BikeBiz Bicycle and cycling retail news

When Saeco’s Gilberto Simoni climbs the climb to Morzine on Saturday's stage of the Tour de France, he’ll be pedalling a Cannondale lighter than the one he used to win the Giro d'Italia. It's so light it breaches the UCI minimum weight rule. Simoni and the rest of the Saeco team will be wearing 'Legalize my Cannondale' jerseys to publicise the bike, the brand and the UCI's insistence on sticking to Rule #1.3.019

Jonathan Clarke of Lincolnshire-based ecmh wants 70+ IBDs to stock demo bikes from Steppenwolf, an eight-year old German bike brand that offers a 14-21 days turnaround on bikes specced by bike shop customers, including colours and components.

And 38 percent of them will likely be cyclists, said the show organising company, but the kind of cyclists other shows (and magazines) can't reach...

In what now looks to be an annual event, the German discount supermarket chain with 290 stores in the UK, has initiated a UK marketing campaign that's bright and glossy and which supports a 14th July launch of a broad cycle product offering at amazing prices.

And this is not just in turnover terms but in relative growth. The figures relate to Dutch IBDs, where the overall bike market has decreased by 8 percent in the first six months of 2003. Whereas big IBDs saw growth of 4.5 percent, the smallest contracted by -2.2 percent.