BikeBiz Bicycle and cycling retail news
Japanese company Takeda is celebrating having sold more than 160,000 of its Chacle cycles.
The bikes are sold through Japan’s largest chain supermarket, Aeon, as well as traditional bike stores. The brand, fitted with no-puncture, airless Tannus Tyres, marked this milestone with an advert pitching Tannus’s tyres against a Ninja warrior, who tries (and fails) to derail a cyclist with tacks.
Chacle’s use of Tannus products predates Specialized Bikes, which reportedly uses the tyres on the Alibi commuter bike, under its own Nimbus Airless brand.
Young Ki Lee, Tannus chief executive, said: “[Tannus Tyres] are incredibly popular in Japan. The feedback is there is no issue with weight – they are as light as pneumatics, they are perfectly comfortable and they are easy to pedal as they have low rolling resistance.”
Jazz Walia, European sales director for Tannus, said: “Momentum seems to be gathering at the moment. You don’t shift volumes like [Chacle has] without consumers being very happy about what they are buying and communicating that to their friends and family. We take it as a compliment that the tyres are proving to be a great success – this is hopefully the first of many landmarks for Tannus as we move into 2017.”
Tannus was recently awarded a TUV safety certificate for its 700x 23 tyre.
