CI.N Issue 002 / 2022

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FROM THE

E D I TO R

THE BENEFITS OF AGILITY I wanted to start this issue by once again offering a sincere thanks to you, our readers, for your engagement in our annual market research. This is a tool that has become invaluable to our understanding of market trends, the retailer-supplier relationship and plenty more. In this issue comes the first snippet of our 2022 report, which will have arrived in full into the inboxes of those who participated and will trickle out in part within remaining issues this year.

Since the turn of the year the dialogue in the trade has turned from the extreme of undersupply to the reverse on some lines; a situation where it’s entirely feasible to see widespread discounting return in the face of a slowdown in general demand. For service parts, things could still be better, of course. What happens next in terms of consumer enthusiasm may define the years ahead and we can, in the context of policy changes in the EU, be optimistic that the UK cannot bury its head in the sand much longer while our neighbours roll forwards.

We have at least improved our hand when it comes to the Minister directly in charge of Active Travel. Trudy Harrison, while bound by the current super-stretched budgets attached to her brief, has personally declared that the pandemic recovery “should not be car-led”.

What’s more, she’s been papped aboard an electric bike, which gives her a first-hand understanding of how cycling’s accessibility to the masses runs deeper than ever. We’ve come a long way since Chris Grayling, the then Transport Secretary, doored a cyclist outside Parliament.

Running in tandem with these dialogues has been a commentary on both sides of the Atlantic mulling the future of bike retail as chains swell their door numbers, brands circle looking to buy up swathes of real estate of their own and others readjust their businesses around profitability, meaning that increasing numbers are reshaping around servicing. Then there’s the subject of direct to consumer channels encroaching where previously there was shop exclusivity.

The best strategy at the present time is to be reactive and laser-focused when it comes to the profit metrics that drive your business and to quickly cut emotional ties where ground is lost and cannot be regained. Emphasis on the word quickly. The true independent is no longer the traditional bike shop we all know and love, but an ever-evolving combination of products and services that must remain agile and reactive in the face of an incredible number of megatrends.

It is, in truth, a fascinating time to be the Editor of a cycling industry title, but a busy one too with so many tabs to keep open both figuratively and in the case of my web browser, literally. I hope you’re currently managing your time better than I am.

Mark Sutton mark@cyclingindustry.news

Cycling Industry Chat @CyclingIndustry @MarkSuttonBike www.cyclingindustry.news

Publisher

Jerry Ramsdale jerry@cyclingindustry.news Editor

Mark Sutton mark@cyclingindustry.news Staff Writer

Simon Cox simon@cyclingindustry.news Consultant

Jon Harker jon@cyclingindustry.news Account Director

Alfie Brown alfie@cyclingindustry.news Head of Production

Luke Wikner production@cyclingindustry.news Designers

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PROFESSIONALS

SUPPLY, SPEND AND SPRING WEATHER...

While plan B Covid restrictions have been scrapped, and we’re still confused as to what consitutes a party, the music has definitiely stopped for some elements of global trade.

So what are the challenges of the moment? We ask the trade…

THE PANELLISTS Jacob Young

Prologue Performance Cycling, Harrogate

Jim Cartridge

73 Degrees Bicycle Shop, Keynsham

Steve Grimwood

Elmy Cycles, Ipswich

“WE WOULD NOW RATHER TAKE THE HIT ON THE PROFIT OF A CHAINRING THAN HAVE A CUSTOMER’S BIKE TAKING UP SPACE IN THE WORKSHOP FOR WEEKS ON END.” Jim Cartridge 73 Degrees Bicycle Shop

BECOMING A PANELLIST If you are an independent retailer and would like to take part in future issues, e-mail: mark@cyclingindustry.news

HEADING INTO SPRING/SUMMER, DO YOU HAVE ALL THE STOCK YOU NEED ON THE BEST-SELLERS FRONT? Jacob Young > Prologue Performance Cycling This year we have intentionally planned stock accordingly to ensure we don’t have any dead spots in the season. This should allow us to maintain the expectations of our customers. Obviously, there are exceptional circumstances which are out of our hands such as shipping delays, but we manage each case individually hoping that the customer isn’t effected and that the end product it still to the highest level.

Jim Cartridge > 73 Degrees Bicycle Shop Not really, we have some gaps, the obvious one being Shimano groupsets. We do quite a lot of custom builds and are going to be a little ‘creative’ in obtaining parts to get bikes out of the door. Our stock of bikes is okay, although we have had to carry more stock through the winter months than usual which has been a stress on cashflow during the quieter months.

Steve Grimwood > Elmy Cycles Yes, pretty good really. Most stuff is covered now in some form other than the very highend stuff, although we are having to hold much more stock than previously as on demand delivery is still unlikely.

WHERE ARE MAJOR GAPS PERSISTING, AND HOW ARE YOU ADAPTING TO THESE CHALLENGES? Jacob Young > Prologue Performance Cycling There are clear gaps in groupset production, but we have a healthy relationship with brands such as SRAM where we carry more than enough stock to keep our custom build customers happy. It’s all in the planning.

Jim Cartridge > 73 Degrees Bicycle Shop Mainly Shimano, then subsequently SRAM and Campagnolo. We have bought off online retailers to enable us to get bikes out the door, especially if it’s parts for bikes in for service work; we would rather take a hit on the profit of a chainring than have a customers’ bike off the road and taking up space in the workshop for weeks. We have been pulling new bikes apart for groupset swaps to meet customer demands and enable us to get bikes out the door. On the flipside this has also meant that last year’s models have been sold for full retail in most cases due to the supply issues.

Steve Grimwood > Elmy Cycle The big gaps are still Aluminium Gravel and high-end bikes / Shimano. We have sourced alternative product where we can but there is certainly an opportunity somewhere for proactive distributors to move stock around where it’s needed and avoid unsold bikes sitting on shop floors that could be used elsewhere.

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ASK THE

PROFESSIONALS

SUPPLY, SPEND AND SPRING WEATHER...

THE WEATHER (WE HOPE) IS ABOUT TO GET WARMER – WILL THAT BE ENOUGH TO TEMPT LAST YEAR’S NEW CYCLISTS BACK OUT, OR ARE THOSE BIKES GATHERING DUST ALREADY?

“I FEEL THAT IN HARROGATE CYCLING IS LESS SEASONAL AND THERE ARE ONLY A VERY FEW THAT STOP CYCLING THROUGH THE WINTER NOW.” Jacob Young Prologue Performance Cycling

BECOMING A PANELLIST If you are an independent retailer and would like to take part in future issues, e-mail: mark@cyclingindustry.news

Jacob Young > Prologue Performance Cycling We haven’t stopped during the winter; our weekly rides have continued with strong numbers which will only get better.

I feel in Harrogate that cycling is less seasonal and there are very few of our customers who stop cycling through the winter. We’re just hugely excited for more group riding and our first Café Bash of the year on March 6th where we are expecting around 300 riders.

Jim Cartridge > 73 Degrees Bicycle Shop I think that is the question everyone is wanting to know the answer to. For me, now the traffic is back to normal we may have lost that market, I think if more had been done to encourage people to stay on their bikes, i.e new the new temporary bikes lanes that appeared during lockdown were made more permanent, we may have seen the boom continue... maybe.

For us we probably won’t be stocking entry-level bikes again for a while (even if we could get them) - the few we have in the shop have been here a while and will be shelled out in the January sale.

fully at their spending, gym memberships that were held on to in the hope of going back to how things where have now been given up as people realise they can no longer afford or enjoy it and they start to look again at that bike in the garage they used last summer.

CONSUMER SPENDING POWER IS TIGHTENING, IS THAT A BIG HEADWIND, IN PARTICULAR AS BIKE PRICES HAVE RISEN TOO? Jacob Young > Prologue Performance Cycling Our customers have taken the price rises in their stride. It’s to be expected and it’s not just our industry which is suffering because of it. That being said, if someone wants something that badly, price really is secondary.

Jim Cartridge > 73 Degrees Bicycle Shop We definitely got used to the £2K bike customer coming in and looking at £4k bikes as they had the money considering the family holiday hadn’t happened. Will this customer then be wanting to go back to a £2k bike next time around? Hopefully they will be feeling the benefit of the more expensive bike and telling his club mates they need one.

Steve Grimwood > Elmy Cycles I’m hopeful that we will see a return of many new cyclists as the weather warms up. There is no doubt that there were lots of bikes sold in those heady days during lockdown when everyone was told to go for a ride. The dream of thousands of new cyclists quickly disappeared as other opportunities for exercise returned and the weather turned, plus the reality of going back to work hit. However, coming into this Spring people are looking care-

MARKET DATA 2022 AVAILABLE NOW > GET YOUR LICENCE FOR THE LATEST REPORT TO PURCHASE A LICENCE FOR THE 2022 MARKET DATA, PLEASE CONTACT MARK@CYCLINGINDUSTRY.NEWS

ASK THE

PROFESSIONALS

SUPPLY, SPEND AND SPRING WEATHER...

Steve Grimwood > Elmy Cycles Inflation, plus the rise in the cost of living and transport costs is a big worry, but not one we have control over. We can only control our response to it. I think the industry is still being propped up to a certain extent by Cycle To Work Schemes and cheap finance. Should that disappear I think there would be a real hit to the size of the market. That might not be an entirely bad thing as a thinning of the market can sometimes be a positive, but on the whole, I don’t want to see anyone struggle. As a side note, I do think that we will see a huge increase in the numbers of people fixing bikes from home of a van as a "side hustle". As people’s finances are stretched they look for extra income and customers look to save some mone; a mechanic round the corner who fixes things cheap becomes appealing. The industry really needs to get even stronger at protecting itself and Cytech is a help, but only if it follows up in making sure that good business practice is followed. Side hustles and the ‘gig’ economy could be a real threat to the industry on many levels.

Jim Cartridge > 73 Degrees Bicycle Shop We still have a stigma of cheating for the road e-Bikes and thus can struggle with the more dedicated tarmac products, but we now stock commuter style e-Bikes too.

The commuter models sell once the customer comes back in from a test ride you know by the smile they will straight away be at the counter card in hand.

Although for us, and we quite new to the e-Bike market, the sales just fell off a cliff at the end of the summer. hopefully this will change as the good weather returns. I am not sure when we will see our hardcore road riders start considering e-Road bikes as a serious alternative.

HOW ARE YOUR CUSTOMERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF ELECTRIC BIKES AND THEIR PRICE CHANGING AFTER A DEMO – IS THERE A NOTION THAT THEY WILL USE THEM MORE THAN THEY EVER WOULD A PEDAL ONLY CYCLE?

Steve Grimwood > Elmy Cycles Electric Bikes are interesting here in Suffolk. as it’s generally flat the market makes more sense to slower riders. More performance-based bikes struggle to be of use as riders are always brushing along on the speed limit. Even on e-MTB unless riders are taking their bikes to hillier areas it just doesn’t appeal to many to be riding round a flat forest slower than a normal pedal bike. I think the market will still continue to grow though and a good test ride will often clinch the deal. I think the very cheap mail order e-Bikes are actually helping to separate out good quality products in shops and add value.

Customers generally recognise that the product in an IBD will be different to one on eBay or Amazon.

Jacob Young > Prologue Performance Cycling Electric bikes are something we have dipped our toe in with the Pinarello Nytro and the Colnago E64. With the limited space we have in our physical store, they’re not something we will continue with as the market for that level of product is either still on a traditional road bike, or more likely wants something a bit more endurance focussed with huge assistance and long range.

“I THINK THE VERY CHEAP MAIL ORDER E-BIKES ARE HELPING TO SEPARATE OUT GOOD QUALITY PRODUCTS IN SHOPS AND DEMONSTRATE ADDED VALUE...”

Steve Grimwood Elmy Cycles

BECOMING A PANELLIST If you are an independent retailer and would like to take part in future issues, e-mail: mark@cyclingindustry.news

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CHANGING FACE OF BIKE RETAIL New year, new data! This is the first extract from our 2022 market report within which we pull themes that map the changing structure of bicycle retail…

ELECTRIC BIKES

10%

Cyclocross or Gravel

TRANSPORT, FOLDING AND MOBILITY

68%

BMX

CHILDREN’S BIKES

22%

Triathlon

CYCLOCROSS OR GRAVEL BMX

Road Cycling

Mountain BikingTRIATHLON

10%

ROAD CYCLING Leisure, Trekking and Family Cycling 68%

MOUNTAIN BIKING

Cargo Bikes

22%

LEISURE, TREKKING & FAMILY CYCLING Disability Cycling

CARGO BIKES Other

DISABILITY CYCLING 0

Mobile workshop

OTHER

20

0

40

20

60

80

40

60

100

80

120

100

120

Workshop only bricks and mortar

ANSWER

Store and workshop

Mobile workshop Workshop only bricks and mortar

PERCENTAGE

MENTIONS

Electric bikes

60%

105

Road Cycling

60%

104 101

Leisure, Trekking and family cycling

58%

Mountain Biking

55%

95

Cyclocross or Gravel

46%

80

Children’s bikes

37%

65

Triathlon

22%

39

Store and workshop ANSWER

PERCENTAGE

MENTIONS

Transport, Folding and Mobility

20%

35

Cargo Bikes

17%

29

Store and workshop

68%

122

BMX

15%

26

Workshop only bricks and mortar

22%

39

Other

12%

21

Mobile workshop

10%

17

Disability cycling

9%

16

TOTAL RESPONDENTS 178

TOTAL RESPONDENTS 174

ARE YOU A STORE/WORKSHOP OR WORKSHOP ONLY OUTFIT?

HAS YOUR STORE OR WORKSHOP A PARTICULAR SPECIALITY TOWARDS ANY OF THE FOLLOWING?

ANALYSIS

ANALYSIS

To give some indication of what we’re seeing in the marketplace in terms of evolution of basic retail model, within our 2021 assessment three in four of our 240 respondents stated they were traditional model bicycle retailers – that’s workshop and retail store combined. Just one year later a pool of 178 returned two in three based on the same model with the remainder workshop only. While there’s bound to be some fluctuation in the sample, the trend is clear, more businesses are moving to the majority workshop business model as the years go by.

Last year 11% were mobile workshops, this year, despite anecdotal evidence of plenty starting out this way throughout the pandemic when the jobs market was in flux, it’s 10% on the road, so fairly flat. It’s the bricks and mortar workshop where the growth seems to be evident. Last year 15% of respondents fitted this profile, but heading into 2022 22% of our responses came from physical premises workshops.

Why is this move to servicing happening? There’s a handful of possible reasons, but most cited to us is the margin reduction and indeed now direct to consumer competition on bikes. Bike shops acknowledge the large amount of floor space taken and have been steadily moving away from the ‘sea of wheels’ toward a ‘sea of spanners’.

10 cyclingindustry.news

We’re long clear of the post London 2021 Olympic glory days where the road cycling market was the UK bike shop’s cash cow, though as a share of specialist stores skinny tyres remain a market leader. Except now there’s company; company that’s risen in a meteoric way. Back in 2012 many bike shops remained reluctant to give the electric bike another shot, some having been stung by the era of the heavy Lead Acid battery, cheap and cheerful e-Bike import. Nowadays very few bike shops are not investing in pedal assist and indeed it can easily be argued this is our current cash cow in bike sales terms. As it stands, an equal number of retailers badge themselves specialists in electric bike trading as do those committed to the road cycling market. Marginally behind, 58% badge themselves leisure or family cycling stores. As a particularly off-road savvy market, mountain bike is a specialist subject for 55% of businesses and tagging on as a middle ground between the tarmac and the dirt, gravel has risen steadily on our year-toyear trend tracker to register 46% going into 2022.

Arguably a more stand out trend than all of the aforementioned points is that just one in five stores focus on the cycle commuter or folding bike segments, which given the trade’s general marketing switch from sport cycling to the blue ocean of transport users is surprising.

MARKET DATA 2022

IN STORE EVENTS

THE WORKSHOP

FITTING OR PROFESSIONAL ANALYSIS

TURBO STUDIO

TRAINING PLANS

COMMUTER JOURNEY (CYCLE PARKING AND SHOWERS ETC) AS A CHARGEABLE SERVICE

PHYSIO

BIKE SKILLS TRAINING FOR CUSTOMERS

BIKE SKILLS TRAINING FOR CUSTOMERS

STORAGE

0

25

50

75

100

HOW HAS SERVICE-LED BUSINESS PERFORMED IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS’ TRADING?

