BikeBiz

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Brompton Configuring a build is a key differentiator for Brompton. It’s something that reinforces the fact that the firm builds bikes here in the UK.

Consumers are increasingly interested in tailoring a bike to their needs, something made doubly important if your customer is going to be frequently using it for several years or more. Retailers can also benefit from bespoke orders, as they tend to result in higher value purchases.

But with so many options, consumers can feel a little overwhelmed, which is why a step-by-step online configurator is the perfect tool for the job.

Brompton marketing manager, Emerson Roberts tells BikeBiz: "Brompton's web team has, in the past, designed similar systems for all the leading car brands, but apparently ours is a more demanding brief. Appropriate, really, as our powder coaters tell us that we are more demanding than their automotive clients too.

"We should have the system up and running by the summer, along with a facility for dealers to use it for ordering bikes direct. The plan is to have retail prices for all our markets live on the configurator, along with weights and local variations in configuration, by the start of 2010."

Paligap Despite having been victim of a theft of 40 or so bikes last month, Paligap will still be able to offer dealers the majority of Litespeed, Merlin, Kona and Quintana Roo models. If you're offered any of these brands by anyone you suspect to be less than legit, get in touch with either the police or Paligap without delay.

It's hardly surprising the thieves chose the Bristol-based distributor as a victim with bikes such as the Litespeed Icon in stock. The Icon represents all the firm learned from the Archon, meaning features such as WRAP Technology and Bi-Planar chainstays are utilised. If your customer is looking for the definitive workhorse of a racing frame then look no further. A high balance of strength to weight performance is to be expected from the build, which comes in a super stylish brushed titanium finish, or a combination of either blue or white and titanium.

For 2009, Paligap's longest standing complete bike brand, Kona, has produced an all-inclusive fleet of commuters that can handle everything from pothole-riddled streets to gravel roads to buttery-smooth asphalt. The Dew platform expands to eight models, giving consumers the option to choose suspension, dropped handlebars, clipless pedals and more.

With a multitude of different specs, prices and featuring more rear wheel clearance for those who want to run fatter tyres, the 2009 line of Dews is one of the finest, most wide-ranging lines of commuter bikes on the market.

Madison Madison’s customers currently have access to Genesis, Ridgeback and Commencal, all of which have established firm reputations for quality among both the consumer press and ealers alike. It also won’t be long now before information on Saracen’s 2010 line filters through.

At £729.99, the Genesis Core 20 is specced to hold its own on any trail, carrying Shimano Deore and SLX components and Rock Shox's dependable Tora 289 120mm forks up front.

For a little more investment, customers can pick up Ridgeback's Flight 04, an all-black, stealthy, flat barred super-commuter built purely for speed, low maintenance and ease of use.

Constructed around a light, responsive triple butted ALX9 aluminium frame and equipped with the now-proven Shimano Alfine eight-speed internal hub and equally impressive Shimano SLX hydraulic disc brakes with ServoWave, the Flight 04 is ready for tough inner city duties from the box.

For those looking to make a serious investment, Commencal's Meta 55 has been designed exclusively for the UK market. The build features Fox Float 140RL QR15 forks and a mix of the best XT and SLX groupset product all built onto the highly-admired Meta 55 frame.

Cannondale Cannondale’s Synapse range of performance road bikes blend efficiency and all day rider comfort with seamless style and aesthetics to create a highly desirable and sellable product. Using High Modulus carbon fibre allows Cannondale engineers to tune every area, providing a frame weighing little over 1,000 grams.

What’s unique is that Cannondale develops components and frames as one unit, a philosophy known as System Integration. This technology is clearly evident with the oversized BB30 bottom bracket and crank, ensuring no rider input is lost through unwanted flex.

Synapse Compact gearing and tailored geometry for both men and women ensure a confidence inspired ride right from the first pedal stroke. Prices range from £799 to £5,299.

If you’re looking for all-round versatility then Cannondale’s Rize is a bike of choice. With framesets available in both carbon and aluminum the fundamentals remain the same. Prices for the Rize begin at £1,599 and top out at £5,999.

Eurobike Proflex Dual suspension bikes all feature the ICP system, a frame design totally unique to Proflex.

