Tweet from Tinkoff Saxo (@tinkoff_saxo)
Tinkoff Saxo (@tinkoff_saxo) tweeted at 1:06 pm on Sun, Nov 22, 2015:
Team effort during a demanding stage of the 2015 @TourDeRomandie https://t.co/rlvPvZ0eL5
(https://twitter.com/tinkoff_saxo/status/668415238392389632?s=03)
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@Cyclingnewsfeed: Froome to begin 2016 season at Jayco Herald Sun Tour in Australia http://bit.ly/1PKdF8H http://twitter.com/Cyclingnewsfeed/status/666282915144314880/photo/1
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How can we make cycling safer?
Submit your idea to win €5000!
Background Information
The latest figures released by the UK government show that the number of people killed or seriously injured cycling in large urban areas of the UK has increased.
This rise comes at a time when the government have reaffirmed their plans to double the amount of daily cycling trips by 2025.
With that in mind, there is an ever growing requirement to make cycling as safe as possible. How can this be achieved using modern and emerging technologies?
Brought to you by Allianz in partnership with CTC: The National Cycling Charity
Fidget Keyring ... These fantastic little keychains make a great gift and will be loved by any Cyclist or Bike Rider
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What's It All About?
We are based in the UK and devoted to cycling in all weathers. This site is an extension of our love of cycling, and is our contribution to the global cycling phenomenon! It's important to share the benefits and joys of owning a bike, which is why we are committed to giving at least 10% of our profits to Re-Cycle.
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ORANGE BIKES HAS BEEN SOLD!!
...don't worry.
Orange Bikes Has Been Sold
This just in. Yorkshire bike company, Orange Bikes, has a new owner. It's not going far, though, in fact it's not going anywhere. The new owner is Ashley Ball, who runs Bairstows Sheet Metal in Halifax. This is also where the distinctive folded frames start life and are welded.
And, something that the press release neglects to mention is that, not only has Ashley been closely involved with every Orange frame design for years, he is also Steve Wade's nephew, so there's still going to be a strong family tie.
Lester and Steve decided it was time to pass on the torch to new blood and a search for a suitable candidate began. It was important to find someone with the right belief and ability to continue with the Orange Bikes philosophy and build upon the solid company foundations they laid down in 1988.
Since the very beginning Lester and Steve have been hands-on in the design and marketing roles in the company. They have assembled a solid team within the company and also championed bicycle frame manufacturing in the UK when the rest of the world's cycle industry were looking to the Far East. Establishing an iconic line of award winning high-performance mountain bikes also led them to success with World Cup Championship winners in Mountain Bike Downhill Racing. Their UK frame building partner in the endeavour has always been Bairstows in Halifax who, since 2000, has been owned and run by Ashley Ball.
After negotiations from several candidates it became increasingly obvious that Ashley Ball was head and shoulders above the rest to fill the criteria. Having successfully grown the Bairstows Sheet Metal business by 400% and moving the company to its new 35,000 square feet plant in Elland, just down the road from the Orange Mountain Bikes factory, it was clearly the right move.
Lester Noble said "We've been looking a for suitor to carry on the work we've done with Orange Bikes, and we did not want to go down the 'Big Corporate Buyout' route as so many others have done, it's just not the Orange way. When Ashley made it clear to us he would like to take over at Orange, we quickly realised our search was over and began negotiating the details that these things always involve."
To finalise the company acquisition Ashley worked closely with the teams from BHP Corporate Finance, HLW Keeble Hawson, who provided financial and legal advice respectively, and the HSBC Bank who were all indispensable to the final outcome.
Steve Wade commented "I am very happy that Ashley has taken on the role. He has always worked closely with me on the design, prototyping and manufacture of Orange's UK frame production, Ash will now take the company on for the next generation."
While this is unquestionably a business deal, this take-over runs much deeper and Ashley's wide ranging knowledge of unique sheet metal and engineering techniques are now seen in the Orange Mountain Bikes signature look.
"The Orange management team and I already have a close working relationship and this will only be further strengthened now as we embark on a new chapter in the company's history." said Ashley.
"Orange and its manufacturing partner Bairstows have a long standing relationship and this deal strengthens that relationship as both parties interests are aligned under the same ownership.
"As one of Orange's earliest fans it is important to me that the core values of the brand and its products are protected while embarking on a vision to broaden the range of bikes and establish the brand in new markets. To carry the mantle of Orange bikes is an incredible responsibility but also presents an amazing opportunity."
AirDonkey: introducing the Airbnb for bicycles
AirDonkey: introducing the Airbnb for bicycles
A Danish company hopes to capitalise on the boom in cycling by helping bicycle owners rent out their bikes to tourists. But will it work in Britain?
According to the old management maxim, "a camel is a horse designed by committee".
So what, you may ask, is a donkey? In the case of a new startup company that is quickly gaining attention online, the answer is: a cross between Airbnb and Uber (with, er, bikes thrown in.)
