COREbike: product highlights for the season ahead, part one

A welcome return to COREBike for the UK trade produced plenty of opportunity to catch up in-person, which for some will have meant more attention given to old friends than individual products. With the Covid-led absence of trade events, plenty that may not necessarily have been brand new was indeed being seen for the first time. Here’s a handful of product highlights that may be worth consideration for your store in the season ahead…

Kids Riding Shotgun
Supplier: Velobrands
01363 85617

One of those brands that has joined a distributor during the Covid-led show interval and as such was new to many checking in with Velobrands, Shotgun is a label dedicated to improving the enjoyment kids get from cycling journeys with their parents.

With 200,000 units sold globally, Shotgun has hit the market with both a tow rope product, priced at £55, that pulls tailing children along on the parent’s steam and also a top-tube and handlebar mounted kit for riding up front.

The top tube mounted saddle and stirrups product can be bought with or without a stacked miniature handlebar to give the kids a bespoke grip option, rather than clasping the bike’s bar. Able to support 25 kilos (two to five year olds), the adjustable unit attaches via quick release between seatpost and headset, with the saddle sliding along the rail to suit the desired reach.

The combo of saddle, stirrups and mini handlebar comes in at £225 and in the box comes a handful of stickers to engage kids while you’re installing the product for the customer.

Clicking into place with Industry Nine
Supplier: Lyon Equipment
01539 624040

New with Lyon Equipment is Industry Nine, a specialist in high-performance wheels and the component parts within; though the brand also manufactures stems, among other goods.

Since this is a performance brand, we’ll flag the performance product that’s a head turner for most tuning in for the first time. The firm’s Hydra hub, used in Lyon’s teaser promo of the incoming brand, has a 690-point engagement, with bite points at every half degree. What that means is an astonishingly sharp response on the pedals and a better pairing with high torques cassettes with range into the 50s.

The rear hub will retail for £440 and when paired with a front £660. Modern hub standards are accounted for with iterations for Boost, Superboost and non-Boost, each carrying Enduro Bearings.

Of course the Hydra hubs also come paired with Industry Nine spokes and rims and where high-spec carbon wheelsets are offered the rims stem from Canadian specialist partner We Are One.

Stock of Industry Nine goods begins to land with Lyon in May, but shops are able to place pre orders now.

Enduro Bearings Maxhit has lifetime cover
Supplier: Extra UK
01933 672170

The Enduro Bearings Maxhit land has continued its growth with the addition of a bottom bracket solution to complement the headset launch that came just prior.

Shown at COREbike, the built-tough patent-pending solution seeks to tackle a common weakness of bottom bracket bearings. To achieve this the aluminium bearing cup has been removed and the system instead leans on a increased size 440C stainless steel outer bearing race that actually becomes the BB shell interface. What this approach offers is the ability to upgrade the size of the bearings sunk into deeper bearing race grooves. Ultimately that means a greater surface area and thus an improved durability.

The claims made by Enduro Bearings are well-founded in so much that the product has been subject to over one million tests cycles without signs of wear. What’s more, the advantages carry into performance advantages with Enduro claiming wattage advantages versus leading competitors. The brand has been confident enough to slap a lifetime guarantee on the Maxhit line as a result, which also covers wear and corrosion.

From an installation point of view, shops may also warm to the product. Enduro state that the larger balls have meant that preload can span light to tight and still spin perfectly.

Availability comes shortly, though accounts can pre-order from Extra now. The system has options for BSA 24 (Shimano); BSA 29 (DUB); BSA 30; BB 86/92.

RidePac goes watertight
Supplier: Wildoo Ltd
01908 374555

Makers of customised cycling gear, ranging bottles to neckerchiefs, Wildoo Ltd has come to market with a drybag version of its popular Ridepac, debuted at COREbike.

Likely also a customisable product, Wildoo are running durability tests at present), the welded seam iteration is currently available in black and for a budget friendly £10 per unit. Though Wildoo’s Andy Easterbrook was cautious on calling the roll top unit ‘waterproof’, it is most certainly a more robust weatherproofing option for carriage of mobile phones and anything else your customer desires to keep dry.