ANALYSIS

GROWN

STAYED THE SAME

DECLINED

Profit per square foot as an equation for successful ANSWER PERCENTAGE MENTIONS PERCENTAGE MENTIONS PERCENTAGE MENTIONS bike retail businesses should not be a calculation In store events 11% 9 46% 39 44% 37 reserved just for product. As mentioned, an astonish- The workshop 76% 120 18% 28 6% 10 ing number of frontline bike businesses are now Fitting or professional analysis 25% 22 51% 45 24% 21 carving a corner of the market solely dedicated to the Turbo studio 7% 5 70% 49 23% 16 workshop; we’re even now hearing of nice workshops Training plans 13% 9 69% 48 19% 13 dedicated solely to the craft of refurbishing electric Commuter journey (cycle parking and showers etc) as a chargeable 14% 10 71% 51 15% 11 bike motors, nothing else. service Truly the industry is more a service-led business Physio 0% 0 80% 55 20% 14 than ever before and so given the weighting of our pool Bike skills training for customers 16% 15 69% 63 14% 13 – a third of all responses stating they are majority work- Workshop skills training for 24% 22 49% 45 26% 24 customers shop only traders – it’s unsurprising to see such Storage 16% 12 75% 55 8% 6 purposeful growth in serving trade over the past year.

TOTAL RESPONDENTS 162 We’re not just here to state the obvious, mind. So, looking a bit deeper it’s the bike fitting arena that’s business that has opened solely with the commuter journey in perhaps most interesting in its performance. Weighing in the mind; that is paid safe storage, repairs, showers and on site likelihood of the pandemic having reduced this kind of business changing rooms. Within our analysis it can be assumed that most it’s interesting to note those who actually grew this service-led do not offer this at all and certainly you’d need the space to do so, trading were marginally ahead of those in reverse gear at 25% but we are off the mark; 14% of businesses now monetising the versus 24%. Weighted against the clear reduction in in store journey. On the flip side, 15% have noted a reduction in interest in events year-on-year (another pandemic victim) we could reason- this idea with customers. ably anticipate that bike fitting has weather the storm better than Finally, a contentious one – teaching your customers mechanics. it appears on first glance.

While half have never offered this, there is a split among the Of note since the last time we published an annual report is the remainder, 24% doing more of these classes to 26% with a opening of BikeDrop, a prominent London commuter artery based reduction in interest (again, possibly bear in mind Covid’s effects.)

cyclingindustry.news 11

ANALYSIS Supply and demand

WHEN WILL THE BICYCLE INDUSTRY

RETURN TO ‘NORMAL’?

One of the questions industry sales agent John Styles keeps hearing from retailers throughout the pandemic has been ‘when will things get back to normal’?. To answer that question, he suggests we might want to ask, ‘what does the bicycle industry consider to be normal’?

W

hen people in the industry say ‘normal’ I suspect many are thinking about what we enjoyed in the late 1990 or early 2000s.

There had been 50 years of continuous peace, prosperity, and economic growth in western Europe since the end of the Second World War. While in the East, the Cold War was over and, in the UK, the conflict in Northern Ireland resolved. Added to that, China had embarked upon transforming its economy into the largest and most productive capitalist system the world has ever seen. The result was ever cheaper, ever better, ever more plentiful, and more reliable flows of goods. Meaning, at least superficially for the consumer, things had never been better. So as an industry, we also ‘never had it so good’?

PRE-PANDEMIC SUPPLY & DEMAND – THE INDUSTRY’S ‘NORMAL’ So, what did ‘normal’ look like for the bicycle trade? UK supply is largely reliant on imported goods, often manufactured according to an OEM timescale, but with highly seasonal local demand. So, the market was

characterised by a continual struggle to balance seasonal demand with seasonal supply and square the circle of cash flow. As illustrated below – a simplified representation of “prepandemic normal” in the industry. *This is a simplified, theoretical illustration which is not based on any data trends. To monitor real sales data, consider subscribing to the BA’s excellent Market Data service, managed by SMS. For forward-looking bike shop forecasting, consider CyclingIndustry.

News’ annual market reports.

PRE-PANDEMIC > SUPPLY • 3–6-month lead times • Steady Supply (if sometimes poorly timed) • Predictable Pricing • Reliable Shipments PRE-PANDEMIC > DEMAND • Spring – Summer Sales Peak • Quieter Winter • Steady transition over months or years • Profit making and loss-making periods broadly similar every trading year

Overlaid upon the industry’s annual cycles was the ‘7-year boom/bust cycle’ which saw economies swing back and forth – from growth to decline. This ‘Endogenous’ or internal cycle was a fundamental, and largely predictable, feature of the economy. Meaning that, by and large, retailers knew if demand was predicted to steadily increase or decrease in any given year.

Even external events (or ‘Exogenous shocks’) such as the Foot & Mouth crisis of 2001 which largely shut the countryside to walkers and cyclists were resolved relatively quickly. We got used to the idea that if things weren’t “normal” they would soon “get back to normal”. Sadly, that belief may no longer hold true.

POST-PANDEMIC SUPPLY & DEMAND – THE NEW ‘NORMAL’ IS ‘NO NORMAL’?

The ONS said GDP grew by 0.9% in November 2021 to put the economy above its February 2020 size for the first time since the pandemic began. If we accept that demand has largely returned to its pre-pandemic levels – albeit possibly a little higher through

cyclingindustry.news 13

ANALYSIS Supply and demand

the recruitment of new and additional cyclists and a lag in enthusiast sales in the market, does that mean things are back to normal? * To the right is a simplified, theoretical illustration not based on any data trends.

UK BICYCLE MARKET – SEASONAL SALES PATTERN > PRE-PANDEMIC

POST-PANDEMIC > SUPPLY • 6–12-month lead times • Unpredictable Supply • Rising Pricing • Less Reliable Shipments POST-PANDEMIC > DEMAND • Return to Spring- Summer Sales Peak • Stop-start effects from repeated small financial shocks • Supply & Demand may not be as well matched • Profit making and loss-making periods not as predictable ELECTRIC BIKES Shipments of electric bikes from the East Asian Island to the UK have grown by 65.89% year-on-year, when comparing data captured from January to September. This significant pick up in exports supports a growing demand for pedal-assisted bikes in the UK and begins to plug a gap left by a whipsawing order pattern in the first half to second half of 2020. The latest data has the UK’s USD($) order value up 83.9% year-on-year, reaching $23,554,234 million.

So far in 2021 the UK has imported 11,350 electric bike units from Taiwan, up from 6,842 in 2020. The average price attached to exports of the electric bikes sat 10% up at $1,063.

14 cyclingindustry.news

COMPONENTS, FRAMES AND FINISHING KIT As bike shops worldwide will attest, there still remains a shortage of some key servicing lines and it’s therefore unsurprising to see the export data show a drive to fill gaps with double digit growth across multiple key components.

Shipped globally, Taiwan has increased its like-for-like output by 46.68% in volume and 57.11% in value terms, reaching a tally of $1,744,547,879.

As part of these figures, frame and fork shipments rose by 50.5% and 12,742,642 units exported. As for service goods, for which significant gaps still remain, it appears 60% more “crank gear and parts thereof” where shipped, along with an 82.3% rise in Freewheel/ Sprocket Wheel shipments.

2022 – A YEAR OF ADJUSTMENT? Sadly no, things are not back to normal – even if things feel a little familiar. Demand has rapidly cooled to its pre-pandemic levels, at least for

mainstream product. Meaning that, once again, some retailers have been struggling with too much stock over the quieter winter months. Surplus stock in some categories or price points does not necessarily mean that “things are back to normal” however.

The enthusiast market appears to be more resilient. Likely because many of those consumers enjoyed higher/ protected incomes during Lockdown and have not spent money on foreign holidays, cars, and kitchens. Many of them may also have been frustrated in trying to purchase their ideal “n + 1, next bike” during 2020 – so have been coming back for that in 2021/2022. Especially as events, races and foreign trips begin to open up.

Or as one retailer put it to me “we’ve only sold a fraction of the kids and teenage bikes we normally sell at Christmas, but our high-end sales, especially electric bikes, are right up, so December felt desperately quiet, yet we enjoyed record sales”.

So, in the short term, 2022 is looking like “the year of the enthusiast consumer”. We might also expect mainstream spending on lower price points to fall back further as Britain faces its “year of the squeeze” with rising energy prices, inflation, National Insurance, and interest rate increases – all of which affect lower income families disproportionately. This sort of “abrupt shock” tends to make demand very stop-start – as consumers pause their spending in the face of uncertainty, then resume only when they are confident that they have sufficient disposable income.

There are perhaps some lasting positives, however. According to a BBC report, 2 in 5 office workers are declaring they won’t be going back to the office.

The ‘stay at home’ consumer appears more likely to have time and money to spend on cycling. Coupled with the “race

e·til·i·ty \ ē-ti-lə-tē ebike + utility + agility

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ANALYSIS Supply and demand

UK BICYCLE MARKET – SEASONAL SALES PATTERN > POST PANDEMIC

for space”, this may mean more sales at higher price points outside city centres.

In addition, with supply still disrupted, there are only surpluses in certain categories, overall scarcity prevails. Meaning retailers are likely to be selling fewer units at higher price points.

Let’s return to that theme of ‘normal’ in respect of supply. Normal to the bicycle trade meant goods were reliably delivered, with stable pricing, within a 3–6-month lead time – and broadly when you wanted them. But during the pandemic we have seen factory closures, container shortages, rising prices and disruption from civil unrest and other pandemic-related events. From end-to-end the supply chain remains under duress.

Added to that, for the UK at least, is the on-going complexity of Brexit. A year on and we still find confusion around HMRC importation, duty rates and procedures. CyclingIndustry.News market research has a 12:1 ratio of bike shops saying they are selling less versus more goods into the EU. Couriers are imposing charges where they shouldn’t, and goods are taking longer to enter the country. Once in the country the UK has a shortage of HGV drivers which makes ongoing distribution more challenging and less predictable than before.

If anything, it is surprising how well the UK supply chain has continued to flow and how resilient the brands importers and retailers have been in their flexible and dynamic responses to these ongoing challenges.

THE ON-GOING 21ST CENTURY – AN AGE OF EXTREMES The new normal is that things don’t get back to normal. They change. Extreme events have long lasting and permanent effects and are followed by further extreme events. Here are just a few.

2000 > 9-11 20+ years of war and heightened unrest in both the Middle East and Afghanistan.

2008 > FINANCIAL CRASH Decades of low interest rates and QE which altered property and asset prices plus the distribution of income dramatically. (See ‘The decade the rich won’ on BBC iPlayer for more).

2016 > BREXIT Pre-Brexit reduced consumer demand, followed by post-Brexit disruption, delays and higher costs for both importers and exporters.

2020/21 > PANDEMIC 18-month period of high demand for “stay at home” goods, coupled with long-lasting disruption to the global supply chain.

Even before the pandemic, the industry was adjusting the effect of the financial crisis. The “squeezed middle” has long been used to describe the polarised income pattern of the rich getting richer at the expense of the poor and middle class. It’s no surprise then that bike sales have been adjusting to an increased volume below £2.5k and booming sales in the “super-high end”.

There’s a kind of £2.5k-£5k “nowhere zone” – too expensive for many, and not expensive enough for others. It’s simply a reflection of society’s spending power.

Most of the retail failures (or closures) I

have observed in London during 201519 were among stores who were, to some extent at least, aiming at this “mid-range” price point or consumer.

Of course, these are just the events that are “top of mind” and have affected the UK the most. We are also living through other unexpected and extreme events such as the Capital Riots, Afghanistan withdrawal, record breaking wildfires, floods, and blizzards. Just consider the weather for a moment, Summer 2020 was one of the UKs hottest and driest ever recorded, whilst Summer 2021 was one the wettest.

What we used to take as a “given” is no longer steady or predictable.

To really understand the effects of the pandemic, you have step back from it and see it as just one event in a series (Google ‘Black Swan’ events if you want to know more). According to some thinkers, these events are set to become ever more frequent and more severe. In 2015 ‘The Age of Earthquakes: A Guide to the Extreme Present’ was published. Its central proposition is that “The future is happening to us far faster than we thought”.

Added to this is the shortage of materials and rising prices already being felt in the industry, such as recent steep rises in aluminium pricing. Or the scramble for batteries, chips, and semiconductors. With the drive towards electrification within the major western economies, long term shortages of materials seem inevitable. And indeed, the cycle industry is experiencing delays, shortages and prices rises in some of these areas as we speak.

Looking even further down the track we need to be aware of the longterm structural geopolitics of Asia, upon which the bicycle trade is extremely reliant. And for anyone wishing to understand the headlines further, you may want to check out ‘Prisoners of Geography: Ten Maps That Tell You Everything You Need To Know About Global Politics’ by Tim Marshall.

Given these long term, structural and deep-seated trends, it’s hard to imagine how society and industry in general could return to the “normal” we used to enjoy. So, in answer to the question ‘when will things return to normal’ I suggest two answers. For demand, right about now – albeit with a slightly different, unpredictable, and evolving pattern. For supply, quite possibly, never.

cyclingindustry.news 17

ANALYSIS Opening a bike shop

SO YOU WANT TO OPEN A BIKE SHOP? You love bikes, you think you’re business savvy and a window of opportunity exists to go it alone.

So, it’s business plan time. Duncan Moore puts himself in the shoes of the upstart and details all the micro considerations that must be addressed before you pass go...

W

hen COVID first hit and the world went into lockdown it was boom time for the cycle industry; everyone wanted to start riding again and bikes sales soared alongside workshop service and repair work. This didn’t go unnoticed by the general public either as people working from home or idling hours away on furlough began to think about what they wanted from life and the chatter on various forums and Facebook groups suggests opening a bike shop seems like a really good idea. But what is the reality of making that dream come true?

New openings may face headwinds on sourcing goods from brands that have a nationally strong presence

18 cyclingindustry.news

There’s a joke in the cycle industry that gets rolled out every time some asks about opening a bike shop – How do you make a small fortune in the bike trade?

Start with a large one. The sad thing is that it is all too easy for this to be the reality of opening a bike shop but how can you avoid the mistakes that make this less of a joke and reality for many who try?

If I was being cruel, I could say don’t open a shop and in so doing save yourself

a whole load of heartache and financial misfortune, but if you’re reading this that’s not what you want to hear. So, let’s take a look at how to open a shop without losing your shirt…

When it comes to opening a bike shop, just like starting any other business, the first thing you need to do is put together a business plan. It needn’t be a scary as it sounds either. Basically, it is a way of outlining your idea and justifying it to others (such as your bank manager). It’s all about the how what and whys of what you plan to do. Don’t think of it as a chore that has to be done before you can get on with the fun stuff but view it more as a set of guidelines and goals that can be ticked off as each piece plan is completed. Don’t be afraid to show it to friends either, a second set of eyes may spot a glaring error that you’ve missed or be able to provide valuable insights and suggestions.

That’s as far as I’m going to go with telling you about having a business plan.

A comprehensive guide to writing one could be a feature in its own right. However, what I’ll do is talk about the points to consider when putting your plan together.

It’s all very well deciding that you want a bike shop but what is the point of it?

Why should people come to your store?

What is your USP (unique selling point)?

If you have a Halfords nearby then forget about concentrating on kids’ bikes as you’ll never get near the big H on price.

However, you could make high-end service work your USP as that is something that is perceived as not being a Halfords’ specialism. What’s the local scene like where you are thinking of setting up? If there’s a strong road club then MTBs are not going to sell very well, if the market isn’t there the product won’t sell.

And while you’re looking at what other shops in the area think about where they are located and what their target market is. If you think a workshop-based busi-

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ness is the way forward for you, targeting the commuter market then an out of town location isn’t going to work. On the other hand, if you’re planning on concentrating on bike sales then think about how customers are going to get to your store. Is there plenty of parking space available for those looking to collect their new ride?

Now you know where you want to be it’s time to start drilling down into the nittygritty. Have you considered how long the lease will be on the property? What if you want to leave before the term is up because you’ve been really lucky and made a success and need bigger premises or it’s failed and you simply need to get out. How much are the business rates and utilities and how much will you need to make each year to cover these and all the other costs we’ve yet to discuss?

What about the property itself? Can you make any changes to it, such as fitting security shutters? Will it be big enough to allow the business to grow? What happens when you need to store numerous uncollected repair jobs and new stock and still have space to operate? Have you any idea how much space empty bike boxes can take up when you’re waiting for a refuse collection, a collection that you’re also going to have to pay for. I’ll warn you now those hidden costs are going to keep cropping up and if you don’t account for them from the off they’re going to come back and bite you.

Okay, so you now know what market sector you’re going to be targeting and where you’ll be doing it but will you be able to get the brands you want to make this work? This is another piece of homework to do when you first think about opening a shop; what brands are available locally? Manufacturers and distributors can be choosy about who they supply and territory plays a big part in this decision.

Do not even think about trying to get any of the big bike brands, they have their dealer networks in place and do not need to concern themselves with new accounts. Now add in ongoing supply chain issues, with even well-established operations having trouble getting bikes, and see how far you get ordering stock.

However, do not be tempted to go to the other extreme and get an account with an obscure brand that no one has heard of.

The public won’t be interested and what happens with quality control and warranty support when you have problems?

Once you do find bike and P&A suppliers who are happy to work with you,

you’re going to need deep pockets to get started. While established businesses can and do get credit any new operation will be on pro forma terms – you place an order, you pay for it and then it’s delivered. Can you afford to have all of your capital tied up in stock?

