Industry Digest: Ellsworth’s New Owners, Shimano Shuts Down Fake Website, 2022 Forecast
RP Designs acquires the Ellsworth brand
By: Bicycle Retailer and Industry News
New cycling components company RP Designs has acquired the Ellsworth mountain bike brand from the ASG group. RP Designs and Ellsworth will offer a full line of bikes, components and accessories. Ellsworth will continue to focus on the design and manufacture of mountain bikes and will operate separately from RP Designs.
RP Designs, which was launched this year by CEO Rudi Pienaar to develop smart cycling technology, has four patents pending, including the Smart-Cockpit, which has an ongoing crowdfunding campaign at StartEngine with 20 investors and 49 $ 772 collected Wednesday afternoon. The Smart-Cockpit is a touchscreen integrated into the handlebars equipped with Apple Carplay and Android Auto wireless technologies. RP Designs has stated that the Ellsworth Truth will be the first mountain bike offered with the Smart-Cockpit. Pre-orders for Truth will begin in March, and deliveries are expected in June.
“The primary mission of RP Designs is to drive rapid, focused innovation in products designed for the wider cycling industry, and the Ellsworth brand fits the bill,†said Pienaar. “Not only will we instill the core corporate mission into every Ellsworth product, but the products will have RP Designs technology as standard or as an option, which we hope will generate tremendous value for cyclists and stakeholders. . “
(Read more.)
Vosper: Five things that could happen in 2022. Or not.
By: Rick Vosper
Lots of things, no doubt, ranging from the tempting to the disastrous. Here are five of the most exciting possibilities that could (or not) occur in our industry over the next twelve months, along with an estimate of their likelihood.
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Bianchi plans a carbon frames factory and head office in Italy
By: Bicycle Retailer and Industry News
Bianchi CEO Fabrizio Scalzotto reviewed the plans on Thursday at the company’s current headquarters in Via delle Battaglie, which has been home to the company for more than 50 years.
(Read more.)
Shimano gets fake customs clearance website removed
By: Bicycle Retailer and Industry News
Shimano claims to have successfully asked the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers to remove an e-commerce website because it was masquerading as a Shimano company site.
“After discovering the site in question, we promptly petitioned for its closure to relevant agencies and organizations, including sending a warning letter, and we confirmed that the site was closed in early December.” , Shimano announced on Wednesday. “We will continue to take resolute action against any suspicious website masquerading as our company or group.”
(Read more.)
The industry still struggles to understand the impact of e-bikes
By: Marc Sani
Whether it’s unit sales, average selling price, inventory, supply chain issues, rider usage, safety training, reporting of related injuries and fatalities to electric bicycles, supplier and vendor liability, battery recycling, new trends in advocacy or the impact of internet sales, the industry lacks precise baselines to measure the future potential of the electric bicycle industry.
(Read more.)
MIPS Unveils Virtual Test Lab That May Shorten Headset Development Times
By: Bicycle Retailer and Industry News
According to MIPS, VTL will allow brands to understand a headset’s performance in linear and rotary tests early on, reducing development time. It will be more environmentally friendly, with less retooling and materials consumed, while being more cost effective.
(Read more.)
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