AirDonkey is the brainchild of Erdem Ovacik and Alexander Frederikse, two Danish friends who want to bring easily rentable bicycles to a city near you.
Their idea works much the same as Airbnb, the app that helps people to rent out their spare bedrooms to tourists visiting the city. Airbnb has proven to be hugely succesful, offering homeowners the chance to make some cash on the side while allowing visitors to find affordable accomodation - and Ovacik and Frederikse hope to emulate its success in the bicycle rental market.
AirDonkey's starter kit includes a placard that must be attached to the bike's handlebars
Under the scheme, owners or spare of little-used bikes are encouraged to buy an AirDonkey 'starter kit' (RRP roughly €80), which buys them a specially designed electronic lock for their bicycle. They can then advertise the bike's availability and whereabouts on the associated app, allowing users to book the bicycle for a day or longer.
Once payment - normally set at around €10 per day - has been processed, the renter can lock and unlock the bicycle by the flick of a switch on their smartphone.
Ovacik and Frederikse say they have successfully tested the idea in Copenhagen with 150 bikes. Under the company name Donkey Republic, they are now trying to source investment to roll out the scheme worldwide.
A Kickstarter project established by the duo has currently raised kr129,139 (£12,467) of a kr250,000 goal (£24,131), with 31 days still to run before the deadline.
"Too many people only use their bike once in a while or has a spare bike for guests that is hardly ever used," said Ovacik. "We want to enable people to make money from their own bike, their spare bike and also give them the chance to start micro-businesses.
• 10 best high-vis cycling jackets
"This way they can co-create a better economy and experiences for both bike owners and bicycle users at the same time. The lock combined with the platform provides them with the opportunity to do all that".
AirDonkey is not the first bicycle rental app - Splinster, for example, operates in similar territory - but it differentiates itself from others by allowing the bikes to 'roam free', rather than forcing renters to return them to an exact location at the end of the day. Instead, renters on AirDonkey merely specify a geographical zone where the bike should be left once used.
A heavy duty locking mechanism may be required if AirDonkey is to work in Britain's hot-fingered cities
Herein lies AirDonkey's biggest obstacle to cracking the British market. Bike theft in Scandinavia and much of continental Europe is much lower in Britain, where we tend to spend more on first- and second-hand bikes. As a result, AirDonkey might struggle to attract bike owners who are willing to leave their bikes with only a basic wheel clamp as protection.
The company say they are working on a stronger lock that would allow users to attach the bicycle to a permanent object - but for now, it remains to be seen whether this donkey runs like a horse or a camel.
Awesome Products
Brixton Cycles becomes latest bike shop to hit crowd-funding target
UPDATE: It turns out that Brixton Cycles isn't the first bike shop to have hit a crowd funding target, with Roll for the Soul- a community bike cafe and workshop - having done the same.
London's oldest worker-owned bike cooperative has been saved by the crowd, after a £40K crowdfunding campaign hit its target in less than a week.
Brixton Cycles – named 'London's best small bike retailer' by the London Cycling Awards – officially launched its campaign on Crowdfunder.co.uk on Thursday evening (22 October) and hit its target just before 7pm last night, five days later.
The campaign's public launch was preceded by a private preview to the shop's nearest and dearest, on Wednesday 21st, which generated more than 25% of funds towards the crowdfunding total. The campaign now has a new target of £80,000 with 28 days left to go.
Brixton Cycles is fundraising to find a new home in Brixton, after discovering that the shop's current premises are to be demolished to make way for luxury flats in early 2016, as part of the gentrification of the area.
what inspires you to keep riding through the dark winter evenings?
Do you hang up your wheels during the winter, or do you keep cycling whatever the weather? We asked road.cc readers on Facebook what motivates and inspires them to keep cycling through the winter. The replies are enough to make us want to get out on the bike right now. - 16 Top tips to keep YOU motivated and cycling through the winter
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"very strong case for change" in way cycling death cases handled says ex-crown prosecution head
Former Director of Public Prosecutions, Sir Keir Starmer believes there is a "very strong case" for change in the way the cases involving the death of a cyclist are currently handled by the law. The former head of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) believes decisions to prosecute cases in which a cyclist has been killed in a road traffic incident should be made by the CPS and not the police.
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Fox Buys Marzocchi… Well, Some Of It
Fox Factory Holding Corp has announced that they have purchased 'certain assets' of troubled mountain bike suspension company Marzocchi.
Although they have not said exactly what they are buying, Fox CEO Larry Enterline said, 'We are excited to announce the agreement to acquire certain assets of the Marzocchi mountain bike product lines, which we believe is a significant opportunity for Fox to further expand the penetration of our bike suspension products across more price points,'
Considering there really isn't any such thing as a cheap Fox fork it's fair to assume they are planning to use the Marzocchi brand at the cheaper end of the market.