Here’s another thought on stock, what do you need to carry? Once again, it’s time to consider your potential customer base.

Will you need to carry 11- and 12-speed chains or will you need to have plenty of old fashioned seven- and eight-speed chains? Now do this again for wheel sizes so you know which innertubes to hold; calliper brake pads and disc brake pads; and on and on with all service and consumable parts.

Realistically, the only way you can truly get an understanding of what you need to carry is to get experience in an existing shop. Yes, you might think you know all there is to know about retail and you’ve always done your own bike repairs there will be lots of things waiting to trip you up.

On the retail side of things do you know how to reconcile the shop till and card machine at the end of the day? In fact, have you considered how much you’ll have to pay for a card machine and associated bank charges every time you pay the week’s takings in? Oh yes, it’s those hidden costs again.

This is probably a good time to mention the ACT. The Association of Cycle Traders, to give it its full name, is the business organisation for cycle retailers and once you’ve paid your annual membership it can provide help and assistance with numerous issues. The ACT can help with training, customer credit options, merchant services and much more.

Account for more space than you think you’ll need for storage of bikes, their boxes and plenty more

“REALISTICALLY, THE ONLY WAY YOU CAN TRULY GET AN UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT YOU NEED TO CARRY IS TO GET EXPERIENCE IN AN EXISTING SHOP.”

cyclingindustry.news 19

ANALYSIS Opening a bike shop

“SUPPLIERS WILL PROVIDE POINT OF SALE DISPLAYS BUT TO QUALIFY FOR THEM AS FREEBIES YOU’RE GOING TO HAVE TO BUY A LOT OF STOCK”

If you plan to sell online there will be some weighing up of ePos and eCommerce platforms that balance cost and ease of use for all staff

20 cyclingindustry.news

Now back to what you need to know and let’s suppose you have experience in retail but what about the mechanical side of the business? How comfortable are you doing PDI checks? Can you bleed hydraulic brakes and service Di2 and eTap systems? What about rebuilding an old Sturmey Archer three-speed hub? Of course, you can sign up for one of the accredited cycle mechanic training courses, again the ACT can help here, but again this is more expense that you night no not have at first considered. Don’t think that just because you’re planning on employing a mechanic that you don’t need to have a deep understanding of cycle mechanics. What happens when the mechanic is off sick, takes a holiday or just leaves? You’ll have to cover his work.

Okay, so you think you can take care of the mechanical side of things yourself well that means you’re going to need

someone to look after the retail side of the business. Don’t kid yourself that you can do both. You can’t expect a customer to wait while you finish that tricky repair that really needs three hands. Whichever way you go with staff it’s not just a case of hiring someone, and that is in itself another feature. You have to take into account how and when to pay them, calculate their income tax and national insurance, sick pay, holiday pay and on it goes.

Tax returns, VAT submissions, supplier invoices all of these need to be taken care of too and you can either add them onto your already exhaustively long workday or get someone else to do it for you. That’s

why it’s a good idea to use an accountant, which is another cost. However, a good accountant should be able to help you in ways you’d never imagine and save you money in the long term.

While you’re considering the cost of employing an accountant take a moment to think about other services that you might think you can look after yourself but would be better off having some else deal with. For example, once you’ve chosen a name for your business and registered that matching domain name, another hidden cost there, are you confident in designing a website for the shop?

Sure, lots of ISPs and hosting companies offer template packages but will that work for you and what happens if you need to make updates or changes?

You also need to consider what you want the website to do for you. Will it just be a way to let people know where you are, what you stock and what services you offer, or do you plan to offer online sales too? If it’s the latter option, then you’ll also have to invest in electronic stock control and point of sale and at the risk of sounding repetitive, that’s another cost to consider.

Nor is this the end of the costs that you might not have considered. Have you thought about the stationery you’ll need, letterheads, receipts, business cards, and how much you’ll need to spend on them?

What about the shopfront signage and then when you’re back indoors will the existing fittings, assuming you’re taking over an existing retail unit, work for a bike shop? Sure, suppliers will provide point of sale displays but to qualify for them as freebies you’re going to have to buy a lot of stock. How are you going to display your bikes and store the ones in the workshop awaiting repair or collection? While you’re looking at the cost of those racks take a look at the price of a professional level repair stands too. If you think that’s bad wait until you start totalling up all the tools you’re going to need, just basics stuff like bottom bracket and freewheel removal tools, never mind the specialist kit like reamers and cutters for headtubes and bottom bracket shells.

If I haven’t put you off opening a bike shop by now here’s one last consideration – forget about riding your own bike. I speak from personal experience here if you’re not too tired from working all day every day when you do get some time to yourself you’ll want nothing to do with a bike. That’s the reason I write about bicycles and cycling these days rather than selling and repairing them…

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ANALYSIS Creative Marketing

DID YOU SEE THAT?

Pic ©YT Industries

While advertising with your favourite trade magazine may be the best way to target the bike industry, when it comes to the consumer does it pay to be creative? CI.N looks at some of the best out of the box thinking and asks how effective guerrilla campaigns can be…

T

he bike industry’s progressive minds will tell you we collectively got something very wrong in marketing terms since the turn of the millennium; that was a short sightedness to the blue ocean of potential customers that have little interest in shaving either Watts or legs. Since the 2012 Olympics the UK went into overdrive in marketing aerodynamics, weight and all the things enthusiasts may tell you will make them faster.

Overhead at trade shows were graphics with sleek cyclists and swishes of air flowing by. For the many who didn’t see themselves in such an image it was alienating.

Some of us will never be fast and others don’t wish to be.

Things, however, have been changing.

Seen on London’s underground, adverts for Specialized electric bikes tried to convince the Covid-19, price hike and strike-tired commuters that there is a better way. Meanwhile, industry volunteer funded campaign #BikeisBest didn’t miss a trick with the fuel crisis, plastering ads promoting cycling near petrol garages where prices were running at a rate higher than the blood pressure of those going nowhere in the traffic.

In terms of cycling for transport, the appetite and opportunity for Guerrilla marketing and outside the box thinking is ripe. With Northern Line commuters facing 17 weeks of disruption national retailer Halfords has used its considerable resource to offer Oyster card or season ticket holders loan electric bikes for up to a week at a time via its Balham, Hendon and Brixton branches.

Halfords Cycling Director Paul Tomlinson said of the effort: “Maintenance on the Northern Line will cause huge disruption to commuters who already had to travel on one of the busiest services in the whole country. But there is another way to get around. Ebikes are fun, fast and simple, and much of Central London is now well-served by safe cycling lanes. So, why not travel above ground and see what you’ve been missing all these years?”

As a national chain, Halfords’ effort racked up some column inches across the cycling press, but this sort of campaign isn’t just the reserve of big business, in fact some of the best opportunist marketing efforts have come from spur of the moment reflexes from individuals.

YT Industries’ cinematic flick with Christopher Walken immediately made waves with its high intensity script

Wiggle taking to the air to beat an advertising blackout

cyclingindustry.news 23

ANALYSIS Creative Marketing

Hopetech took advantage of a relationship with a local balloon maker to stand out

“WE FLEW IT AT THE START OF THE THREE PEAKS CYCLOCROSS AND IT CERTAINLY WAS EYE-CATCHING.” Alan Weatherill Hope Tech

Hope Tech’s hot air balloon is a fine example of thinking on one’s feet and when approached by a friend in the business co-founder Ian Weatherill didn’t think twice about footing the bill for print costs in order to try out airborne marketing.

Ian’s brother in the business Alan Weatherill told CI.N: “We flew it at the start of the Three Peaks cyclocross and it certainly was eye-catching. There is however a massive issue with balloons which we quickly found out. They cannot fly if there is any wind or rain, which is quite a drawback for the UK. Also, when the conditions are perfect you need to have suitable landing terrain in the direction of flight. We were very lucky with the Three Peaks as there was some very unseasonably mild weather.”

Not the only one to take to the skies, Wiggle has previously flown a banner over the Sydney marathon in a bid to raise awareness of the retailer touching down in Australia. With such a high profile event, advertising was largely banned on the ground, so with a little bit of Guerrilla marketing mindset the brand worked around the problem.

“Creativity in landing the message is a key part of advertising now,” Shift Active Media CEO Wayne Brown told CI.N, in response to being asked his agency’s role in the eye-catching rule bender.

While return on investment may not have been central to these exercises, there are countless regular calendar events for which a little pre-planning can generate income alongside promotion. By the time this magazine lands the seasonal opportunities will be opening up for creative thinkers. If all has gone to plan, by the time you’re reading this Easter will be six weeks away, which is a decent wedge of

24 cyclingindustry.news

time to organise a bit of bike-based Geocaching with chocolate rewards for your shop ride. These kinds of community building events stick in the mind and are family friendly giving you an opportunity to get to know a broad range of customers.

OUT OF THE BOX ACTIVATIONS For those of us who had a bit of spare time through the ‘fourth wave’ of Covid19, turning on a games console and downloading the action sports game Rider’s Republic might have turned up some interesting examples of non-traditional product placement. With a bike segment of the game, covering both race and slopestyle, brands such as YT, Commencal and DMR levered their new season bike launches into the visuals.

Upgrade Bikes’ Digital Marketing Manager Tom Catton was behind the placement of virtual bikes. He told CI.N: “Ubisoft Annecy reached out to us about featuring some bikes in the game. Obviously, we jumped at such a golden opportunity. The collaboration required some work on our part; we had to provide a lot of technical drawings and frame measurements, but it was well worth it.

Now the game has launched and we have seen the other big bike brands present in the game, it kind of seems like we are punching above our weight. I think that’s a testament to the hard work the team at DMR has put in over the past 26 years in creating a globally recognised and admired brand.”

The best bit for DMR was that the only cost to get involved was the team’s time.

With snowboarding, skiing, mountain biking, road racing and even wing suiting in the multi-discipline game numerous brands had the chance to embed their goods in the game. Spotting the opportunity and being ready to jump at it is key, says Catton.

“Frankly, with mountain biking interest being so low amongst the general population until recently there was always a limit to how far out of the box you could go. This is now starting to change as MTB is becoming more of a mainstream hobby and MTB lifestyle is permeating everyday life. Thinking of a few examples, Deathgrip the movie was available to watch on Amazon and on long haul flights for a while. Athletes like Fabio Wibmer are some of the most watched on Youtube, and we see MTB references in TV advertising are becoming more normal.

Then there are those weird Toyota Instagram posts. So out-of-the-box ideas are

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ANALYSIS Creative Marketing

Zwift’s budget for marketing is larger than most and they’ve been known to shoot for high impact activations around events

probably becoming more useful now.”

A specialist in spotting these sorts of opportunities and indeed creating them is the aforementioned industry marketing agency Shift Active Media. Shift’s CEO told CI.N it’s never about “doing a stunt for the stunt’s sake”. This is particularly applicable if a company tries to talk the talk, but does not walk the walk.

“Don’t get lazy and try to copy something been done, it won’t have same impact. Really think about your potential audience and make sure that your message is tonally right. If your business is not genuinely trying to make a difference to women’s cycling, for example, then it’s best not to do a one off stunt.

Your message has to be credible. Stunts are high risk and while shock tactics were the early currency of internet, that can backfire spectacularly now,” says Brown.

The agency has guided a number of brands through the gauntlet of making the right impression with commuters and a lasting one, to boot. Though Shift does not take all the credit for a brand’s ideas, its activations include working with YT Bikes to bring American actor and comedian Christopher Walken on board to

deliver a rousing, cinematic introduction to the Jeffsy mountain bike. “This brought cultural interest from outside the bike world and blend it, so that turned heads in quite a natural way.”

When it comes to Zwift’s takeover of Harrogate, on display as part of Zwift’s UCI World Championships activation in Yorkshire, 18 months of planning was required to draw the attention of the masses. First of all, the ticket gates and train station turned orange with the virtual cycling world’s branding and on top of that a local pub became the Zwift Draft House.

“With this we reached world cycling fans and the public in a new way. Zwift wanted to make a better experience for traveling fans as soon as they landed. The Draft house beer location was a play on words, like drafting in the game and resonated with people there. All of this created a rich experience. Alongside this we held a GCN pub quiz and Wahoo were able to lay down indoor equipment to run various competitions throughout the night. Overall, this one was just different and unexpected, so it did leave an impression and went viral online and simply by people saying ‘Did you see the Zwift marketing?’.”

“DON’T GET LAZY AND TRY TO COPY SOMETHING ALREADY DONE, IT WON’T HAVE SAME IMPACT. REALLY THINK ABOUT YOUR POTENTIAL AUDIENCE AND MAKE SURE THAT YOUR MESSAGE IS TONALLY RIGHT.” Wayne Brown Shift Active Media

DMR Bikes snuck into hit game Rider’s Republic with just a little bit of legwork

cyclingindustry.news 27

PROFILE

CYCLE INSPECT > DIAGNOSTICS AND CARBON REPAIR

PATCH UP BIKES, NOT CUSTOMERS Market data is predicting a growth in sales of carbon fibre bikes of around 15% per year to 2025, but what happens to the bike frames should they fracture? Cycle Inspect has introduced a new retail-based tool for diagnosing such issues…

Here’s the catch...

Cycle Inspect has as yet not forged a UK link (but they’re looking for the first)

“WE HAVE BEEN ENCOURAGED BY THE SPEED AT WHICH MECHANICS AT ALL LEVELS HAVE GRASPED THE NEW SKILLS.”

Any bike shop will tell you, carbon damage can be hard to spot, so tools to look deeper will be good for customer safety

28 cyclingindustry.news

5

9.4 million carbon fibre framed bikes will land in the marketplace by 2025 if the aforementioned compound annual growth rate of 15% is accurately forecast.

For anyone who’s given a moment’s thought to end of life of such products that’s a terrifying amount of carbon that could very well end up in landfill. Repair and indeed diagnostics ahead of that are not commonplace in the market, consumers instead tempted by a new model year.

Lighter, stiffer, increased comfort – the bike world’s marketeers have worked miracles in keeping the notion of N+1 rolling; that is the formula that describes our need to always add one more bike to the collection. But what if we could be more responsible and repair a notoriously tough to work with material and at bike retail level?

First, we would need to diagnose accurately a sometimes hard to detect problem, that is the initial material fracture.

Cycle Inspect is a new to market business stemming from Tasmania, but already present in the US market with its own diagnostic tooling and software, which is built to aid trained professionals in assessing suspected carbon fibre damage via ultrasound. It is now looking for international partners who wish to become specialists in this thus far niche service.

“From our own survey data, we have found that 74% of cyclists would prefer their trusted local bike mechanic to conduct inspections so we see retail partners as our primary distribution network.

Our vision is to develop a global network of inspection hubs through our retail partners, but for these retail partners to deter-

mine how the service is positioned, priced and presented to their customers,” Founder Michael Briggs tells CI.N. At a time when bicycle retailers are fast adding products and services outside of the traditional, Briggs’ idea is to further embed with customers the notion that the local bike shop truly is a invaluable and not just there to sell you a shiny but expensive bike when a sustainable alternative now exists.

“Firstly, we want to provide detailed inspection profiles of bicycles to reduce the likelihood of ‘premature obsolescence’ – i.e. where a carbon bike is deemed to have reached the end of its ‘safe life’ too soon. Carbon is a remarkably strong material that can last decades, if cared for and repaired well. We have also been in discussions with a university here in Australia regarding the application of novel recycling techniques,” says Briggs of the conversation around repairing and reusing as part of a drive to sustainability.

The conversation has never been livelier on this point and indeed elsewhere in this issue you’ll find scrutiny of big label sustainability reporting, while during January mechanics in the United States scored column inches around the globe with a petition calling for an end to manufacture of the ‘bicycle shaped object’; that is a cycle that can reasonably be considered to be designed with little care for life cycle and build quality.

Carbon fibre bikes are rarely in this category of ‘BSO’ and so are very much worth repairing. It is the myth that carbon is essentially irreparable, or that the costs of doing so will be prohibitive, that stops

CYCLE INSPECT > DIAGNOSTICS AND CARBON REPAIR many consumers exploring the idea.

As for spotting the tell-tale signs, it certainly takes a trained eye. That said, evident signs of delamination can be a clue, which upon further inspection can reveal a fibre breakage. Many of damage and defects within carbon structures cannot be seen on the surface, or detected by the common tap test that many cyclists might be familiar with. Some cyclists would inspect their bicycle visually after a crash or impact, but the damage is often actually transferred beneath the surface while the exterior remains intact. For this reason those embedded in the high-end bike world have come out endorsing the idea behind Cycle Inspect and wishing the upstart well.

“We’ve been luckily enough to gain support from a number of reputable organisations, institutions and public figures, which has been an amazing vote of confidence for us as well as a sign that there is widespread support for the introduction of a standardised solution for inspection and risk assessment in the industry,” says Briggs.

