NEWS
Crowd funding comes to the bicycle industry
Frame building academy turns to future punters to secure setting-up cash Popularity surpasses expectation to become 80% funded in 48 hours
by Jonathon Harker
levels were first to face the chop for 70 per cent of our panel, overwhelmingly more than any other area, with ‘cheaper utility bill sourcing’ the runner up with 41.9 per cent. The results of our Cycling Sports Group-
backed survey, which discusses finance, cycle to work business, the workshop and trends among other things, can be found on pages 14 and 15 and the results will be published on
BikeBiz.com shortly after the magazine hits doormats.
THE BICYCLE trade has seen the foundation of its first crowd-funded business – the Bicycle Academy. Teaching frame building skills to students, the Bicycle Academy started with no funds of its own and turned to crowd funding site
Peoplefund.it where it sought contributions from members of the public. In return, contributors received
‘rewards’ including a place on one of the courses, which will be led by Brian Curtis, when it opens its doors in February. While it is still accepting pledges, the
Bicycle Academy has already hit its funding target, at a speed that exceeded expectation.
Contributors
pledging £500 pre- bought a place on one of the first courses before they became available to anyone else. Smaller pledges from £20 will also see rewards. Each of the
“We were 80 per cent funded in the within 48 hours,” founder Andrew Denham told BikeBiz. “ As far as I know, we are the first
crowd-funded bicycle business in the UK. “The pledges all get a valuable return.
They are not a donation – there’s a tangible outcome.”
frames built at the course, which is aimed at hobbyists, will be donated to the Recycle charity, which takes bicycles to locations in Africa, where bikes provide essential and relatively quick transport to food, water, work or education.
www.thebicycleacademy.org
Cyclefit launches event, while Bike Blenheim expands
New and expanded bicycle events are set to take place in 2012, in London and Oxfordshire
by Mark Sutton
Roger Taylor said: “The eleven Best Buy UK ‘Big Box’ stores have performed exceptionally at the level of customer satisfaction, but they do not have the national reach to achieve scale and brand economies. “Due to the lack of visibility of an acceptable rate of return on historical and future potential investment we have decided against rolling out more ‘Big Box’ stores and we will be closing our existing stores, subject to consultation with our employees. Our immediate focus is our people and we are confident that the large majority will be offered alternative positions elsewhere in our UK business.” See Comment on page three.
BIKE FITTING experts Cyclefit have announced a January event set for the London Design Centre, dubbed the International Cyclefit Symposium. The two-day gathering, costing £500
a ticket, gives attendees access to two days of workshops, seminars and access to experts from the bike fitting, medical and academic community. Pitched as a ‘forum into the
relationship between body and bicycle’, the meet up will draw on expertise from senior representatives of Trek, Retul and Fizik, while medical experts such as Dr Nigel Stephens, a consultant cardiologist, will discuss topics such as ‘cycling versus the human heart’.
Among other experts, Dr Jeff Broker
from the University of Colorado Springs will also fly in to discuss Pedalling Kinesiology. To register, visit
www.cyclefit.co.uk. Meanwhile in other event news, Bike Blenheim Palace is to expand its ‘festival of cycling’ to span two days – August 18th and 19th. The Brompton World Championships
host, held on the World Heritage site, will add fresh events for next year’s crowds, including a 40km off-road sportive, cyclocross rides and a 1km sprint event. Camping is to be introduced for the first time, including catering for competitors and exhibitors who wish to stay the duration of the event. For more
about the event and opportunities, contact Antony Auty on 07920 008824, or email
aa@bikesoup.co.uk.
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