PALIGAP
Powertap’s G3, now some £300 cheaper
Avanti’s Ridgeline, now with a carbon frame
DMT’s new flagship road shoe - the Vega
Potential with Paligap
With a generous re-pricing of Powertap wheels and the expansion of the Avanti bike lines available to the UK retailer, Mark Sutton finds Paligap in ship shape going into 2014…
“IN ITS native New Zealand, Avanti outsells the big names at a scale of nearly 3:1.” That’s a bold claim, but then there’s 11,000 miles between the shores and of course the UK is a notoriously difficult market to grab market share from. That’s the goal, though, according to Paligap.
The bikes are certainly headturners and the
range has a depth that would satisfy the larger shop floors out there. For shops that have had account requests with some of the current UK’s market leaders knocked back, Avanti represents an opportunity to offer product that technically is up there with the best, but will also offer some interesting bread and butter sales. Take the Avanti Ubo women’s bike – at £650 there are cheaper sit-up-and-beg bikes, but the build quality and spec are indicative of the ticket. The three-speed gearhub, combined with the flowing curves of the frame give a clean and simple to maintain finish, while the contact points are tailored to the female form. Complete with mudguards and a carrier up front it’s bound to be popular with the customer who wants to get out and about by bike more. There’s innovation within the range too,
particularly evident in the flagship Corsa SL aero, which this year sports refined tube
24 BIKEBIZ OCTOBER
profiles, an under bottom bracket brake and a tweaked fork profile that has shaved a considerable amount of weight. The best bit? A 105 spec complete build comes in at just £2,000 at retail. Avanti has also begun to dabble with belt
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“Avanti outsells the big names 3:1 in its native New Zealand...”
drives, as seen at the top of the Inc line. Particularly popular in urban areas, the Alfine hub geared Inc 3 at £1,300 is as low maintenance a bike as you’ll find. Like the majority of the industry, 650b is ubiquitous in the 2014 catalogue, in fact just one 26-inch wheel features in the mountain bike catalogue, which begins at £450 for a cable disc build. Higher in the range, the 100mm travel Ridgeline XC has gone carbon this year and we’re told that likely means that we’ll see the popular Torrent trail bike follow suit next year. Retailers will welcome the news that
Powertap clad wheels will become more affordable this year, with last year’s breakthrough G3 hub slashed from more than £1,000 to just £700. A G3 hub laced to an alloy rim will sell for just £900. For the seriously competitive cyclist, wheels with both Reynolds and Enve are on offer, with the former Reynolds carbon coming in at £1,950 and the Enve SES set to retail for £2,800 in
either a 45 or 65mm rim depth. The hubs have become more user-friendly too and you’ll now find the end cap removes to reveal a micro USB from which you can easily download data. Paligap has an in-house service station for any issues that may arise. DMT had a wealth of new shoes on display, including a new road flagship. 80 per cent of the line has undergone a revamp, with the firm throwing a ‘huge sum’ of cash at the research and development end, part of which is evident in the more UK-friendly, toned- down colour palette. AT the top-end, road customers are now
best served by the Vega, which benefits from a new reduced weight sole unit. Venting is prominent, with 1mm thick side panels channelling air through the shoe and out of the heel. One of the subtle, but welcome touches are two Velcro tabs on the tounge to prevent movement. Each shoe in the range, even the entry level
£75 Aries, now benefits from a replaceable heel buffer. As far as value for money goes, retailers should look out for the £120 Pegasus, which benefits from a Boa and Velcro closure and numerous other top-end features that have trickled down.
www.paligap.cc
BIKEBIZ.COM
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