Phil Liggett was an early supporter, while organisations like Bike Exchange and Bicycle Network have also identified a need in this space. Deakin University, who Cycle Inspect partnered with for its initial research back in 2019, has offered support for the work the business is doing and the importance of raising awareness of the hidden dangers of damaged and defective carbon.

“We have undergone several trials with mechanics at all levels – and have been encouraged by the speed at which trainees have understood information presented to them, grasped the important technical skills, and applied this to their inspection,” says Briggs of the hardware and software package that Cycle Inspect is now seeding with retail partners and brands.

So, how does it work?

“Essentially, an inspection attempts to identify any damage or defect in a carbon bicycle part i.e. anything that is likely to be different than what the manufacturer intended. The software compiles approximately 15 data points, including objective scan data and contextual information captured directly from the customer. The algorithm (patent pending) sits behind this and assesses these inputs, offering an objective risk output and suggested courses of action instantaneously,” explains Briggs.

Once scanned, those algorithms will feed data into a dashboard where risk assessment software can consistently and accurately automate the diagnostic process. For those who shudder upon

hearing the word algorithm, there’s nothing complicated about the process and training is provided via a platform that provides foundational theory and content covering composite materials and repair, ultrasonic theory and ultrasonic NDT (non-destructive testing).

“Successful completion of Cycle Inspect virtual training (which includes both theoretical and practical components) sees trainees granted with a ‘provisional accreditation’ where inspections are monitored and feedback given prior to a ‘full accreditation’ being given. Course content is aligned to international standards, however our accreditation is the first of it’s kind,” Briggs says, adding “We believe carbon inspections should be built into general service offerings and should also precede every sale of a used bicycle.”

At a time when global supply of bicycles is turbulent and consumer spending tightening, being able to diagnose and repair carbon fibre frames and forks may well prove to be a preferential option for both dealer, consumer and the environment.

Briggs summarises: “The main advantage of our solution is that shops have the ability to determine whether a bike or component actually requires repair saving time, shipping costs; and ensuring a more positive customer experience for their clients. Our system provides some guidance on what to expect as part of the repair process and, where possible, referral to reputable repairers in the area.”

Now for the important bit, what’s this going to cost a workshop keen to offer the service?

Cycle Inspect put the total package at AUD $1,500 (about £795, at the time of writing), that is including all eLearning, procedure documentation, live webinars and ongoing feedback/reviews, plus the accreditation once ready. Retailers have the option to purchase the technology package upfront, or to opt for a monthly lease for $100 per week. Lastly, an ongoing fee of $25 per week is charged for unlimited access to Cycle Inspect’s web-based risk assessment platform.

“We have developed a very cost-effective solution in which retailers/workshops can begin making a profit with as little as one full bicycle inspection, or just a couple of spot checks per week,” concludes Brigss.

UK bike businesses are welcomed to get in touch to become among the first to offer the service in the country. www.Cycleinspect.com e Michael@cycleinspect.com

PROFILE As the trade tilts more towards service work, having a niche can prove useful to shops

“THE SOFTWARE COMPILES 15 DATA POINTS, WHILE THE ALGORITHM OFFERS THE RISK ASSESSMENT IN AN INSTANT...”

WHERE TO REPAIR IN THE UK HQ Fibre t 01603 713972 Carbon Bike Repair t 01372 372766 www.Carbonbikerepair.co.uk CFR e sales@cfr.bike www.cfr.bike

cyclingindustry.news 31

PROFILE Zéfal

PUMPED UP Having modernised its production through a series of investments made during the Covid era, France’s Zéfal has laid a foundation to continue some impressive growth rates.

CI.N speaks to Managing Director Aurélien Brunet for more insight…

32 cyclingindustry.news

A

proudly French company, Zéfal manufactures some 60% of its goods domestically, as backed up by a workforce of over 110 staff.

Where the pandemic made global sourcing a headache for many suppliers, Zéfal’s inherently strong European operation ticked along with the brother duo Matthieu and Aurélien Brunet steering a growth rate of 25% up by the close of Covid’s first appearance in 2020 and a revenue of €14.2 million, up from €11 million the year prior. For 2021 turnover was well on course for a new milestone of €20 million, which boosts the rate to 40%.

While exports are now a majority chunk of the business at 70%, it is European trade driving the progression with a now 45% share with that trade estimated to be up 35% like-for-like.

“Exports are a main part of the Zéfal growth,” starts Managing Director, Aurélien Brunet. “We export around 70% of turnover, but just a few years ago this was 60%. We had some progress outside Europe to shout about too, though in the USA there is room for growth and some Asian markets would represent a good opportunity to progress the brand further.

Canada and Australia have distribution established that’s now doing well, so the brand is very much a global player.”

The brothers at the helm of the company are finely attuned to each role within the company, with Matthew Brunet a big long-distance gravel and road rider. “He feeds in top-down ideas as a product enthusiast,” says Aurélien.

It’s no surprise to learn, then, that launching in the next few months will be new mudguards for gravel bikes, a cycling trend that has outperformed much of the marketplace. Alongside this, to facilitate more adventure by bike, Zéfal will keep increasing its cycle luggage options to cater for a bikepacking and tour market.

Alongside this, we’re told the main focus for 2022 will be a bet that commuting accessories will prove in demand as European commuter numbers swell on the back of favourable legislation and infrastructure gains on the mainland. “Mirrors are a trending product here in France,” says Aurélien, “So, we are launching three mirrors this year, plus new bells and locks.”

On the subject of quite significant headlines stemming from decisions in the European Parliament to prioritise active travel means Aurélien says the drive towards goals such as Net Zero can only be a good thing for the market as a whole.

“First, I would say that the political change on cycling is encouraging.

Commuters who were not willing to spend before are now trying electric bikes and their perception of what a bicycle can do has changed. We are seeing most of these potential customers understanding the benefits of spending more to enhance their experience and, ultimately, cycle more and for more hours per day.

People are asking themselves now if they want to make the change and for those that try to change most keep at least some use that was not previously there. In Paris it is notable that less subway usage has been directly linked this to growth in bikes, especially on one key road using same artery as the underground.”

With demand comes the inevitable subject of supply. When asked how steady the stream of parts and accessories coming from the production lines are Aurélien strikes a confident tone in Zéfal’s capability. His counterbalance to this is a return to high inventory levels with many distributors, meaning that production runs will come at a sensible pace.

“It’s hard to predict 2022. We are seeing inventory returning to high levels again at distributors across broad, so sales slowed at end of 2021. At the same time distributors are all stocking more than they did for the time of year, comparatively. I’m optimistic, but at the same time cautious as the last two years I have actually been wrong on my guesswork. We aim not to overdo the risk and would prefer steady turnover growth on the back of a doubling of turnover.”

Running alongside that increase in stock taking came some quite inevitable price rises compounded by runaway shipping costs, but also the hikes to raw material costs. Aurélien describes the action taken to keep prices accessible for the consumer as “reasonable” and notes that investments made helped steady the ship.

Among these were new injection molding machinery, enabling an increased production capacity on key lines like mudguards, as well as blowing machinery for bottle products.

“We’ve taken advantage of the fact that some distributors or competitors could not supply the market as well. We consistently seemed to have higher stock; not perfect, but ahead of the curve,” he says, adding that for the past two years the factories have added weekend shifts and some night shifts too, such has been the demand.

Compounding the demand for the family-run business’s goods, we’re told

Zéfal has kept supply steady throughout the pandemic, adding to its export trade handsomely

“SALES IN THE UK HAVE MORE THAN DOUBLED THANKS TO THE SUPPORT OF DISTRIBUTORS BOB ELLIOT AND CHICKEN CYCLEKIT.”

The brand has reshored production where it is cost-effective

cyclingindustry.news 33

PROFILE Zéfal

UK ZÉFAL DISTRIBUTORS BOB ELLIOT & CO. LTD t 01772 459887 www.bob-elliot.co.uk Unit C4 Binary Court, Matrix Park, Western Avenue, Buckshaw Village, Chorley. PR7 7NB CHICKEN CYCLEKIT t 01525 381347 www.chickencyclekit.co.uk Unit B2, Cherrycourt Way, Leighton Buzzard, LU7 4UH

New products include frame protection lines, as well as bottles. Lots of bottles...

“WE’VE TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF THE FACT THAT SOME DISTRIBUTORS OR COMPETITORS COULD NOT SUPPLY THE MARKET AS WELL.”

34 cyclingindustry.news

those newer customers who were ordering quickly warmed to the brand.

“A lot of customers have acknowledged that Zefal did a good job under difficult conditions and the products were selling through well with the consumer, so the reorder rate was quite good. We took the chance to improved our products with new feedback too, so over the past few years our brand is further recognised internationally as one delivering quality,” says Aurélien.

With the subject of reshoring so prominent in the industry at present there exists a curiosity of whether 60% could become 70%, but certain criteria must be met.

“If the cost difference is limited, say 10% to 15%, we invest in France. Over that cost it is too much to reach a competitive price at retail. Bottles cages came back to our local production in last few years, plus high-end track pumps. We are looking at bags as a possibility, but it’s not our knowhow yet so the skills must be acquired. The labour cost difference also does remain large when compared to our Asian sourcing,” he adds.

When it comes to the luggage, the UK is singled out as a particularly receptive market. The off-road cycling culture that exists has given rise to promising sales in

a new category. While Zéfal may be best known for some of its fenders deflecting mud, the aggressive riding styles the characterise UK mountain biking and offroad cycling have prompted exploration of the frame protection category too. This means shops will now also find these stickers in the catalogue.

All things considered, sales in the UK have more than doubled thanks to the support of distributors Bob Elliot and Chicken Cyclekit.

“This territory has been more dynamic than the others. This year has undoubtedly been a bit tougher due to the Brexit challenge, but I think we had resolved this after a few shipments. Small price increases came as a result, but we took our share of that too,” he concludes.

In the background to a steady flow of product development comes the news that Zéfal are, like many others, on the cusp of communicating a sustainability strategy that will see all of the aforementioned goods undergo a deep assessment of production impact; though Aurélien said an eight-point plan is to be fine-tuned before the market learns more detail. www.zefal.com

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INTERVIEW Dr Bernhard Isopp, Sustainability expert

ARE BIKE COMPANIES GETTING A FREE RIDE ON ENVIRONMENTALISM? Towards the end of 2021 Dr Bernhard Isopp authored an article in The Guardian on Why aren’t more bike firms tracking their environmental impact? This was in response to Trek’s publication of its 2021 Sustainability Report.

Sean Meager asks this environmentalism expert, are bike companies greenwashing, or is progress now tangible?

D

r Isopp is a lecturer and researcher in the Department of Science, Technology, and Society at the Technical University of Munich. His work focuses on issues of sustainable mobility, in particular with regards to climate change and decarbonisation efforts. Interest piqued by Bernhard’s article, CI.N followed up to hear more about what he thought bike makers could be doing to increase their green credentials.

Dr Bernhard Isopp PhD has been vocal in the press about climate claims

36 cyclingindustry.news

Our initial thought was that the piece in the press may be too hard on Trek who were among the first major bike manufacturer to

declare sustainability intentions publicly.

What sort of response did you receive?

I did acknowledge this in the piece and said they deserved to be credited for their report. Funnily enough, some of the comments I received online claimed that I was giving too much (and free advertising) to Trek. For my part, I think that any company that tries to leverage sustainability and climate change as part of their marketing approach demands close scrutiny. “Greenwashing” is a big problem, and a big company like Trek should be aware of this and not expect to get a free pass.

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INTERVIEW Dr Bernhard Isopp, Sustainability expert

Sustainability reporting is becoming the norm for big business, but it means facing uncomfortable truths

“IS THE BIKE INDUSTRY GREENER THAN ANY OTHER INDUSTRY IN TERMS OF MANUFACTURING PRACTICES?”

A comparison to cars feels natural, but may not be appropriate

38 cyclingindustry.news

You suggest, quite rightly, that the footprint of a top-end bike, is not realistically comparable to a car someone commutes in. What do you think would be a more suitable way for manufactuers like Trek to present these comparisons?

While there might be a correlation between recreational and commuter cycling, it is not that tight, depending on jurisdiction. In most places in North America (and many places in Europe as well) recreational cycling is much more common than utilitarian cycling. But, even if there is a relationship, the point is that I wasn’t the one making the comparison; Trek was. They explicitly framed their carbon footprint analysis in relation to cars. Is this comparison fair? Or is it misleading? I think it’s misleading to compare those bike models to a car. They could have done a lifecycle analysis of a commuter model; that would have been a better comparison.

You’ve made comparisons between cars‘ and bikes‘ emissions. It seems the manufacturing of bikes will have benefits beyond simply the manufacturing process. Such as, a car off the road will mean less pollutants in a city. Is it valid to compare even an emission intensive e-Bike with a car?

Yes, you are right. I fully support the use of e-Bikes – including expensive, relatively emission intensive ones – as alterna-

tives to cars. As I said in the Guardian piece, when compared as means of transportation, between even the most carbon intensive e-Bike (for example, a frontload cargo bike like Riese & Müller or Urban Arrow) and the least carbon intensive car, there’s no contest: an e-Bike always comes out on top. The piece does not call into question the importance of e-Bikes as a transportation mode, but rather, it looks at how that fact is used in marketing, especially in bike companies like Trek trying to sell themselves as “green” and “sustainable.” What I argue is that the question “Are bikes more environmentally friendly than cars?” is in many ways the wrong one (since, again, much of what the bike industry produces are not car replacements). Instead we should ask: Is the bike industry greener than any other industry in terms of manufacturing practices?

Why do you think more big bike firms are yet to track their environmental impact?

I think it’s fairly simple: until now, there has been little scrutiny and pressure on bike companies to do such a thing – precisely because they have been able to get by on the assumption that they must be green and sustainable since they make bicycles.

Conversely, car companies started doing environmental impact assessments years ago because of all the attention that automobiles receive as a driver of climate change.

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INTERVIEW Dr Bernhard Isopp, Sustainability expert

We were left with the impression that you felt Trek hadn‘t gone far enough and that the systemic entrenchment of global manufacturing processes meant that this was a somewhat futile effort. Is that fair?

I do not think it is futile; I say it is a critical first step. But whether they go far enough I think depends on how far one thinks we need to go towards sustainability. I think we need to go very far. On the more specific question of climate change, if the ultimate goal is full decarbonisation of all industries, then Trek has not yet gone far enough. Of course, virtually no companies are properly carbon neutral, since without bigger systemic changes to energy production and transportation this is so far impossible, so I don’t have any expectations that Trek would be so.

They have a list of laudable goals in their report, but what they omit is very relevant to my bigger point. For example, they aim to “Utilise 100% renewable energy for all owned facilities by 2023.” This is certainly to be commended, but it leaves out the fact that most of the manufacturing of their products, especially of the basic components – frames, wheels, tyres – happens overseas in countries with lax environmental standards.

The point is, taken as a whole, the bike industry, including Trek, is not very different than any other industry; they rely on unsustainable, carbon-intensive, environmentally-impactful systems of (over)production and (over)consumption.

There is rapid obsolescence just like in the tech industry. Of course, we say that technical progress is being made, that bikes are getting functionally better; but this always has an environmental cost, and – excuse the retro-grouchiness – we

need to ask how much of this progress is really necessary.

So this is the bigger question: can this kind of consumption ever be sustainable?

If not, then trying to be sustainable by using less packagaing and making bottle cages out of recycled materials makes little difference – and risks merely being greenwashing. The point of reflection for cyclists is to think about the ways that we might replicate unsustainable kinds of consumption, even if we think we’re being environmentally friendly because we’re buying bikes, not cars.

What would expect Trek and other bike makers to be doing, particularly given that in the grand scheme of things the bicycle industry is insignificant by comparison?

Maybe I should say first what I expect needs to happen in the grand scheme of things. I give a lot of weight to environmental risks – including climate change – and after reviewing a lot of research on these risks, I am unconvinced that a business-as-usual approach could offer a solution. I don’t think we can continue to consume more and more each year, especially if we hope to bring the quality of life in poor nations on par with our own.

I think, simply, that there are environmental limits and we have gone far past them.

So, in concrete terms, industries and companies should move as quickly as possible towards circular economies.

They should focus on longevity and quality of products, rather than novelty and quantity. They should do full environmental and labour audits, and lifecycle analyses of all their products.

There’s also an argument that they

Manufacturers may have to look up the chain to their suppliers for a true impact assessment

“SO, IN CONCRETE TERMS, INDUSTRIES AND COMPANIES SHOULD MOVE AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE TOWARDS CIRCULAR ECONOMIES.”

cyclingindustry.news 41

WE’RE LIVE! www.everythingtocycling.co.uk

INTERVIEW Dr Bernhard Isopp, Sustainability expert

should become based more around local economies, as this increases transparency, both in terms of labour and enviromental ethics. This could also reduce transportation impact for certain parts of the manufacturing process. But, I also believe that we need to support developing economies to become more than resource and extraction-based, so there are priorties that need to be balanced here.