The ICP system is based on the study of instant centre mass and of how to locate it in the most effective position. It defines the instant centre movement curve throughout the whole suspension cycle. The form, longitude and direction of this curve influence how the suspension behaves. The system’s main advantages are: efficient pedalling, smooth shock absorber action, virtually no interaction between the chain and the suspension and an incredibly low-pressure shock absorber configuration.

The system uses a shock absorber that is much larger than normal and this allows for a lower leverage ratio than in similar designs. The main advantages of the low leverage ratio are that the shock absorber works at a very low pressure and therefore does not need any assistance to achieve a completely efficient pedalling action.

GoCycle GoCycle is a lightweight urban two-wheeler developed with young city professionals and their families in mind. With innovative design and breakthrough technology, GoCycle combines on-demand electric power, portability and style to offer the rider a no-effort, no-emission and low-cost urban transport solution.

A full charge takes approximately three hours, which provides up to 20 miles use depending on terrain and pedal input. GoCycle is available via London-based Karbon Kinetics. Contact sales@gocycle.com for more information about becoming a dealer.

Ison Identiti has long been one of Ison's best sellers and the p66 Comp is proving no exception. The 26-inch expert level trails bike is built around the Identiti P66 frame and loaded with top quality components, trails-specific geometry but is also suitable as a lightweight park bike.

A double-butted, disc-only, cro-moly frame with integrated headset and Euro BB keeps everything light and clean.

The P66 also uses the exclusive Maz ADS (adjustable dropout system), which incorporates a sliding dropout system for chain tensioning together with sliding disc mounts to maintain a correctly aligned disc brake and rotor.

The components list includes the award-winning Society Xeno 80mm forks, Halo Combat II singlespeed wheels and Gusset EXP cranks. The colour choices are varied too, with the black bike coming with purple parts, the red bike with white parts and the white bike with white parts.

At £799.99 this bike has been called "the best looking off-the-peg jump bike we've seen," by MBUK magazine.

Montague Swissbike has added new bikes to its line-up for 2009, including a special edition variation of its flagship model, the LX. The standard model now features a Shimano SLX derailleur and the special edition will have a Rock Shox Dart3 fork and front and rear discs.

Another new model for 2009 is the Montague X5 Tora, which is based on the ever-popular Montague Paratrooper, but specced-up for more serious off-road action. The Tora has, as its name suggests, a Rockshox Tora fork, Truvativ Firex crank and discs front and rear.

All models will now come with replaceable derailleur hangers and frame mountings for retro-fitting of rear discs, as well as compatible rear hubs.

Hot Wheels Hot Wheels carry a variety of complete bike brands: WeThePeople – aimed squarely at the BMX rider, while GT and Mongoose produce both MTBs and BMX. Then there's Summer Bicycles, designed exclusively for women's use and finally, Charge which covers a few markets in style.

From Mongoose, the Crossway 350 combines durability and lightweight with comfort. It is available in a variety of configurations, either with disc or V-brakes with either suspension or rigid forks. Mongoose offers four sizes in the gent’s version and two sizes in the Women’s.

Prices range from £299.99 for the rigid V-brake version through to £349.99 for the suspension disc brake version.

Based on the hugely successful Charge Plug fixed gear bike, the Plug Grinder takes style to the next level with colour co-ordinated mudguards, flat bars and both a fixed cog and freewheel. £549.99 buys your customers a piece of the action.

Raleigh Corratec, launched in the UK early this year, caters for a broad market from road and XC race bikes through to utility trekking. The brand's unique frame concepts combined with performance-orientated components from brands such as Shimano, Fox, SRAM, DT, Zzyzx, Selle Italia and Continental means all models are real showroom eyecatchers. A highlight of the road range is the hand made Carbon Corratec CCT PRO, which has a 900 gram frame weight.

All the UK bikes are assembled in Germany exclusively for the UK market and distributed by Raleigh UK. Corratec is exclusive to dealers that sign up as stockists, of which there are 42 across the UK to date.

Meanwhile, Diamondback's Axis model has just scored a high rating in Mountain Biking UK, receiving nine out of ten marks. The brand's hardtails are built for the harder side of riding, trading XC race weight for some larger travel and strength.

