World
Sub 7kg Ebike Sets New Guinness World Record
Mechanical engineer Dennis Freiburg from Germany has set the Guinness World Record for the lightest ever e-bike prototype with a design that weighs just 6.8kg. The ride – named the Freicycle – reportedly took Freiburg almost a year to design and build, serving as part of a project for his doctorate. Unsurprisingly, the Freicycle is…
Further Data Confirms Scale of Bike Sales Surge
As every bicycle industry member knows, demand for bicycles has surged since March. But with the vast majority of bike businesses being privately owned, they are not required to reveal any sales data, so it’s hard to get an accurate read on what is happening. Halfords Group PLC is a large, publicly listed retailer of…
Giant and Dorel Both Announce Record Sales and Profits
In the first round of reporting for publicly listed companies since the Covid impact upon the bike industry came into full effect, sales for both Giant and Dorel were up significantly. Giant Group’s sales for the second quarter of 2020 (from 1st April to 30th June 2020) were NT$19.7 billion (A$929 million) and its earnings…
Trek CEO Says He Saw the Boom Coming Quicker Than Most
In a lengthy but fascinating story first published on USA website marker.medium.com, Trek’s global CEO and owner John Burke says that he saw the sudden upturn in bicycle demand sooner that others in the industry and was able to place vital orders with suppliers, including Shimano in particular, ahead of the stampede that followed. Despite…
This TV Advertisement Was Banned!
Take a look at this TV advertisement for a new bicycle and decide for yourself if it was sufficiently offensive to be banned from TV. That’s exactly what happened when the Autorité de Régulation Professionnelle de la Publicité (ARPP) ruled that the film cannot be broadcast in France because it creates ‘a climate of anxiety’…
Cannondale and GT to End Model Year System
As every dealer knows, most of the world’s bicycle brands have for many years operated on a model year system. The theoretical upside of this system is to drive consumer demand through a desire to own the current year model. But the reality is that most models don’t really change that much from one year…
Former Shimano President Yoshizo Shimano Dies
Yoshizo Shimano, third son of company founder Shozaburo Shimano has died at the age of 85. After earning his economics degree from Keio University in Tokyo, he briefly worked at an automobile sales company before joining Shimano Industrial Co., Ltd., now Shimano Inc. He established the company’s first overseas operation, Shimano American Corporation in New…
Mavic Secures a New Owner
Having gone into receivership in May and gone through the courts to find new backers, no less than 15 different parties expressed interest in purchasing this iconic French company. On On 22nd July the new owner was announced by the court. Mavic is now owned by the Bourrelier Group, a French investment firm. According to…
European Cargo Bike Sales Growing at Over 50% Per Year
Results of a comprehensive European Union funded survey into the cargo bike industry’s sales suggest that sales across Europe are likely to increase by just over 50% this year. The ‘CityChangerCargoBike’ project undertook the inaugural study of 38 brands operating in the sector who provided anonymised data. Here is a summary of European cargo bike…
Vittoria Tyres Sold After 30 Years of Growth
The owners of Vittoria Group, including founder and president Rudie Campagne, have sold their global bicycle tyre business to Wise Equity, an Italian group. Campagne, who is 76, will retire this month. Wise Equity partner Stijn Vriends is being named president and CEO. Campagne bought the Italian company Vittoria Spa in 1990, when it was…