You are right though; the bike industry is a relatively small player in these bigger problems. There are other industries, due to their size and impact, that have much greater responsibility in becoming sustainable. Consumers also have a responsibility here, because manufacturers are responding to demand. But in the bike industry, there is also an enormous opportunity. It is well-suited to meet these challenges quicker than others: for

example, logistically, moving towards a circular economy would be relatively easier for the bike industry (products fundamentally made out of recyclable materials, except for carbon fibre, which are easily disassembled and reclaimed).

There are already many bike companies that offer consistent, high-quality, durable products that do not change from year to year. Various steel frame manufacturers produce the same models they did over a decade ago, and continue to be successful.

I understand that these are idealistic visions and many will critique them as being unrealistic. But that is also what people say of commitments to reach netzero emissions by mid-century. If we are serious about sustainability – and not least of all, climate change – then I think we need to radically re-think our systems of production and consumption, on a large scale.

Industries are urged to turn their focus to product longevity, rather than novelty and quantity

“THERE ARE ALREADY MANY BIKE COMPANIES THAT OFFER CONSISTENT, HIGH-QUALITY, DURABLE PRODUCTS THAT DON’T CHANGE FROM YEAR TO YEAR.”

SUMMARY OF KEY POINTS • Since bikes have been perceived as ‘green‘, bike companies have until recently faced little scrutiny or pressure to examine their environmental impact.

• “Greenwashing“ is a big problem among companies touting green initiatives and any company that tries to leverage sustainability and climate change as part of their marketing approach should be scrutinised.

• Without bigger systemic changes to energy production and transportation, no companies can truly claim to be carbon neutral.

• If we – as we should – look to bring the quality of life in poor nations on par with our own, we cannot continue to consume as we currently do.

• Industries and companies should move as quickly as possible towards circular economies. They should focus on longevity and quality of products, rather than novelty and quantity. They should do full environmental and labour audits, and lifecycle analyses of all their products.

cyclingindustry.news 43

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INTERVIEW Pedal Me

PEDAL TO THE METAL “Our operational strategy... gun it!” Those are the words of Ben Knowles, founder of Pedal Me, the London cargo bike logistics firm that’s becoming ubiquitous in the UK capital, an urban space where the firm is eating the food of much bigger fish, and right under their noses too.

CI.N seeks to understand an astonishing growth forecast…

A

fter several rounds of oversubscribed raises with retail investors the next step for Pedal Me is to onboard an institutional investor or two. To be precise, £5 million is sought in the near future to further Ben Knowles’ business.

CyclingIndustry.News visited the firm’s London HQ during February to gauge Knowles’ reaction to the question on everyone’s minds; just how large bike can the cargo bike market get? His response, by any existing measure, was astonishing.

“We think this company, over decades, could come to have two million employees and to be a global business, but we’re only in London for now,” he said, indicating that this would not remain the case for long.

“Our numbers are based on 1% of London’s GDP being an accessible market to us, so we applied that 1% to global GDP. Half of the population live in cities; therefore, half of that trade is made in cities – we then assumed we could usefully help half of the population that live in cities. Actually, it’s likely much higher. Assuming we can

work effectively in these spaces and we have proven we can, that’s $200 billion a year worth of work – with each employee earning $100,000 for the company in revenues. We’ll need 2 million employees.”

Knowles points out that the company is only just on the cusp of maturing some of its efficiencies and that the introduction of artificial intelligence will further bolster the firm’s ability to far outcompete other more cumbersome logistics businesses. At the present time we are told gross margin per hour is sat at 40%, yet can easily target 60% with the implementation of the AI soon to come into play, plus the firm’s rapid staff expansion and training.

“All I’ve done since having these numbers presented to me is look at it and thought ‘ooooh, that’s an awfully big number’. We need to be extremely aggressive in our expansion now. Pedal Me brings a lot of social benefits, so I’m keen to go for it. With the current crude setups, we produce a third of co2 of an Electric car or van. The embedded carbon in a single

While Pedal Me has roots in moving people, nowadays the logisitcs arm carries the majority of trade

“WE THINK THIS COMPANY, OVER DECADES, COULD COME TO HAVE TWO MILLION EMPLOYEES AND BE A GLOBAL BUSINESS – BUT WE’RE ONLY IN LONDON FOR NOW.”

cyclingindustry.news 45

INTERVIEW Pedal Me

Pedal Me has carried some unusual goods, most notably Extinction Rebellion’s giant pink flamingo for a London climate protest

“PEDAL ME’S INTEREST IS TO BE A SIGNIFICANT PLAYER IN THE B2B ARENA, WHERE ANALYSTS FORESEE AS MUCH AS 43% OF CARGO BIKE SALES BEING MADE TO LOGISTICS DIVISIONS OF BUSINESSES.”

The global valuation of logistics makes effiency a hugely valuable asset against the status quo

electric vehicle’s production is enough to build three of our cargo bikes and cover 300,000km,” says Knowles.

Also lending to the growth is the efficiencies of scale. Pedal Me are on a recruiting spree where Ben anticipates a tripling of headcount by this time next year. With this Pedal Me’s numbers suggest the business will be capable of doing “five times as much work with three-fold staff,” thanks to coverage and technology efficiencies.

The proposition is strong for those that can hit the ground running. The firm has its own now City and Guilds recognised course for the would-be cargo bike logistics rider.

“If candidates apply themselves, we can get someone riding and working within eight hours. This week we added six staff and the ongoing target now is to add seven a week with no cut-off date on that,” explains Knowles of the “gun it” approach to securing that lofty revenue goal.

At the time of writing 75 of the current fleet of 80 bikes are out on the capital’s roads and Knowles himself has been filling in where staff have been off. Nestled under the historic arches of the Northern Line there’s a plot that you would expect to be full to the brim when the fleet returns and as such there is now an active property hunt on the go.

“We’re looking at former fire stations, they’re perfect for us. We have aspirations to provide accommodation so people outside of London can commute in and bunk, plus we would like to help people off the street into employment, with accommodation as part of the package. The fireman’s pole also helps to communicate the urgency of our trade! We are looking for a number of properties,” outlines Knowles.

Behind the scenes the assessments of the potential addressable market and how to capture a lion’s share piece of the pie have been bolstered with some highlevel appointments. Non-exec directors now include a former CTO of Vodafone, plus a CEO from a sustainable investment think tank.

The front-line workers that will handle

the bulk of the operation will get their fair share of the business, says Ben, who has already targeted a pay rate averaging £27k a year, including bonuses. Riders can, in theory, earn much more, we’re told.

“Riders are given access to their data to see how their commissions are paid. Pay is linked to performance on top of the hourly rate. Interestingly, the top performing riders can earn double what lower are and yes, there is a gender difference, but it’s not what some might expect. 10% of our riders are female, yet the top 30% of performers are largely female. I think women are less likely to apply as sadly what we do looks intimidating, but we have action policies for under-represented groups so that we can nudge candidates through the applications process for interviews,” explains Knowles.

The cargo bike market has been growing at an incredible clip, compounding by 50% or more in recent years as a result both of personal and business use. Germany now has 1.2 million private users of cargo bikes (the modal share doubled between 2019 and 2021) and 8.4 million potential buyers.

Pedal Me’s interest is to be a significant player in the B2B arena where analysts foresee as much as 43% of cargo bike sales being made to logistics divisions of businesses.

An in-house data scientist has registered Pedal Me’s accessible market at 90% of commercial urban tasks, which is substantially ahead of what a typical provider can offer. Part of the reason for the firm’s advantage in the marketplace is its research and development partnership with PON’s Urban Arrow brand, for which it has co-developed some unique cargo hauling products such as its housedesigned taxi seats.

Why can’t larger, more established logistics giant fight back against a business like Pedal Me? Knowles concludes: “I think the reason is that larger logistics companies today are generally very simple creatures; they are not able to do what we are doing. A typical logistics model has a company providing a platform and bringing contractors on to operate through that platform. This works for vans but is not as easy for cycle logistics where people are carrying all sorts of different things. There aren’t enough skills available for people riding these cargo bikes. We are a centre of excellence for this, we train people to carry more than double what an untrained member of staff can do.” www.pedalme.co.uk

46 cyclingindustry.news

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EDUCATION Managing a recall

TOTAL RECALL Having spent 17 years in Shimano’s legal department, Rutger Oldenhuis has been around the block with all kinds of legislative dilemmas. Upon leaving, he spotted a gap and set up a business based around getting recalls right. Here he shares his experience…

Tell us what your business does to help in the recalls process: First of all, we help companies to manage their (potential) product recall. Our services are unique in the sense that we offer legal and operational support. Our key focus is Europe, but we can help companies with managing their recall globally. Our tagline is “to lead or complete your recall team” and we can tailor our services to the needs of our clients.

For companies that never experienced a recall before, hiring an expert could make a huge difference. Also, for companies that do have recall experience, adding an expert to the recall team definitely adds value. A recall typically adds a lot of workload to your key staff. Hiring an expert will ease the burden on their shoulders, and by experience I can tell you it even works very well remotely via video.

Secondly, the best thing about a recall is not having one. We advise companies on how to mitigate the risk of having a recall. There are many things you can do in that respect. Specifically for that purpose, RecallDesk has developed a QuickScan. The QuickScan is partly based on two relevant (but mostly unknown) ISO standards in the field of product safety, supplemented with own experience.

The outcome of the QuickScan is a heatmap identifying quick wins in the field of product safety relevant to the selected product. You may also see it as a ‘fresh pair of eyes’ helping your business to identify possible weaknesses in your product safety process. Even the biggest, listed companies have weaknesses, so there’s no shame.

Recalls can become large problem for businesses. What is the best course of action upon detecting a possibly recall?

In Europe you will have to make a risk assessment. The risk assessment helps you to determine the level of risk your product may pose; that is low, medium, high or serious. The corrective action strongly depends on the identified risk level. If is it high or serious, you can almost be sure that the affected product has to be recalled from the end-users. If the risk is medium or low, other corrective actions may be sufficient; for example, a withdrawal or a modification of your labelling or manual. A product recall really is a last resort remedy.

48 cyclingindustry.news

What should a company not do, should they suspect they need a recall?

First of all, ignoring a suspected product safety issue is the worst thing you can do.

If there are signals within your company indicating a possible product safety issue, you should take the appropriate action.

I am not sure if media outside the Netherlands paid any attention to the Philips recall lately, but their stock market value at some point had halved, because Philips allegedly ignored product complaints from the market since 2015 involving a medical device.

Another example is last year’s Peloton treadmill recall. Peloton in first instance publicly refuted the claim of the CPSC (Consumer Product safety Commission in the USA) that the affected treadmill posed a safety risk, while allegedly reports of adults, children and pets being pulled under the rear of the treadmill already had been received. Peloton later admitted they had made a mistake.

Secondly, although easier said than done, don’t panic. A (potential) recall definitely means crisis, but if carried out in the right way – and this is supported by research – it will likely have a positive impact on your brand’s reputation.

Talk us through the process, start to finish: A recall can be triggered by different events, including internal quality controls, sample checks by market surveillance authorities, product tests done by media, or incident reports from the market. No recall is the same (even within the same company) and a ‘perfect’ recall does not exist. Mistakes will be made and improvising is often needed.

Having said that, certain milestones are similar for each recall.

As mentioned before, typically the first important step is to make a risk assessment. Additional product testing may therefore often be necessary, ideally done by external test institutes. The outcome of the risk assessment will indicate if and to what extent a product is unsafe or dangerous and subsequently, which corrective actions need to be carried out. The risk assessment will have to be discussed with and approved by the responsible market surveillance authority. Based on the outcome of the risk assessment, the appropriate recall strategy will have to be determined in liaison with the responsible market surveillance authority.

Another key milestone is the setting up of a recall infrastructure. Ask yourself the question how (as a business) are you

going to retrieve the affected product from your customers and compensate them. While doing so, really carefully think through the whole supply chain process. The recall infrastructure largely depends on the business model and sales channels of the affected business. For a ‘traditional’ brick and mortar sales model this may look different than e.g. a pure online or omni-channel environment.

The ultimate goal is to make the recall process as smooth and easy for your customers as possible.

Typical examples of other milestones are making a communication and media plan, drafting a communication kit (that is press releases, dealer letters, consumer letters), translating all relevant communication, and notifying and liaising with relevant market surveillance authorities.

Before publicly announcing a recall, it is important that the full scope and scale is known. You really want to avoid a public recall announcement and then having to broaden the scope and scale of your recall, forcing you to publish a new recall announcement shortly after the first. Customers (and potential new customers) may get the impression your company is not in control of its quality and safety processes, which may harm your brand reputation.

The most successful recalls are the ones where 100% of the affected products have been returned. However, except perhaps in the car industry, in many cases this will be a Utopia. But with the growing online sales and D2C business, it becomes a lot easier to directly contact end-users. I strongly believe that in the near future e-labelling and IoT will play an important role too.

The overall cost of a recall can rise exponentially if badly or slowly managed

“I BELIEVE IN THE NEAR FUTURE, E-LABELLING AND THE INTERNET OF THINGS (IOT) WILL PLAY AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN THE RECALLS PROCESS.”

The term ‘voluntary recall’ is under debate globally

cyclingindustry.news 49

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EDUCATION Managing a recall

How does a company navigate a voluntary recall and what is the key difference when it becomes compulsory?

The term “voluntary” is globally under debate. Some countries (e.g. Australia) would not allow that term when announcing a recall. Consumers may misunderstand the term as if it was “voluntary” for them to stop using the product. In Europe however, product safety legislation still distinguishes between a voluntary and a compulsory recall. My advice is pretty straightforward; if you take your business seriously, at all cost try to avoid measures ordered by public authorities. While a voluntary recall may likely increase your customers’ trust, a compulsory recall will probably do the opposite.

What costs can a company expect to incur upon a recall ?

It is really difficult to give any ballpark figure. There are direct and indirect costs to be considered and indeed, these can be high. Some cost items, like loss of turnover and profit, can be calculated fairly easy, but for ‘collateral damage’ this is difficult.

For example, what if your recalled product gets replaced by retailers with a competing brand? Furthermore, the costs largely depend on the scale and scope of a recall, such as how many products are affected and in which countries?

Many companies outsource the production of their products to third-party producers. Of course, your brand name is printed on the product, so you are responsible to recall it in case it is unsafe. However, an aspect that is often neglected, is to make sure the burden of a recall is taken where it should: the supplier of the defective product. Many companies do not have (properly) written supplier agreements in place and therefore minimise the opportunity to claim recall damages upstream in the supply chain. “We don’t need a contract, our relationship is based on trust!” I often hear. Yes, but it’s just like a marriage: everything is fine until something goes terribly wrong.

But apart from all that, the costs of a recall may never be an argument not to carry out a recall. The ultimate goal of any potential product issue should be a safe customer that continues to trust your product and brand. Personally, I am happy to see a company voluntarily take responsibility to recall a product. Customers will likely remain loyal, since they know their safety is taken seriously.

Finally (and insurance companies will not be happy to read this) many companies

do not seem to know that in quite a number of countries certain recall costs can be claimed under a standard product liability insurance. It can be a long process, but it’s definitely well worth it.

It’s difficult to say if recall costs would mount in case there is a hesitancy in action. From experience, hesitancy leads to loss of control of the recall process, which will likely harm your customers’ trust and brand reputation.

In terms of marketing the recall notice, what is advised?

Although certain templates are recommended to be used, there is certainly some room to draft a recall notice in your corporate style. However, don’t downplay the issue. Stay factual, clear and to the point.

Typically, the authorities will push back if they think your recall notice is too vague or ambiguous. Also, some authorities prefer to use their own recall notification text and may use pretty stark language. My advice would be to give some more context about the background of the recall on your corporate website.

You have a partnership with the WFSGI, tell us about this: RecallDesk is proud partner of the World Federation of the Sporting Goods Industry (WFGSI). The bicycle industry has a large representation among its members.

Members of the WFSGI will get an attractive discount on RecallDesk’s fees if they would use our services. Many of RecallDesk’s clients are active in the outdoor, sporting goods and bicycle industry. Next to the WFSGI, RecallDesk has partnered with a number of other industry associations with similar discount offers. We believe such partnerships are a win-win situation for both RecallDesk and the members.

The WFSGI has partnered with RecallDesk to offer member discounts

“CERTAIN RECALL COSTS CAN BE CLAIMED UNDER STANDARD PRODUCT LIABILITY INSURANCE.”

Customer loyalty is kept if they know safety is a brand’s priority, says Rutger

cyclingindustry.news 51

PROFILE

MiRiDER

STOCKED AND FULLY LOADED Having burst onto the scene with its UK-assembled electric folder in the past few years MiRiDER has expanded its capabilities for 2022. CI.N speaks to Co-owner Martin Higginson about growing the shop floor network with greater stock availability…

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I

n the present climate stock reliability is everything. Where the supply chain has been stressed, the trend, where viable, has been to bring assembly or production closer to home and MiRiDER had a head start on the pandemic on that front. The Wigan facility’s growth has allowed the label to structure the business efficiently and, more importantly, enable the ability to upscale storage and production as required for 2022 and beyond. At 7,000 square feet, the production line ends with a test ride and personal stickering of each bike signed off by staff.

