BikeBiz Bicycle and cycling retail news

Anti-dumping duties against bicycles made in China were to end in July. Bike Europe says the European Commission has extended the duties through 2010 and raised them from 30.6 percent to 48.5 percent.

The on-off deal between Future and Highbury is on again, but without the gaming titles.

According to a report published today, the prevalence of obesity among children aged 2 to 10 rose from 9.9 percent to 13.7 percent between 1995 and 2003. 16.5 percent of children aged 8 to 10 are now obese, a rise of 5 percent over 1995. Kids in the North East and London are the fattest, says the report commissioned by the Department for Health.

The great majority of UK bicycle and bike accessory companies pay into the Bike Hub levy. This pays for the Bike It scheme to increase the numbers of children cycling to school, and the Bikeforall web portal for new cyclists. In a letter to Phillip Darnton, president of the Bicycle Association and head of Cycling England, Chris Watts of the Department for Transport wrote: "Bike Hub is in danger of making the bicycle industry indispensable."

Phillip Darnton, president of the Bicycle Association and head of Cycling England, is no conservative. He is willing to suggest changes for the Bicycle Association that lesser presidents would shy away from. In a long and avidly listened to speech at Wednesday's AGM of the Coventry-based organisation, Darnton put forward a number of ideas that would boost the Association's coffers and bring it into a much closer working partnership with the Association of Cycle Traders. Here's the transcript of the speech...