In July we reported that Marzocchi's parent company, Tenneco was liquidating the Marzocchi business.. The MTB suspension arm of the company continued to exhibit at Eurobike in August despite the rest of the company being liquidated. The official line from the company was that they were still hopeful of a buyer for the MTB side of the company. Looks like that buyer was Fox.
Fox have said they will release more details about the purchase next month.
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Tour de France to return to Mont Ventoux in 2016
The 2016 Tour de France is set to feature a summit finish on the Mont Ventoux, sometimes rated as the country's single most difficult climb. The race will apparently have a stage finish there on July 14th, France's national holiday.
According to French newspaper La Provence, a finish on the Ventoux will be included in the 2016 Tour route, for what would be the tenth arrival on the 'Bald Mountain' - it has crossed over the summit a further six times - in the race's history. The stage will apparently start, as it did when it finished on the Ventoux in 1965, in the city of Montpellier, with a victory for Raymond Poulidor. First tackled in a stage that crossed the Ventoux in 1951, the most recent ascent of the Ventoux was in 2013, with a win for Chris Froome (Team Sky), beating Nairo Quintana (Movistar Team) by 29 seconds, that effectively sealed his overall victory on that year's Tour de France. It is thought that the Tour will tackle the Ventoux on the most frequently used approach road, through the town of Bedoin at the foot of what is, when the Ventoux is tackled from that direction, a 21.8 kilometre ascent.
The following day's start is rumoured to be in the town of Bourg-Saint-Andeol, around 100 kilometres northwest of the Ventoux. The Tour would then possibly head towards the Alps and several stages in Switzerland for the remainder of the second and the whole of the third week before finishing on July 24th.
The entire Tour de France route will be revealed on October 20th in Paris. The only official data so far is that it begins in Mont-Saint-Michel on July 2nd, with two complete stages in Normandy, the first from Mont-Saint-Michel to Utah Beach, the second from Cherbourg to Octeville and the third starting in Granville.
Colombia team on the brink of closure due to funding problems
On the day Esteban Chaves looked set to win the Abu Dhabi Tour and confirm his place in a growing generation of talented riders, Colombia – the team that helped him turn professional in 2012 - is on the brink of closure to due a lack of funding from the Colombian Ministry of Sport.
The Colombia team has raced as a Professional Continental outfit since 2012 under the guidance of experienced Italian team manager Claudio Corti. The team is in action in both Italy and Abu Dhabi as the season ends but the GP Beghelli and the Abu Dhabi Tour could be the team’s final races.
Corti has worked to keep the team afloat despite delays in sponsorship payments from Colombia but has revealed he will pull the plug on the team if funding is not confirmed and guaranteed for 2016.
“I think it’s very difficult that the team will continue, I’ll make a final decision at the start of the week,” Corti told Cyclingnews.
“I’m waiting for a final decision from the Minister for Sport but the Colombian government does not have the same finances available to invest in the sport and especially in the team for 2016. They’re also preparing for the Rio Olympics and building new stadiums, so there’s less for the team. However I can’t continue to run the team with any less than we do now.”
“We’ve had a good relationship over the years and if a Colombian sponsor came along it would be great but I’m not optimistic. I’ve registered the team for 2016 with the UCI but its time to arrange the bank guarantee and confirm the funding otherwise I’ll have to make a final decision. I don’t want to the doubts to drag on.”
The Colombia team has ridden a European programme since 2012, helping Colombian riders like Chaves, Fabio Duarte, John Atapuma and Jarlinson Pantano develop and join bigger teams. The team has been invited to several Grand Tours. It was overlooked for a place in this year’s Giro d’Italia but rode the Vuelta a Espana. The success of Nairo Quintana, Rigoberto Uran and now Esteban Chaves has highlighted the potential of Colombian riders but also stolen the spotlight from the Colombia team.
Corti seemed ready to take a sabbatical from the sport, in the hope of making a return in 2017.
“I’ll perhaps have a year out, find a bigger sponsor in Europe or the Colombians will come back in the future,” he said.
“It’s not a problem for me, I’ve been in the pro peloton for 37 years as a manager and directeur sportif. Before that I raced for 12 years. I’ve had to start all over again in the past and will do it in the future.”
“It’ll be a pity if the team ends because it represents Colombia. So many people think Colombia is just drugs and war but that’s not true. We showed that Colombia can be present at the highest level of sport. It was a way to promote the country, develop young riders, show that Colombia is a modern country and reach out to the many Colombian people who live all over the world
Titanium bikes are becoming more and more popular. With this in mind we tested Vaaru's race focused Octane 6-4. Here are our thoughts
Vaaru Octane 6-4
Pros:
- Top quality titanium frame
- Comfortable
- Stiff
Cons:
- One-piece carbon bars
- No internal cabling option
- Price
Manufacturer:
VaaruPrice as reviewed:
£6,099.0Read more at http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/reviews/road-bikes/vaaru-octane-6-4#IH7dCoteVDAPmu4C.99
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