BikeBiz Bicycle and cycling retail news

From 1st June, you will have to log in to the trade part of this site with your own, self-selected user-name and password. We could have changed the generic passwords to keep out the great unwashed - some of whom have sussed presta & enter - but decided to go fully personalised instead.

Today is important. Today history is made. EU enlargement? Nah, bells on bikes. From 9am this morning British bicycle retailers had to make sure the bikes they sell come fitted with bells. Even £5000 downhill behemoths. Naturally, as Parliament hasn't quite thought this measure through, the bells can be ditched by consumers as soon as the bicycles leave the retailer's premises. Not so in Italy, though. Bicycles, even svelte Italian road machines, have to be fitted with bells at all times. Just ask Fassa Bortolo‘s Guido Trenti: following a crash into a car, the local bobbies fined the pro cyclist 39 Euros for being bell-less...

The US bikes-to-sports-equipment corporation has retained Lazard Freres & Co. LLC to advise on "financing and strategic alternatives." Huffy lost $7.5m last year (not, it must be said, due to poor bike sales), has already sold chunks of its business and is not expecting to return to profitability until 2005, hence the hire of Lazard Freres.

Bikes from the Iron Horse Bicycle Company USA are now available via Pearce Cycles of Ludlow, famous for its support for Midlands and National MTB events, a race team and the building of downhill tracks in Shropshire. Iron Horse sales manager Thomas Trentanove was in the UK a fortnight ago and is hoping to confirm a UK distribution deal soon. It won't be with Thundersport of Stourbridge.

Concept Cycles is to close its wheel-building unit in Newtown, Wales, losing up to 30 jobs in the process. And, citing cheap imports and Shimano gruppo shortages, Professional Cycle Manufacturing has made ten workers redundant at its Cradley Heath assembly factory.