All bikes boast UK specific design features such as larger tyres, but still offering amply mud clearance, designated downtube mudguard fixings and hydroformed tube sets that give extra strength, but allow weight savings.

Bronx Bronx’s comprehensive range of complete bicycles is available in a variety of wheel sizes (12 to 26-inch and 700c). Bronx continues to grow in popularity due to its wide range of models and value for money products. According to the company, sales of its classic bikes (Vintage and Regal, Savannah, Velo-Marche’) have trebled since last year.

The Bronx Rambler, for example, is the brand's fully equipped 21S hybrid, with alloy frame, Suntour chainwheel, Suntour forks and Shimano EZ Fire shifters retailing at £269.99. This has been a Bronx big seller.

Seventies With kids hooked on all forms of freestyle and BMX racing, Seventies has a number of brands to satisfy dealer needs.

One is Kink, now in its third year in the complete bike business. The Kink 2010 range is the first of the core brands to launch in the market and they're offering a great combination of price, spec and design with a range of ten bikes retailing between £250 to £699.

These are available with dealer margins up to 37 per cent. Secondly, Subrosa throws the rule book out the window. When it was all about colours, the brand launched a highly successful range in black and white only. This year sees Subrosa refining its range to ten bikes and introducing red as a 'guest' colour on some of the models. This year also sees Subrosa's first entry into the fixed gear market and the bike will come with a pivotal seat and post.

Gelert Gelert’s debut range of 'signature' series models is featured in the distributor's launch brochure 2009 available to dealers now.

Gelert's John Malcolm told BikeBiz: "We have carefully chosen our manufacturing partner, who has many years of dedicated high-quality manufacturing experience and sophisticated up-to-the-minute welding, painting and assembly processes, controlled by innovative managers with a quality control programme second to none."

The super smooth riding unisex step–thru geometry, combined with a strong aluminium frame, smooth tyres, a comfortable saddle and front suspension forks offer customers a bike ideal for towpatch rides.

Dawes Probably best known for its touring and trekking bikes, the 2009 range from the Birmingham-based company has many great looking and great value models in its line-up.

The Red Feather is a city bike offering a lightweight alloy low step frame, 26-inch wheels and full mudguards. For the low maintenance benefits of hub gears then the Harlem and Geneva models come in both gents and ladies alloy frames and are fitted with full mudguards and a rack. The Geneva also has a dynamo front light, LED rear and a horseshoe frame lock.

For classic styling the Heritage range is your first stopping point with steel frames and retro paint finishes catering for that city chic look.

To view the full Dawes range online, including a new budget range called Barrosa, visit www.dawescycles.com or for more details call its sales office on 0121 7488050.

Fisher Outdoor Leisure Norco is known for cutting-edge products and innovative bicycle designs. In-house engineering, research and development, and meticulous attention to detail ensure that Norco bikes meet rigorous standards for performance and durability.

What’s more, Norco’s product managers are as passionate about cycling as they are about the products they design; they are racers, dirt jumpers, freeriders, BMXers and roadies who bring with them a diverse industry background from retail sales to manufacturing to competition.

The latest downhill heavy hitter, the Atomik, has been developed to tackle some of the rougher routes down a mountain, utlising a lower shock position built into a frame designed purely around strength, although it’s no heavyweight. It’s well-specced with Boxxer forks, a Funn direct mount stem and E-13’s LG-1 chainguide, as well as both SRAM SX-5 and X-7 components. Retail price is £1,999.

Avocet The Piranha range from Avocet covers 20, 22 and 24-inch wheeled bikes.

Piranha's 200 model is built around a Tig welded Hi-tensile 'street' frame with top and down tube gussets. Hot forged one-piece ranks power a 36-tooth chainring and 16-tooth freewheel. The wheels should hold up to a bit of stick being built with 48 spokes, both on 14 mm axles. Alloy V-brakes link up to two finger levers. The saddle carries extra padding on the front and rear to take all the scrapes, while two stunt pegs are supplied for kids wanting to give 'backies'.

The Piranha Twenty Four takes on a few upgrades, notably three-piece cranks measuring 170mm. The bike runs on the same gearing and a similar wheel set up, just four inches larger. 630mm bars combined with an alloy Ahead headset make up the steering.