INTERVIEW | FORZA
Forza new path
Forza is stepping out of Ridley’s shadow as a standalone brand. Jonathon Harker speaks to the key players behind Forza ahead of stock arriving in February…
“Forza in Italian is the word for power and strength. It’s also used to encourage riders in competition. It reflects what we want to do.”
Forza CEO Bengt Friberg and International Sales Manager Jo McAleer (above)
Forza’s product range includes bars, wheels, stems, saddles, forks and assorted P&A
IN THE HALLS of Birmingham’s National Exhibition Centre, Moore Large – via its ‘Todays Cyclist’ stand – revealed its deal to bring Forza components to the market. The standalone parts and accessories brand is of course closely associated with Ridley Bikes, but come February next year UK bike dealers will be able to get their hands on a wider new look range that will come in three levels: Stratos, Cirrus and Cirrus Pro. Moore Large sales director Dale Smith said
the distributor’s sales staff are itching to get hold of it: “Going forwards the brand is an interesting proposition. It’s full of potential and there’s exciting stuff ahead,” he tells BikeBiz. Forza’s chief executive officer Bengt Friberg came to the brand in January this year and with his arrival came a wealth of changes for Forza, as we’ll go into later. But in the meantime, Friberg illuminates BikeBiz as to how the brands fit together.
BIKEBIZ.COM
“Forza is part of Ridley – part of a group called Race Productions,” explains Friberg. “It’s been around for ten years, so it’s not really a new brand, but it is new as a standalone brand. “Forza components have historically only been used as spec on the Ridley bikes, these components were made and therefore were fitted only to a certain type of bike. “Now we’re an aftermarket brand, more
than an OEM brand. That’s quite important to get across.”
KEEPING IT SIMPLE “Now we’ve changed the structure of the range,” adds Friberg. “The Forza brand works on three levels, because we wanted it to be simple for dealers. Dealers are important and it keeps things simple for distributors too.” As a former bike retailer himself, Friberg understands the value of simplicity, which is something that he calls ‘a benefit for everyone’.
>>> BIKEBIZ NOVEMBER 13
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