Quality control is high.

Added on to this expansion of production, a visit-ready showroom and test track gives trade customers a direct interaction with the product.

While hosting new dealers the brand can on the same day offer up technician’s training with the assembly line

52 cyclingindustry.news

The firm has scored some high-profile and favourable press reviews

“THE INCOMING G3 FEATURES A SOPHISTICATED CRANK-BASED GEARBOX SYSTEM WITH A BELT DRIVE.”

in full view. Having the sales and customer service team under the same roof means communication has been efficient and helped to keep customer service levels high.

Martin Higginson, the brand’s coFounder and marketing leader said of the progress: “In the past year we’ve had an influx of new dealers to our network, which now totals over 100.

Our retailers draw on stock as required, while other larger operations hold their own stock. There are transparent terms in place which offer larger margins to larger orders.

We also have point of sale material available to retailers to support the brand in store and this is under constant review and development.”

In keeping with the general trajectory of market forecasts for electric bike sales the pandemic provided rocket fuel for the UK label, which has turned

100% growth year-on-year since 2019.

Despite that, Higginson says the tank remains full as we head into the peak sales seasons. “Our 2022 expectations are significantly higher than the 2021 results, which can be attributed to a rapidly growing market for folding electric bikes and a growing dealership base,” he says.

The family-business has a much broader reach outside of bikes, but its group distribution centre holds stock of the MiRiDER One ready to ship on a next day delivery programme if ordered before 2pm (variable in peak season).

There are opportunities as yet untapped and obvious gaps too, we’re told. “London remains a huge opportunity for the brand and we hope to find more retail partners to stock, promote and supply the MiRiDER One in the capital. Our marketing teams are working incredibly hard to raise awareness of our proposition, particularly to the commuter market.”

That marketing has seen product placement land in the likes of Auto Express, where the electric folding bike scored a ‘Best Buy’ rating. Tech Advisor, BikeRadar, Cycling Electric and eBike Tips are others to have warmed to the One in reviews, giving MiRiDER a stack of column inches with which to market the model to the consumer.

The urban space is the prime stomping ground for the MiRiDER One, which keeps things light and manageable for the multi-modal commuter. The 252Wh

battery is locked by key inside the fold and will assist for up to 45 miles. The chassis itself is considerate to the bike style too. Built from an aircraft grade magnesium alloy it’s easy to carry and features a rear shock absorber so that when your customer is in the saddle road vibrations are absorbed.

The retail price is accessible at £1,595, with the option to choose an Edition Model at £1,795. The Edition Models are based upon the standard bike, but with high quality customisation on the graphics applied.

These have proved very popular with buyers, according to MiRiDER. While the One is stealing the show at present, there’s more coming down the line from the brand’s design team, which has developed a second model under the G3 banner and it’s sporting some proprietary gear.

“The G3 features a sophisticated crank-based gearbox system with a belt drive which allows the hub motor to stay at the rear, retaining excellent weight distribution, balance and the traction of the standard bike, without the adjustment issues of a traditional derailleur. The G3 also benefits from hydraulic brakes, a large LCD screen with a phone charging port, lightweight pedals, a sports seat and wider bars for additional added stability. The G3 will come with the same two-year warranty as the MiRiDER One. As such, this model opens up opportunities at a higher specification but also demonstrates

our ambitions and ability to react to market demands,” says Higginson.

What may most interest the retailer considering taking stock will be the backup and service behind the brand.

Where some labels have come up short on after care, MiRiDER says shops should have no such concerns with a “comprehensive stock of all components” held, whether proprietary or outsourced.

Higginson says: “We have very healthy stock levels of all the necessary components with built bikes in stock ready for delivery.

Our procurement team have forward orders reaching into the future to maintain supply of all the necessary parts to build the MiRiDER One, and to service our retail partners.”

Over the year ahead you’ll find the brand at several national exhibitions both inside and outside of the cycling sphere. Most notably, the motorhome and caravan sector has become a key marketplace with some customers opting to buy a pair of e-Bikes for weekends away.

Higginson concludes: “Offering an offroad tyre has really stood us apart to adventurers who want a convenient transport option and that extra fun factor along trails and canal pathways.”

To enquire about becoming a dealer – phone the firm on 01257 228242, or email hello@mirider.co.uk. www.mirider.co.uk

“OUR 2022 EXPECTATIONS ARE SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER THAN THE 2021 RESULTS, WHICH CAN BE ATTRIBUTED TO THE GROWING DEALERBASE.”

The motorhome market has become a key sales channel

cyclingindustry.news 53

EVOLVING SPORTS DISTRIBUTION

PROFILE

HOMEGROWN POWER The team behind Evolving Sports Distribution has been plugged into electric bikes for the long-haul. Here CI.N details a move beyond retail into distribution that will see this specialist seed a trio of brands nationwide...

Dallingridge electric bikes offer consumers an accessible entry to e-Bikes

FOR THOSE WHO MISSED EVOLVING SPORTS DISTRIBUTION LAUNCH, HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN TRADING AND WHAT GOODS DO YOU NOW OFFER? Evolving Sports Distribution is the wholesale division of MTF Enterprises LTD, a UK business which has been trading in electric bikes for 17 years.

After several years of planning, ensuring we have the right people and products in place, we launched Evolving Sports Distribution in 2021.

We currently have two electric bike brands - Crussis and Dallingridge - and have recently become the UK distributor for AMcargobikes, a Danish eCargo bike manufacturer. As our Evolving Sports name suggests, this line up will continue to grow.

This year Lee Page joined the team as trade sales manager; he brings with him a wealth of cycle industry knowledge backed up with 20 years’ of sales and management experience.

With Lee’s passion for all things bike, and his determination to provide the very best service to our dealers, we see

a bright future ahead for the business and our retail partners.

TALK US THROUGH THE TRIO OF BRANDS AND WHAT EACH OFFERS THE BIKE SHOP STOCKIST? Dallingridge is our own brand, with the bikes designed in the UK. We aim to provide refined quality and value for money, leveraging our industry partner relationship. The bikes have been in development for the past two years ensuring the best available parts are brought together to produce a strong, reliable and extremely competitively priced range of bikes.

Crussis are a Czech company that have been making e-Bikes since 2012, gradually establishing a successful presence in many Western European countries. Since becoming the UK distributor in 2020 we have since seen a strong following for the brand, offering a range focused on e-MTBs, sporty hybrids, town and city e-Bikes.

AMcargobikes, founded back in 1992, has an incredible 30 years’ expe-

rience in the cargo bike market. All the bikes are assembled at the in-house factory in Veksø, Denmark. We are hugely excited to be bringing AM eCargo bikes to the UK market at a time when we are all looking at how we can reduce our environmental impact.

HOW’S BUSINESS BEEN SINCE YOU STARTED AND WHAT GAPS HAVE YOU TO FILL NATIONWIDE FOR STOCKISTS? Business has been strong across our first 12 months. We’ve seen great numbers from our dealer network during a very challenging trading period, which has been a hugely encouraging start for the business. A continued increase in e-Bike and e-Cargo bike demand will see our team playing a critical role in the future success of our retail partners.

On that note, we are actively looking for new dealers, thoughout the UK. With growing numbers of bike shops embracing e-Mobility, we are extremely well placed to work with businesses looking to offer their

cyclingindustry.news 55

PROFILE

EVOLVING SPORTS DISTRIBUTION

The Dallingridge Malvern is kitted out with accessories out of the box

“WE’RE PROUD TO BE ONE OF THE MOST EXPERIENCED E-BIKE BUSINESSES IN THE UK.”

customers an effective and efficient ‘getting from A to B’ range of e-Bikes and e-Cargo bikes.

Supporting retail partners with a proactive team ensures we are adaptable and quick to meet customers’ needs. Our flexibility and adaptability representing a massive advantage in the ever-changing marketplace, which is pretty much the perfect segue into conversation about our supply chain relationships.

THE FIRST QUESTION MANY WILL ASK IN THE CURRENT CLIMATE IS HOW RELIABLE IS YOUR SUPPLY GOING FORWARDS? The benefit of 17 years’ of experience is that we’ve established excellent partners in Taiwan and Europe, building long-standing supply chain relationships, with which comes a degree of stability. These relationships enable us to closely monitor our supply chain, making planned adjustments and updates to suit our needs. Naturally enough, the events in past 18 months have thrown up many challenges, however, our experience of working with European and Asian factories, plus suppliers means we’re in healthy position with current stock holding and have more product landing in next few months.

THE DISTRIBUTOR IS BACKED BY INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE, INCLUDING THAT OF RETAIL STAFF – DOES THIS

56 cyclingindustry.news

EXPERIENCE GIVE YOU SOMETHING OTHER DISTRIBUTORS MAY NOT POSSESS? We’re proud to be one of the most experienced e-Bike businesses in the UK. In the 17 years we’ve been selling electric bikes we’ve seen them transform from unsightly heavy machines into the slick high-tech products available today.

As a business, our competitive advantage is best summed up as a collection of knowledge and experience, combined with our long-standing supplier relationships.

This depth of experience enabled us to create our own Dallingridge range of electric bikes. As a UK business we know what works in the UK and we know our supply chain partners extremely well. This combination made it possible for us to produce a product that works perfectly for an underserved section of UK market. Dallingridge eBikes have a styling that wouldn’t look out of place on higher end models, offers a price point accessibility which few can touch, and delivers a quality of product which we’re truly proud of.

The advantage of having such strong supplier relationships is that we can source components direct from manufacturers, making our price point incredibly accessible, whilst maintaining a strong emphasis on quality and durability. We source motors from a Taiwanese manufacturer who supplies to a host of well-known brands across

the cycle industry, and our batteries come via a similarly well-known and respected source. As a result, we’re able to offer a two-year warranty for motor and battery, also the same two-year warranty for drivetrain components, and a five-year warranty for the frame.

We see Dallingridge e-Bikes as an excellent product choice for IBDs expanding their offering on the shop floor with a sub £1,500 bike that will be suitable for most customers’ needs without compromising on style or function.

SOME RETAILERS WILL UNDERSTANDABLY WORRY ABOUT STOCKING CARGO BIKES. WHAT IS THE OPPORTUNITY HERE, IN YOUR VIEW? The e-Cargo bike market is in a very exciting place right now. Look in any direction and you’ll see opportunity. In the UK there is clearly a shift towards a more European approach to cycling as practical transport. In this context the potential of e-Cargo bikes is huge, and, encouragingly, the UK media coverage has also been very positive.

The fact the businesses are also exploring fleet options for e-Cargo bikes is also a great endorsement of the capability of such bikes. Collectively we’re seeing a mindset change from the public, and from businesses, with people contacting us daily, asking about possibilities and what the cargo bikes can do whether it be a credible solution for the school run to replacing a small work van.

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EVOLVING SPORTS DISTRIBUTION

Now, from a retail perspective, not every store will have the space for more than a shop floor display e-Cargo bike.

Understanding that hold stock may be a challenge, this year we will introducing a drop ship option for our dealers, helping remove storage space challenges whilst supporting shops who invest in giving shop floor space to e-Cargo bikes I’d also add that an e-Cargo bike is definitely a traffic stopping, head turning, footfall generating, talking point.

We’ve seen branded cargo bikes appearing outside of bike shops acting as an attention grabber, and retailers’ feedback that this approach is very effective.

SHOPS WILL BE KEEN TO UNDERSTAND THE BACKUP STRUCTURE; ARE YOU CARRYING LOCAL SPARES AND WHAT MOTOR BRANDS FEATURE ON YOUR BIKES? Having been in the electric bike business since its inception in the UK we

totally understand the importance of carrying spare parts and always hold stock ensuring we can get bikes back on the road as quickly as possible. We also have an in-house tech team to answer dealers’ questions.

WHAT TERMS HAVE YOU PUT IN PLACE FOR ACCOUNTS? We are keen to grow lasting relationships with our dealers and as such understand every store is an individual; businesses will have different challenges, and specific needs relating directly to their customer base. We look to tailor packages that work best for each store, with an arrangement that works best for the dealer and us.

To guarantee exclusivity of area we ask for an initial buy-in of four bikes.

Full credit terms will be available upon application.

To support accounts, this year will see an extensive marketing campaign;

PROFILE expect to see a lot more of us in print online and instore. This marketing will all be targeted at driving additional footfall to our dealers. In addition to this, we will also be working on helping stores with their own local events, focused upon building awareness and increasing sales. Beyond this you will also see an Evolving Sports stand in the not-too-distant future.

HOW CAN SHOPS BOOK A SALES REPRESENTATIVE VISIT? Our sales team are happy to come out and showcase the range and talk through options, exploring how to become a dealer. Critically, this helps us gain a better understanding of the dealer’s business.

Retailers can also book a visit by calling our sales line, which is 0208 0161 829. www.evolvingsports.co.uk

“WE LOOK TO TAILOR PACKAGES THAT WORK BEST FOR EACH STORE, WITH AN ARRANGEMENT THAT WORKS BEST FOR THE DEALER AND US.”

The low-step Oxford folds making it ideal for multi-modal jaunts

cyclingindustry.news 59

NEW

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THIMM PACKAGING

PROFILE

PACK IT UP PACK IT IN Bike box disposal and other surplus packaging waste has long been a pet hate of bike shops, so why has a bog-standard template not changed in decades? One packaging brand has listened and adapted around the challenge…

I

n recent years talk of sustainability among bike brands has become more and more prevalent. In November last year, CI.N reported that both Trek and Cannondale had outlined moves to utilise fully recyclable packaging as part of their bike shipments.

In its first ever sustainability report Trek committed to removing plastic waste entirely from its packaging. As of May 2020, Trek began shipping its most popular model – the Marlin – in overhauled packaging.

Claiming to have reduced the number of non-recyclable pieces from 24 to 12 and removing around 200 tonnes of plastic waste since 2020. Likewise, Shimano have made claims of aiming to eliminate singleuse plastics as much as possible.

One company looking to assist brands in these noble quests is Thimm Group. Thimm is a German family-run company founded in 1949 and operating in sites across Europe.

Their core product offering is packaging, and they supply a variety of packages to a host of industries.

At Eurobike earlier this year, Thimm revealed their re-imagining of the traditional bicycle box that bikes are delivered to customers and workshops in. It is designed to be re-usable and fully recyclable. It impressed the Eurobike judges enough to award it the Sustainability – Green Award.

The majority of bikes, the world over, are shipped nearly fully assembled either directly to the customer or to workshops/builders. Typically, only the finishing touches – adding pedals, aligning handlebars, putting seat posts in, etc.

– are needed.

Michael Weber, Head of Corporate Strategy and Marketing, explains that “extremely high product protection is required when shipping bikes. The average price of bikes is still over 1,000 euros and can be higher for e-bikes, therefore it is important to protect these valuable products accordingly and make handling as easy as possible.

Furthermore, environmentally-friendly packaging and easy disposal are very important issues for consumers.” A claim

“OUR CARGO BIKE PACKAGING IS FLEXIBLE AND CAN BE ADAPTED TO MEET SPECIFIC CUSTOMER NEEDS.”

Thimm has thought out the shipping and unpacking process in great detail

cyclingindustry.news 61

PROFILE

THIMM PACKAGING

“THE AVERAGE PRICE OF BIKES IS STILL OVER 1,000 EUROS AND CAN BE HIGHER FOR E-BIKES, THEREFORE IT IS IMPORTANT TO PROTECT THESE VALUABLE PRODUCTS ACCORDINGLY AND MAKE HANDLING AS EASY AS POSSIBLE. ” Michael Weber Head of Corporate Strategy and Marketing

Bike shops now rank recyclable packaging and packaging waste as key issues for suppliers to improve upon

supported by our CI.N Retail Study 2020, that found bike shops now rank recyclable packaging and packaging waste among their leading frustrations with their suppliers.

Thimm’s redesigned packaging is suitable for bikes and e-bikes between 18 and 29 inches in size. It is made entirely of sustainable corrugated cardboard in line with the industry norm for quality. The packaging design includes a saddle bracket, steering wheel attachment and two-wheel holders to secure the bike in place and ensure its protection during shipping. It does not require any of the standard padding and protective materials which Weber adds “saves time, material and costs and is also good for our environment.”

To make unpacking easier for recipients, Thimm’s developers have redesigned the means of unpackaging a bike. “Bike

boxes often have to be opened from above. The recipient must then lift a bike weighing up to 25 kilograms and clear the wheel over the large packaging box. Our innovative packaging is opened from the middle by a tear perforation. The side parts can then be folded outwards and the recipient can simply push the bike out of the packaging.”

