SHOW REVIEW | MOORE LARGE: TODAYS CYCLIST
New products and POS from Knog (above left) and Forme (top right)
What’s new at Todays Cyclist?
The revamped Derby showrooms of Moore Large were host to bigger crowds than ever before and chock full of product. Jonathon Harker joined the throng at the Todays Cyclist seminars…
MOORE LARGE’S Todays Cyclist show in the final days of February played host to product debuts and seminar presentations from product managers and principles from the brands in the distributor’s portfolio. Knog’s own Hugo Davidson was amongst
Knog’s Blinder has benefited from feedback garned from its silicone lights launch six years earlier.
those bringing dealers up to speed with the latest from the quirky brand, which has scored a sizable business grant from the Australian government. Any British brands up for a grant from the coalition? Already a highly visible player in the lights
market, Knog has upped its game in the sector with the Blinder range. It was six years ago that Knog released its silicone light range and since then, Davidson tells BikeBiz, all the feedback has been channelled into the Blinder range, itself a year and half in development. The front and rears set you back £4.99 each with 80 lumens in the front, 44 in the rear. They’re USB chargeable and use a lithium polymer battery, possibly a first for the trade, says Knog. Knog’s Blinder range doesn’t mean an end to the silicone line-up, however. The firm has sought to differentiate positioning for the Blinder line-up, which uses an aluminium anodised frontage. A New York artist has been drafted in to put together the marketing for Blinder, marking a
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bit of a departure from Knog’s in-your-face, yet tongue-in-cheek marketing. Packaging has been designed so dealers can take them out of the box and demonstrate them without knackering their all-important display. It is recycled too. Knog’s locks were also a key attraction at the show. POS innovation include the ‘Deli’ which hangs Knog’s Sausage locks like, well, sausages in a deli, saving a ton of space and, says Davidson, boosting sales in some dealers by three to five times more. Re-jigged packaging also means the Sausage locks have shed much packaging. Lake’s international sales manager Patrick
van der Heijden highlighted two lines in particular from the Lake portfolio. In fact the brand is set to be one to watch. Van der Heijden tells BikeBiz that following Lake’s acquisition by a Dutch investor (who is to concentrate on Lake before it eyes further purchases, BikeBiz learns) the firm is determined to knuckle down to the task of becoming the ultimate high end brand of its type, “using the best materials” and with plenty of innovation. The ink is barely dry on the deal – being signed six weeks prior. Speaking of materials, Van der Heijden
informs BikeBiz that if you’re after high performance leather, kangaroo is the type of
choice. The leather is used in Lake’s custom cycle shoe CX401. Using the Boa lacing system and that highly expensive kangaroo leather, the CX401 is, of course, mouldable to the wearer after five minutes in a 90 degree oven (not a microwave, informs Van der Heijden). Simply take out (with gloves), insert foot and do a minimum amount of moulding. And you can always have another go if you want thicker socks under the shoe, etc. Another existing product from Lakes being put under the nose of dealers is the MTB boot. It’s not sexy, claims Van der Heijden (it takes all types), but it really does the job with a highly grippy natural rubber sole and double closure to keep the wet away from the foot (Velcro and Boa lacing). The firm is also touting custom shoe designing. One of the very few brands to offer this, Lake can, customise shoes with club colours, union flags (see pic above) or whatever takes your fancy. Like Lake, Science in Sport (SiS) has also
been purchased in the last 12 months. This will herald some significant changes in packaging and POS, but a cagey SiS staffer swore us to secrecy on any details beyond that. It’s all happening in April, so look out for that. The show also saw 4ZA, of Ridley fame,
plying its wares. It’s been a bit of a whirlwind for 4ZA, which as you no doubt are already
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