Therefore, while it would normally be a concern to see import levels falling, right now it’s good news. We recently…
Rob Eva Retires After Over 25 Years Leading SRAM Australia
Warburton, Vic One of the best known faces, and voices… in the Australian bicycle industry is retiring on Friday 15th December after a lifetime of deep immersion in all aspects of cycling. When I first started Bicycling Australia magazine, Rob featured prominently as a mountain bike racer, including our front cover photo in late 1993…
Tasmania Becomes First Australian State to Subsidise E-Bike Purchases
Hobart The Tasmanian Government has launched a rebate program for e-mobility devices. The program is a national first and aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transport, particularly from daily commuting. The program is an initiative of Tasmania’s Climate Change Action Plan 2023-25. Rebates of 12 percent of the purchase price are available for e-bikes,…
Dirt Works Co-Founder Goes Bush!
Yarralin, NT Dirt Works co-founder Wayne Chapman just let us know that he and his wife Kyria are moving to one of the most remote corners of Australia Yarralin, in the Northern Territory is five hours’ drive from the nearest towns, Katherine NT to the east and Kunanarra, WA to the west. Kyria has always…
Handing Over the Editorial Reins of The Latz Report
Wollongong NSW As every business owner knows, sometimes you have to make tough decisions, especially when it comes to controlling costs and keeping them less than income. So it was with great regret that I decided to at least partially let go of our superstar Editor, Scott Green. I’ve included a farewell note from Scott…
CAKE Celebrates New Partnership with Deus Ex Machina
Sydney, NSW Cult motorcycle and lifestyle brand Deus Ex Machina has become the Australian distributor for a much younger but equally chic company, CAKE, a Swedish manufacturer of premium lightweight electric mopeds and motorcycles. CAKE, whose range includes utilitarian mopeds for tradesmen, along with ultra-modern offroad motorcycles, declared the new partnership and strategic entry into…
ACCC Lithium Battery Report Branded Inadequate and Underwhelming
Canberra, ACT Nationally consistent controls and systems for the sale, testing and disposal of lithium-ion batteries are needed to address the “limited but increasing number” of fires started by these batteries, according to a recently-released report from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). The Lithium-ion Batteries and Consumer Product Safety Report delivers six recommendations…