Disposing of the packaging is simpler as it does not have to be separated, it can all be disposed of via the wastepaper cycle. Or "if you don't like the bike [the] packaging can also be used to return it. Once again, no additional adhesive tape is required.”

A final note of interest given the trend of cargo bikes making waves across Europe, Thimm has even developed a specific large cycle crate designed to be adaptable for the various models now coming through production. Aside from the cardboard, this combines a wooden pallet, recyclable connecting elements and a tension belt. Stable padding and wheel fixings made from corrugated cardboard ensure optimum protection of the cargo bike during its transportation.

“Our cargo bike packaging is flexible so it can be adapted to the specific requirements of our customers. It is therefore suitable for all types of cargo bikes, with or without electric drive and with two, three or four wheels. The packaging is also distinguished by its high level of transportation safety, stability and sustainability and, above all, it can be assembled and picked quickly,” concludes Weber. www.thimm.com

62 cyclingindustry.news

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PROFILE

UPGRADE BIKES

CORE PRODUCTS, KEY DISTRIBUTOR

With CoreBike just around the corner, Matt Ryley, Matt Killick and Rory Hitchens fill us in on what to expect from Upgrade Bikes in 2022 when it comes to pricing, stocks and best-sellers…

B

y the time you’re reading this a physical return to trade shows may, for the first time in a long time, be an appealing prospect. With the social atmosphere at CoreBike reason enough to attend, the exhibitors will be hoping for a bumper turnout with a view to one great big catch up with their accounts. It’s been a rollercoaster, but come March 20th through 22nd, the turbulence of the past two years may well evaporate as friends and business partners come together again.

Upgrade Bikes is one exhibitor looking forward to the event with excitement, even if some of the international representatives remain unlikely to make the journey as they normally do. It’s hard to ignore another slightly unusual trend in that so much product is pre-sold due to supply chain wobbles. So, what will be the focus of the Sussex distributor?

64 cyclingindustry.news

Lezyne’s CNC Tubeless Drive pump

“WE WANTED TO BROADEN OUR PORTFOLIO WITH BRANDS THAT WERE NOT ENTIRELY DEPENDENT ON TAIWAN FOR SUPPLY.”

“The emphasis will very much be on products that can be ordered and delivered this year. Where a product is already pre-sold for the year it won’t be displayed. There will still be plenty of excitement with the new brands represented and good reminders on the key sellers that make up the bulk of our dealers’ profits from the Upgrade portfolio,” says the trio from Upgrade.

In the whirlwind of keeping retail businesses running to some trend of normality you’d be forgiven for asking “new brands, what new brands?”. Well, if you did miss the updates on the CI.N homepage there’s a few of note; Thompson, Amp Human, OTE, Dexshell, Repente and SixSixOne, each of which is detailed overleaf.

“We wanted to broaden our portfolio with brands that were not entirely dependent on Taiwan for supply,” said Upgrade. “Consequently, we made new

opportunities with a mix of new and established brands. Our supply chain has performed very well, particularly our two powerhouses; DMR and Lezyne, who were quick to increase manufacturing. Unfortunately, longer lead times will continue for some time.

Good, updated, information is key to dealers. We encourage checking the B2B and then with our office for latest updates on estimated delivery dates.”

The sales team has expanded alongside the brand roster too, giving shops greater confidence in securing a rep visit when needed. The sales team now has five on the road with another seven in the office covering key accounts, customer support and returns.

The mainland UK has been revised into four new sales areas. The South is covered by established rep Joe Bardey.

Upgrade appointed a new sales rep, Richard Walters, who serves the Midlands, as well as Mid and South Wales. Long serving sales agent Martin Jones now covers the North of England. Meanwhile, Tim Hall covers North Wales, the upper North of England, Scotland and the Isle of Man. Ireland and Northern Ireland is still served by sales agent Craig Malloy.

In the office, Matt Killick continues as UK sales manager. Tom Lipscombe and Chase Sullivan serve key accounts.

Martin Gibbs, Rupert Robinson and Dan Hill are joined by Chris Haigh with a speciality in technical support.

Personnel aside, reinvestment of bike boom funds has been made in backoffice sales systems too. Upgrade says

“We are operating on a new cloud-based server that gives higher levels of protection and speeds up processing. Our purchasing and logistics teams have a more challenging role since the pandemic threw things out of ‘normal’, so more resource has been allocated.”

Some particularly strong creatives have been breaking cover, promoting key products and the athletes that rely on them at an elite level. In this marketing Upgrade is driving the brands forward and generating new customers from the most unlikely of places, as you’ll read about in our feature on ‘out of the box marketing ideas’.

“We have a strong creative team at Upgrade; more time and money has been dedicated to digital marketing and advertising, particularly on house brands DMR and Kinesis. Lezyne has also increased their contribution to social media advertising targeting the UK which is welcomed greatly.”

These brands have consistently provided Upgrade accounts with bestsellers over the years. From the longhistory DMR pedals have in the off-road market, right through to the polished finish that a slatwall filled with Lezyne goods can deliver for a store, each is sought after and in many segments of the marketplace. But where do Upgrade see the greatest traction at present?

“We don’t need to explain that e-Bike sales are now very important to most dealers. We have expanded our Kinesis offering to meet this. Meanwhile, highend sales are doing well as more cyclists

are upgrading their bikes and accessories to higher quality brands. Pivot has been on a roll with our tight network of dealers and the consumer is happy to spend on quality when they know bikes will have to last longer these days as availability is drawn out. Similarly, Reynolds wheels have done very well as consumers recognise the quality that comes with lifetime warranty,” offers the distributor.

With the onboarding of brands like Dexshell, Upgrade has seen a widening of the broad base of cyclists too and brands like Nutcase have similarly been working well for dealers wanting to offer products for the commuting and leisure cycling markets.

If there is one label that is getting accounts excited at present, however, it’s Thompson’s US-made alloy stems and posts, plus Taiwanese bars and carbon parts. This finishing kit complements Kinesis UK beautifully and has a history of providing top-tier finishing kit for such builds.

“After the initial covid impact in 2020 the US side has caught up well, but we are still expecting longer lead times from Taiwan made products. It’s a brand we have been confident to place big orders with, so we do expect to see stock levels rise but certainly our dealers are keeping us under pressure with repeat orders,” explain Upgrade, adding that the new MTB bars and wide gravel drop bars have stimulated stem sales.

Most important of all in the face of supply chain pressure is the dealer’

“WE DON’T NEED TO EXPLAIN THAT E-BIKE SALES ARE NOW VERY IMPORTANT TO MOST DEALERS. WE HAVE EXPANDED OUR KINESIS OFFERING TO MEET THIS.”

Thomson’s sought-after finishing kit

cyclingindustry.news 65

PROFILE margin. A long-term friend to the indie bike shop, Upgrade has, like many others, trodden a fine line to keep every link in the chain sustainable.

“We fully understand the importance of the dealer margin. As our landed costs increase, inevitably retail prices will increase so that we too have a workable margin. We expect this to happen more frequently as we experience price changes from our suppliers. To smooth out the changes Upgrade works closely with suppliers and maintains good stock levels. This delays any price increase, but ultimately cannot curtail them.

“Pricing is now very fluid and something that our purchasing team spend a lot of time on. We are thankful to have a solid team examining this constantly. Our goal is always to deliver profitable products for our dealers, at the same time offering best value to the consumer,” concludes the team.

To have these conversations and explore new products in person, there’s still time to register for CoreBike, which you can do at Corebike.co.uk. www.upgradebikes.co.uk

UPGRADE BIKES

01 Mch Repente Saddle POS

06 SixSixOne Women’s Compression Jacket

05 DexShell ProVisibility waterproof sock

04 Amp Human PR Lotion bottle

UPGRADE’S UPGRADED PORTFOLIO 01 REPENTE saddles joined Upgrade giving the distributor a second saddle brand that will suit those looking more conventional approach than ISM saddles. Handmade in Italy, Repente make beautiful, lightweight, comfortable, high-quality saddles. The design emphasis is on rider fit through expert knowledge of shaping and width to allow for freedom of movement in the hip joint. Carbon rails, bases and high-quality materials and innovative features make up a range to suit all enthusiast riders on Road, Gravel, MTB, Triathlon and TT. 02 THOMSON joined the portfolio to provide dealers with an alternative to the outgoing Ritchey and is described as “a real feather in our cap” by the team. Thomson’s concise offering of seat posts, stems and bars have been working very well for our dealers and continues to be a go-to for reliable, high-quality components.

03 OTE, the UK-based nutrition brand, approached Upgrade to be its trade distributor. OTE is the first nutrition brand that the supplier has partnered with. Its strong marketing and branding is already established and Upgrade’s role is to make it easier for dealers to order as they can combine with their existing orders.

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04 AMP HUMAN will be new to many of dealers. It is an innovative sports lotion that is scientifically proven to reduce lactic acid build up, improve performance, combat fatigue and decrease muscle soreness after hard workouts. Upgrade says there are huge openings for AMP Human, which is endorsed by Geraint Thomas. With only two SKUs; sachets or a bottle, it’s an easy product for dealers to stock and present at the counter.

05 DEXSHELL makes warm, waterproof socks, gloves and overshoes. Upgrade’s role is to introduce it to the bike market further. The company’s sales team has made fast progress due to the simple and accessible product range. “We see great potential for Dexshell appealing to anyone who seeks warm, comfortable hands and feet,” they say.

06 SIXSIXONE protection is a great fit for Upgrade, sitting well with DMR and Pivot, in particular. As an original MTB protection brand hailing from California, it remains a go-to for knee pads, helmets and more.

Upgrade was approached by the brand to re-invigorate their IBD presence and it’s been a very successful first six months.

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PROFILE

BIKE FITTING WITH JON WILD

FITTER’S CORNER In the first of a series with professional bike fitters, we catch time with Jon Wild to learn why discipline and perseverance are key to drawing in customers from all over…

Photo credits: Instagram: @SamWilliamAndrews

Jon started training in a bike shop and has not stopped studying his art since

“READING ALL THE SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE ON CYCLING DOES NOT MAKE YOU A GREAT BIKE FITTER. IT JUST HELPS YOU WAFFLE ON ABOUT STATISTICAL SIGNIFICANCE AND AVERAGES.”

Jon now operates out of Keynsham in the South West

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How did you get started as a bike fitter?

I’ve been obsessed with cycling for a long time, and my original career plan was to train as a mechanical engineer. I think at some point the plan was to become a bicycle designer, but I’ve still never seen that job title advertised. I got into one of the top universities for engineering in the UK and began a degree in mechanical engineering. I soon started to realise that mechanical engineering is basically a degree in applied mathematics. It was so far removed from how humans ride bikes that I couldn’t see a future in it for me. The idea of dropping out of such a good university was tough but I knew I had to leave.

I searched around for sports engineering degrees, but nothing really appealed.

Then I found Sport and Exercise Science and couldn’t believe it. It was perfect. My assignments were on topics like “knee injuries in cycling”, my work experience was at a world leading biomechanics facility and my dissertation was on oval chainrings. I collated thousands of cycling related research articles and left university with a belief that I of course knew everything.

As I was finishing up my final year I got a part time job at a local bike shop and offered to design a website for them in my spare time. In exchange they bought me what I think was called a Bikefit starter kit from I-Ride. It had a training manual, a laser, a goniometer and about a thousand wedges and bolts. It was a tiny shop, so I

would do them after hours in the middle of the showroom.

Looking back, I was completely clueless. Reading all the scientific literature on cycling does not make you a great bike fitter. It just helps you waffle on about statistical significance and averages.

Granted I had a great knowledge of physiology, anatomy, biomechanics and strength and conditioning, but the way that a bike fit was seen back then largely ignored all of that anyway and just fixated on a plumb line, a goniometer and some Italian folklore.

My wife and I decided to move to Canada. I found a job where the manager really saw the potential for bike fitting and in fact had three existing members of staff who had done bike fit courses. She hired me on the condition that I would stay for X number of months and they would pay for my bike fit courses. Bizarrely enough all those other members of staff who had done the bike fit course quickly delegated all the bike fits to me and I was chucked in at the deep end. It was a big store selling a lot of bikes. I think every bike sold included some level of bike fit so I quickly had a full diary. It’s quite hard for a lot of people to gain experience in bike fitting as most of the time it’s a salesperson's second job to do every now and again. I had the privilege of it occupying most of my working week quite early on. There’s no substitute to watching thousands of cyclists pedal a bike in front of you.

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BIKE FITTING So, to become a solver of complex bike fit problems you simply need experience?

It’s years of continuous education, reading, listening, observing and questioning.

Some things you’ll learn 20 times before it clicks into place. I think this is a neverending journey.

I’ve been on some fantastic educational courses and had the privilege to be mentored by some of the world's best bike fitters, but I still have bike fits where I think “huh, I haven’t seen that before!”.

There’s an element of community around bike fitting it seems and to be engaged is to learn?

I think being part of a professional body like the International Bike Fitting Institute helps a lot. It’s a brave step to take when you have to openly declare to the world what you know and how much experience you have and have it peerreviewed. Fitters are awarded a level from 1 to 4 and until recently it was designed to be exponentially harder to climb up the levels. So, you have bike fitters who have 30+ years of experience at level 4 and you’re there highlighting that relatively speaking you’ve just started. It's respectable to say “I am open to developing my knowledge and experience and I want to keep improving”.

What’s the biggest change you’ve seen in the bike fitting biz?

Most recently it’s the number of new cyclists. Instead of questions about cleat position it was people not even aware that you could get shoes with cleats on them.

There’s nothing I love better than sharing in the excitement of someone who’s just getting into cycling. It’s so great that bike fit is talked about so much nowadays that it’s often a new cyclist's first step. Starting out you generally have no expectations of what to expect so it’s easy to be put off by an uncomfortable pair of shoes or a badly designed saddle by assuming “that’s the way it is”. I think we lose so many new and enthusiastic cyclists due to discomfort. If we’re going to maintain this boom and keep the cycling industry thriving, people need bikes which they enjoy riding so much that they wear them out.

As a bad fit can cause problems, how can customers be sure of landing with a reputable fitter?

I think the International Bike Fitting Institute solves this problem. They are a professional body set up to help consumers find quality bike fitters and

PROFILE

give bike fitters a framework to develop themselves. If a fitter is signed up they have openly declared what they know and what they don’t.

Are customers loyal to a bike fitter and does repeat business happen?

I do see people year after year for a checkup or to set up a new bike, however I think the term loyal is a weird one in a business sense. If you do good work people will appreciate it and will tell all their friends. That’s all you can hope for and it’s not a reflection on you if a customer does go elsewhere next time. I think the bike industry has got a sensitive ego when it comes to loyalty. If you went to a nice restaurant and had a great time, great food, great service you would certainly go back. You also might try a different restaurant the following weekend and have a great time there too. It’s not a reflection on the first restaurant as to why you shopped online one week and visited a different restaurant the other.

What’s the furthest distance you’ve had a customer travel?

I’d say a four-hour drive. Frequently people will travel 120 to 200 miles. It’s never from advertising; these people generally seek out a bike fitter that they want to work with and travel past the doors of many others on the way. It’s always a shock when people turn up having left at 5am to make the 9am appointment.

An advocate of the International Bike Fitting Institute, Jon says getting skills verified is essential

“I’VE BEEN ON SOME FANTASTIC EDUCATIONAL COURSES AND HAD THE PRIVILEGE TO BE MENTORED BY SOME OF THE WORLD’S BEST BIKE FITTERS.”

Do retail stores understand the commercial opportunity that comes with a truly skilled bike fitter?

I think the rarity of a bike fitter role on the CI.N jobs board answers this. Unfortunately, shops don’t look to hire a bike fitter.

Most full-time bike fitters I know are selfemployed. Not to dissuade anyone but I think to become a bike fitter full time takes a lot of work. You can’t just offer up the services and people will come. Success comes from reputation and experience.

How does a business hire and get the best value out of an experienced bike fitter To answer your question with a bunch of questions: do you want to hire someone fresh and help them develop into an experienced bike fitter or do you want to hire an already experienced fitter? Do you want them in-house or do you just want to collaborate/start a mutual referral? Do you want to sell more bikes / products through bike fit associated services or do you want the labour revenue from the bike fit?

Customers will travel for a proper fit, says Jon Wild

cyclingindustry.news 71

ANALYSIS eCycle Support Scheme

CREATING A TEMPLATE

England’s e-cycle pilot scheme has reached full-flight in Cornwall, in a year-long demonstration programme that will go on to inform a national e-cycle support scheme. Laura Laker reports…

W “THE TAKE-UP IS ACCELERATING RAPIDLY AND THE GENERAL FEEL IS THAT IT’S BEEN LONG AWAITED.”

Among potential customers are doctors’ surgeries who wish to prescribe exercise to patients

72 cyclingindustry.news

heels to Work South West, a Cornwall-based employment mobility charity, is running the £400,000 pilot with 90 electric cycles across three different e-cycle loan elements: a ‘roadshow’ for the public, ‘opportunities to try’ for business transport, and 'access to employment’ – the same three elements expected from a national scheme.

