BikeBiz Bicycle and cycling retail news
Haven’t made it out of the shop to Icebike? BikeBiz has you covered with many of the product highlights. To view our full gallery, click here.
Park Tool
Having flown many of Park Tool’s key staff over from America, dealers could meet the minds behind the brand first hand. Also flown in were 32 new products, which will largely be in stock now.
One of the key items for those dealing in high-end bikes is Park’s new internal routing kit, which thanks to magnetics that meet in the middle, removes guesswork from what can be a tricky task.
If your workshop’s in need of a truing stand, Park now produces the TS-2.2p – a powder coated version at £20 cheaper than the chrome plated unit.
Park president Eric hawkins told BikeBiz: "We’re making 400 parts now and have invested in a lot more CNC capability, as well as robotic welding equipment. Growth is strong here in the UK, but Asia’s market is also showing some strong sales. You’ll find Park in 72 countries now."
Park’s catalogue also now offers seven differnet complete workshop kits and 15 different repair stands.
Elite
Another brand with a helathy selection of fresh goods to get excited about is Elite, particularly if you’re a triathlete.
No one wants to lose seconds needlessly in the transition area. Elite has address these concerns with its £24.99 Racker, a unit that clamps on to horizontal bars at races and in which you can slip the saddle easily in one quick motion, reducing the chance of dropping the bike. It’ll hold your race card too.
Then there’s the Tri Box, a new £119.99 kit bag that stows away mats for changing, wet and dry pouches and much more to make your change that much more pleasurable.
Also for the time trialist/triathlete, the new Aefon bottle comes in 0.75 and one litre sizes, both costing £29.99 and strapping between aero bar extensions.
Catching a lot of dealer’s eyes was the flashy Candea bottle. Retailing at £19.99, these carry a battery in the base that powers a small led, capable of a 300 hour run time on high mode and adding plenty of side visibility. Two batteries are included in the 650ml bottle.
Science in Sport
Exclusively via Madison, Science in Sport is rolling out a Platinum Store Program for which it has handpicked some of its top dealers to roll out new merchandising.
Enrolled retailers will benefit from a new digital interface, where the customer can type in their details and requirements and have a personalised training plan emailedd to them complete with product recommendations. The retailer is then able to build up a demographic of their customers from select retained information and plan stock accordingly. The new point of sale will also include units with instructions on when and how to use each product.
On the product front, stock is now available of the Mint Rego protein bar, for which retailers can buy in boxes of 20, retailing each at £1.99.
