BikeBiz Bicycle and cycling retail news
Following on from part one and two of our Cycle Show review, here’s five more with plenty to talk about.
To view our entire Cycle Show photo gallery, click here.
Zeal
Zeal’s booth, perhaps wisely, had a front door, adding to the intrigue for those on the outside and possibly keeping the kids at bay throughout the weekend.
Inside BikeBiz was introduced to a new label for the BMX distributor – The Daily Grind – from the USA. Solely for the street rider, this label focuses on hub guards made from chromoly, designed to retain their shape after multiple knocks.
House label Alone has a new tyre landing in stock this month too, showing visitors a 110 PSI, 2.3 width version of a current favourite in steel bead, retailing at just £15, making it one of the cheaper high pressure tyres on the market.
Split Second Imports
The intermediate BMX market is still a hotly contested area, with sales from £300 to £500 key to specialists. That’s one reason why Split Second has opted to bring in Total BMX completes, which were debuted at Cycle Show. Spanning £369 through £499, the Ronnie Remo-managed label will produce four bikes, each in two colours and all based on the geometries of the aftermarket frames and components. These are expected to land during November.
Sat below this is another new label, Fiction BMX line, an entry-level off shoot of the Stolen Bike brand. There’s plenty of new stock for dealers selling to beginners here, so get in touch with the distributor for more specific details on these.
Failure Bikes also joins the Split Second stable this year and with Harry Main on the team, expect this label to be popular with kids down the skate park. In fact, Split Second told BikeBiz that ahead of stock arriving in November, the Main signature frame has already pre-sold out.
For those shops stocking scooter product, Split Second has now decided to go down the in-house designed route with Ixia. Set to offer four complete builds in two colours, as well as aftermarket components, Ixia should offer dealers a strong margin while the scooter trend is still in full swing.
Scoop
There’s plenty going on at Letchworth distributor Scoop, with Tempered Bikes having joined the portfolio recently, along with the return of DK complete BMX bikes after a three-year absence.
Look a little closer and you may have spotted some very joined up thinking from Scoop’s in-house product design team who are responsible for house-brand Vocal.
Of particular interest to those stores close to the 20-inch market, Vocal’s patented DRS bottom bracket design is a bit of an industry first in that it has the ability to add resistance to the axle in order to stop the cranks spinning out of control when performing limb tricks. Of course if you’re a fan of the crank flip, as we all are at BikeBiz, undo the grub screw and things will spin as normal.
DK’s complete bikes will land in early January. Freestyle models will retail from £299 to £539, while the two race builds cost £399 and £429.
IMG Distribution
Plenty to discuss from IMG’s stand, with varying significance depending on how BMX focused your store is. Specialists in BMX bikes will be pleased to see the complete bike range from Fly, brought in to complement the existing Sunday Bikes completes, enter its second year. All the bikes are fully sealed and each comes in three frame lengths.
Fly is known for some elegant design work and the complete bikes are no exception, with a new in-house aftermarket component line dubbed ‘Trebol’ decorating the bikes, as well as soon to be available in its own right. The line will target the intermediate rider on a budget and as with Fly’s aftermarket gear, it’s all rider designed in Spain.
Spotted on the stand was a new rucksack from Proper, targeted squarely at the BMX enthusiast who likes to document their riding. A skateboard strap is fitted, making it ready for those filming their riding to do so smoothly and what’s more, the bag is expected to retail for under £40 and come with plenty of storage space, to boot.
Ison
As reported on BikeBiz.com prior to the show, Ison linked with Mark Noble’s Deluxe and &Forks labels and chose Cycle Show to display a striking custom build comprising both brand’s components. Stock of both labels will be with Ison by the time you read this article.
Elsewhere on the stand you will have seen that Ison’s house labels continue to progress and challenge competitors keenly on price and quality. Halo’s £200 Superdrive hub with 120 point engagement was a big talking point and if the customer’s budget allows, could be one of the most high-performance bombproof jump hubs available. Alternatively, the SDS rear hub is also a strong product, offering left-to-right hand drive changeability in under five minutes thanks to some clever internal design work.
Furthermore, Ison debuted the Vapour rims, set to be available in 26, 29 and 650B sizes and fully tubeless ready. At 890 grams, the rear wheel is said to be robust enough for serious freeride.
Other new products include the Kamon pedal to sit below the flagship unit at ‘around £50’ (price to be confirmed) and Renthal’s new enduro bar measuring 740mm and retailing for £59.99.