The pilot, which was announced during the G7 summit in Cornwall last summer, along with investment in new walking and cycling routes, is intended to help Cornish residents switch away from cars, while providing cost-effective transport for low-income households to access employment and other opportunities.

Max Jowett, CEO of Wheels to Work South West, a Charitable Incorporated Organisation, says while the announcement was made last June, and the pilot officially began in September, when the first cycles were loaned out, full setup has taken time, partly due to supply issues.

Once the advertising campaign launched in January he had “18 enquiries within 24 hours”, from residents and businesses.

He said: “The take up is accelerating rapidly and the general feel is that it’s been long-awaited.” The charity is using 50 electric bikes for the access to employ-

ment element, 28 for opportunity to try, and 12 for roadshows. However, he expresses concerns that the pilot officially ends this June and “you’ve got 3-4 months to get rolling, when we really should be piloting this for 3-4 years”.

Jowett has 21 years’ charity experience loaning mopeds to people on low incomes and supporting them to save and buy their own transport – an element that will be mirrored in the e-cycle pilot. The commission to run the pilot came about because, he says: “I worked with the DfT some years back, they contacted me to ask advice about the program. I then started working with them to develop the national program. They then asked me to run the Cornwall pilot”.

“The DfT want this to reach people from all walks of life but primarily they want to target their investment to the most needy”.

The access to employment element of the scheme loans cycles to participants for six months. He says the impact is “massive, it’s lifechanging, but it’s lifechanging for families, too: if you have a young person living in a rural area, with parents running them around, when you give them independent transport, whatever that be, you free up the family as well. You give them freedom, independence and choice.

“Sometimes people name their bikes after biblical characters because it changes their lives so much.”

Jowett and colleagues are taking a variety of pedal assist bikes to 25-30 ‘roadshows’ in the county, from the Tour of Britain when it visited Cornwall in September, to local shows and even the Eden Project, where people can try e-cycles on the spot. This, Jowett says, is a case of “set up and allow people to have a go. It’s a nice side of it, and it’s relatively simple to deliver”.

He said: “People are extremely interested, which is encouraging. At each roadshow we get people who say ‘I’m going to buy one but I don’t know what to buy’.

They ask us where to get them, so we promote local business where they can buy one. It’s about information sharing, we’re not selling bikes. We were supported by one retailer and sold one at a roadshow, when people say ‘this is for me’.”

He said event participants fill in a digital

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ANALYSIS eCycle Support Scheme

form on a tablet, feeding data back to the Department for Transport via University of the West of England (UWE) in Bristol.

The ‘opportunity to try’ element is aimed at business travel, with cycles loaned to organisations for a month or two while staff understand e-cycles and how they might use them. To date cycles have been loaned to local police forces, doctors’ surgeries and hospitals, as well as local retailers.

Jowett says: “One doctors’ surgery in St Austell has three for its community workers; they plan to buy some, so they’re trying a selection so they know what kind they might want. Before they make that investment, because it’s expensive – it might be £9,000-10,000 for three bikes – they want to make sure they’re putting their money in the right place.”

Trialling cycles at workplaces also allows staff to think about purchasing e-cycles themselves. He says: “Take a doctor’s surgery, they’re busy people doing massively important work. They don’t have time to go out and trial e-bikes, so we’re facilitating them trying some. These are people that can afford to buy bikes so they only need a short time to establish what their needs and wants are, to apply a new transport to their daily commute before they make a significant investment.”

He also ran an event at a Truro hospital after the local council introduced several Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs) on local roads.

“There’s been significant interest from the doctors and nurses, to see ‘is an e-bike going to make my life easier?’” he said.

“They’ve been forced to rethink how they get around.”

Other pilot participants include a local ice cream business, with multiple sites in a town where parking is limited, particularly in peak season. Jowett says previously staff had to park two miles out of town, meaning long journeys to shift staff and goods. “In the summer you can’t move [in a car] and the electric bike allows them to move between ice cream shops and the towns,” he says. “So far everyone is finding the whole program very exciting and the bikes are running smoothly.”

Devon and Cornwall police borrowed four e-cycles in September, with some staff using them to commute to work, and others using them for patrols during the day. “They don’t want to give them back,” says Jowett, “they’re fantastic for them.

They’re dual-purpose off-road Giant Explore bikes. They were quite smart and the right colour, dark blue, and they loved them. It means the PCSOs aren’t having to walk everywhere.”

“Of course, with the development of infrastructure and car-free roads it’s going to be a much more pleasant experience,” he adds.

“Pivotal is it’s cheaper, you’ve got no parking costs, you’re not stuck in traffic, it costs only 5p to 10p to charge an e-bike, you get 30 miles on that. It’s going to save money and we might even save the world”.

Wheels to Work is among those who have submitted bids to run the national scheme.

Winners will be chosen by 11 March, with scheme delivery to begin 1 April.

Participants fill in a form that gives the Department for Transport direct insight into potential usage

“THERE’S BEEN SIGNIFICANT INTEREST FROM THE DOCTORS AND NURSES, WONDERING ‘IS AN E-BIKE GOING TO MAKE MY LIFE EASIER?’”

cyclingindustry.news 75

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ABUS

PROFILE

BRAINS AND BRAWN

The Abus of 2022 is a very different animal to the business started very nearly 100 years ago.

As times have changed the firm has adapted to many a modern trend. Simon Cox sits down with the tech team to understand the catalogue’s evolution…

A

bus, a family-owned company on the cusp of a century trading, is not looking much like a relic of days gone by. In fact, the German security company is right up to speed, talking the Internet of Things (IoT), Mobile Apps and SmartX digital products.

WHY? The company’s reasoning is clear.

“Because making people’s lives easier is what technology is all about.”

Think Apple ecosystem; any and every Apple device connects seamlessly.

Think cars with keyless entry; a hands-free innovation which has become a standard.

Think App based services getting you home on Saturday and delivering Sunday breakfast.

WHY DOES THIS MATTER TO BIKE SHOPS? Today we take digital connectivity as a given; seamlessly enabling technology is integral to almost every aspect of daily life, at work, at play, and at home, on holiday. Recognising this, Abus has digitally evolved the YourPlus, ‘one key for all your locks’ philosophy. “Your key is now an App,” they say.

Connectivity – via Bluetooth, or via a Vodafone GSM network partnership – means real time tracking, geo-fencing, control of accessibility, and all this in a keyless format, via a secure App. Security at home, connected via the App. Security at work, connected via the App. Security on the move, connected via the App. It should be noted that Abus hasn’t

achieved this via an outsourcing partnership. This is in-house product development, like all other developments also, achieved through building of an entirely new section of the business. (If you thought Campagnolo was brave to launch a gravel groupset, what Abus is doing is on a completely other level: previously an exclusively analogue German security company, now acknowledging and embracing consumer expectations for product innovation and technology integration.)

The conventional key is then no longer needed.

With the ABUS SmartX technology “Your key is now an app” – the smartphone becomes a digital key replacement. SmartX locks equipped with this technology can be securely operated via the app, built upon an independent, Bluetooth-based,

cyclingindustry.news 77

PROFILE

ABUS

A KEYCARD AS PHYSICAL PROOF OF OWNERSHIP To ensure best security, the ABUS Keycard is used in addition to the encrypted Bluetooth protocol: as physical proof of ownership. The Keycard is unique for each component and, in addition to the serial number, bears the name of each individual component equipped with SmartX technology (e.g. lock or remote control). To unlock and verify components, the QR code on the card is scanned via the app. Each user then receives an individual security key per component.

Abus SmartX technology gives each Keycard and each associated component a unique security key. This technology, combined with the high standard of mechanical security, which the ABUS locks offer anyway, the consumer gets the perfect combination of convenience and security.

For the rapidly expanding e-Mobility sector, creating a cMAP cloud-based hub – the central platform for managing Abus security devices and users – has also presented bike brands with the opportunity to integrate Abus technology into their own electric bike products.

Critical to mention is that all Abus technology-based product ranges meet security and regulatory standards for IT and personal data, which, it should be pointed out, are uniquely stringent in the German marketplace. ‘How so?’

I hear you say. Well, international cloud-based technology solutions providers are encouraged to have servers based in Germany when providing services in Germany. No other country expects this level of protection for personal data. Abus products are therefore developed for global customers, with a German view of security at their core.

The technology-based security innovation we’re looking at here comes from a business that in its long history has been trusted to deliver security solutions for healthcare providers, industrial manufacturers, retailers, and museums, as well as a who’s who of the bicycle industry.

IT’S NOT JUST FOR THE CONSUMER Might your customer like the idea of being able to disable their e-Bike motor when locking and leaving their bike? No problem with a secure, appbased, function which can be integrated into third-party apps.

WHO’S BUYING A DIGITAL LOCK IN A BIKE SHOP? Being able to unlock your bike with your phone is, in any situation, 100% about making life easier. Afterall, we typically know exactly where our phone is – likely in our hand / definitely

communication technology that “digitalises” the key in a secure way. In addition, authorisations can also be assigned to third parties via the associated app – so that a family member, friend or employee can spontaneously unlock the lock to use a bike.

78 cyclingindustry.news

to hand – at all times. The device in our hands has become a familiar substitute to bank cards, cameras, newspaper; it’s all there in one convenient and tiny supercomputer.

Now it’s important to acknowledge that customer segmentation will be a critical part of the success of Abus’ digital products in your store.

Thinking broadly, the type of customer who is open to, and enthusiastic about, the idea of buying a digital lock will self-identifying as a fan of innovative products which make things easier and improve quality of daily life.

Existing e-Bike and e-Cargo bike customers; people for whom a bike is relied upon as a fast, ultra-low emissions, means to get from A to B on a daily basis.

Technology fans who will make a natural connection with an App-based product.

Business owners exploring e-Bikes and e-Cargo bikes as an efficient and effective alternative form of transport.

Making your customers’ life easier, just got easier; that’s sellable. These are things we know to have a shared, common, value. Just ask any Apple fan, the driver of a car with keyless entry, or the rider of an e-Bike.

Now about that bicycle which is relied upon as daily transport. How does your customer secure it?. www.abus.com

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ASK THE BOSS David Lane > Paligap

SET FOR A GOODYEAR Having just moved into two new buildings, Paligap is getting itself set to hold more of the brands it exclusively carries. MD David Lane talks IBD exclusives, custom clothing and having stock of tyres!

How’s business for Paligap heading into 2022 and what were some of the less typical trends for you over 2021 and during Covid times?

The second half of 2021 saw things calm down and business return to the prepandemic norm. This gave us a chance to refocus our efforts and plan for 2022. The start to 2022 has gone well and we have seen our core customers, across multiple brands, place bigger forecasts ahead of time, which has been essential for us to ensure we have sufficient stock levels.

Earlier on in the pandemic things weren’t so clear cut and there was a large degree of uncertainty to begin with. It wasn’t until bike shops were deemed essential that things took off. I think it is fair to say that the pandemic took everyone within the cycling industry by surprise.

Cycling was suddenly the sport the whole of the UK wanted to try. Whilst this is a great thing it did come with its drawbacks as demand for products outweighed supply across the whole industry.

With your broad overview on the marketplace, what can you tell your accounts about trading patterns and stock levels of your key lines going into this year?

Paligap has invested heavily in all of our brands to ensure that we have good stock levels across the board throughout the season to support our customers. We have large orders in place with Goodyear and Stans No Tubes through to 2023. It has become clear that the tyre category is one that most competitors are experienc-

ing extremely high lead times with. We are fortunately in the unique position of working closely with Goodyear, who are in sole control of not just the manufacturing process, but of their entire supply chain, which means we have had less issues and going into 2022 we have sufficient stock coming in.

Paligap’s rebrand now sits pride of place at the firm’s new HQ

You’ve just moved into a new HQ – tell us about what the upgrade offers the business and how it will improve your functionality?

We were hoping to move into the new building before the pandemic hit, but sadly this had the knock-on effect of causing delays. We have been sharing office space with a local business. We are now very happy to be in our new home.

We have invested in two buildings, one will be the office space, showroom, and daily order fulfilment facility. The second building will be used for additional storage and will allow our business to grow and enable us to carry more stock. Both buildings are energy efficient and environmentally friendly with small carbon footprints, which is essential. We have also installed electric car charging points for staff and visitors. We are looking forward to hosting suppliers, customers and cycling clubs and to become a hub for all things cycling within the local area.

“WE ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO HOSTING SUPPLIERS, CUSTOMERS AND CYCLING CLUBS AND TO BECOME A HUB FOR ALL THINGS CYCLING LOCALLY.”

That aside, has Paligap any plans for expansion in terms of brands, staff or other?

Paligap are very happy with our brands,

Kingud bike cleaner is said to be environmentally friendly and is a Paligap exclusive

cyclingindustry.news 81

ASK THE BOSS David Lane > Paligap

Goodyear tyres will expand the line deeper into off road later this year with a trio of MTB tyres

“PALIGAP OFFERS A PROGRAMME THAT IS CALLED ALE X, WHICH GIVES BIKE SHOPS THE OPPORTUNITY TO CHOOSE AND DESIGN THEIR OWN KIT.”

Ale clothing now has lines made with 92% recycled fabrics

82 cyclingindustry.news

each of we exclusively distribute in the UK, and we pride ourselves on being experts by focusing all our efforts on these small number of core brands rather than trying to distribute far too many brands and not being experts on any and just selling boxes.

We are always on the lookout for new opportunities, but these have to be a good fit for us and complement our portfolio.

On staff, we currently have vacancies for two positions; a Brand Manager for Stans No Tubes and Goodyear, plus a Brand Specialist for the South West Territory.

What have been the key success stories among your brands and what should shops watch out for in 2022?

Stans No Tubes: 2021 saw tubeless become increasingly popular with more road and gravel riders choosing to swap.

We have increased our Stans ambassadors who have done a great job of spreading the message during 2021. We also released the new MK4 rims towards the end of 2021. During 2022 we are excited to release three new products including, the new M-pulse hub, S2 wheelsets and the new MK4 wheelsets.

Goodyear: For our tyre label 2021 was when the new and improved road and gravel tyres were released, which were supported with many good reviews across the UK online and print cycling publications.

This is a really IBD focused product. We have only partnered with three online retailers, and we have a competitively priced product with the best and most achievable margins in the category.

During 2022 we will see the launch of the new MTB line-up with tyres such as the Peak, the Escape, and the eagerly-awaited Newton range.

Cipollini: Last year we rebuilt the Cipollini network in the UK and have also added on some new partners. All shops are handpicked and offer a truly bespoke bike shop experience. Shops such as Ron Spencer Cycles, Push Cartel, Life Cycle UK, The Gorilla Firm, Lutterworth Cycle Centre and The Veloshop Hereford have all had great success with the brand in 2021. During this period we also partnered with the Crimson Performance Race Team who are currently ranked No. 1 in the UK. On product, the Cipollini Dolomia frameset was also announced and has been very popular. This year we are excited to see the new Flusso eBikes arrive and we also have the brandnew Ad.One frameset due to arrive soon.

Ale: 2021 saw the release of some key products for Ale and the green range was

very popular because it is made with 92% recycled fabrics. We began the process of partnering with some indie bike shops to offer clothing instore. In 2022 we are launching our new ambassador programme and have also partnered with some well-known professional cycling teams in the UK. We look forward to announcing these shortly.

Kingud: In 2021 we became the exclusive distributor in the UK for Kingud products. The range is environmentally friendly, exclusive to independent bike shops and not available online. 2022 will see some new products added and further high-profile team partnerships.

With Ale you able to offer shops a custom clothing programme. How can accounts take advantage?

Paligap offer a programme that is called Ale X, which gives the bike shop the opportunity to choose and design their own kit.

This eliminates any online competition and enables the IBD to sell a product which is unique to them. There is a small MOQ to get on board. All items are designed in the UK with an in-house designer and then produced in Italy with short lead times.

With Stans and Goodyear you’re a go to for Tubeless solutions and Tyres. Has the tubeless trend taken over completely now?

Tubeless has been around and something used by mountain bikers for years. It has been slower to make its way into the road market, but with more pro teams and more awareness in the marketplace we are starting to see more interest. It has been great to launch Goodyear Road and Gravel in 2021 and we have seen that the tubeless tyres are much more popular than the tubed type. There will always be some people that just won’t change and that’s not a problem because all of the tyres in the Goodyear range come in both “Tubeless Complete” or “Tubed type.”

We have only had access to Goodyear road and gravel tyres so far and they have been really popular. Most of our customers run Goodyear Tyres with Stans Sealant.

We have got lots of projects planned this year to really focus on educating the consumer on why tubeless is the best solution for on and off road. We are excited to launch the new M Pulse Hubs and Mk4 for wheelsets in Q2 this year along with the new Goodyear Newton tyres, so we will have a strong offering across road, gravel and MTB. www.paligap.cc

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