BikeBiz Bicycle and cycling retail news

The carbon-fibre T-Bike from Proton, the state-run car manufacturer of Malaysia, has designs connections with the EP-X carbon-fibre bikes from the Malaysian EPX Group. EP-X had grand hopes for its monocoque, designed-in-Australia, made-in-Malaysia bikes but little has been seen or heard from EPX in the UK since sales and marketing staff were made redundant in November 2001. However, Proton Edar Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional Bhd, has told the Kuala Lumpur stock exchange it expects sales of the Proton T-Bike to boost its revenues by 10 percent to RM5m ($1.3m) for the financial year ending March 31st 2004. And Proton is now looking to expand international distribution for the T-Bike.

In a bid to encourage more cycle campaign groups to provide free cycle safety checks prior to Bike Week, 12-20th June, the offer of free public liability insurance has been extended for volunteers who may otherwise not be adequately insured. Previously only events during Bike Week were insured as part of the nationwide promotion.

Ads for the rep-friendly, banned-in-France Road Angel speed-camera detector have been slammed by the Advertising Standards Authority. Halfords promotes Road Angel as "personal protection for you and your family" and "the modern companion for any conscientious driver." The speed camera debate has been a hot topic on the BikeBiz.com bulletin board

If you get an email saying "Billing Notice From bikebiz.co.uk 's Accounting Dpt", it's not from us. And do not open the attachment that comes with the spoof 'Internet Billing Notice', chances are it's a virus

Dr Tom Karen disputes the story that Raleigh's chief designer Alan Oakley sketched out the design on the back of an envelope. This story is a "lie", argues Karen. However, according to raleighchopper.info, Raleigh's adaptation of a Schwinn 'chopped up' style of bike didn't happen overnight, it evolved.