MILL VALLEY, Calif. (BRAIN) — True Communications has hired industry veteran Kevin Rouse to join the agency's public and media relations team.

Rouse will join True as an account manager starting immediately. He will be responsible for media strategy and outreach with a number of True clients.

"Kevin brings a great blend of agency and media experience to True, and his talents as a storyteller will serve as a valuable asset in helping our clients tell theirs," said True's founder, Mark Riedy. "Kevin will make a great addition to our team and will be relied on to deliver results that help our clients achieve their goals."

Most recently an account coordinator and senior copywriter for a San Luis Obispo-based brand marketing firm, Rouse has also served as a senior editor at Paved magazine where he oversaw the magazine's digital and social presence, as well as various editorial roles at its sister publication, Bike.

"In my time at both Bike and Paved I witnessed firsthand the level of work that Mark and his team at True consistently delivered," said Rouse. "I admired their work then, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to bring my talents and experience into the fold."

HERMOSA BEACH, Calif. (BRAIN) — Bliss, a Germany-based protective gear brand, is looking to come to the U.S. market this year with its line of lightweight mountain bike pads.

Matthias Ascherl, a former executive with Germany's Cube Bicycles and with the American helmet brand Pro-Tec, co-founded Bliss in 2006. The brand initially focused on the snowboard market, launching its first mountain bike gear in 2010. In recent years Bliss has moved more toward mountain biking, partly due to disappointing winters in Europe that have hampered snowboard sales. Bliss now does about 80 percent of its business in the bike market, Ascherl told BRAIN recently.

Bliss' mountain bike pads feature a thin, flexible, breathable protection material called Armourgel that meets EU standards for motorcycle protective gear.

"The protection technology we are using is very high quality," said Ascherl, the company's managing director. "It is very slim so it is perfect for pedaling and using. It's not too bulky like old generation pads. And the pads are multi-impact and can be easily machine washed without removing the padding."

The Armourgel is 6 mm thick at most and is shock absorbent between 40°C and -20°C (104° to -4° F).

The product line includes tops, vests, shorts, knee and elbow pads, protective hydration packs and gloves.

The company displayed at this year's Sea Otter Classic Expo, and has opened a U.S. office in Southern California. The company is currently selling dealer direct and is hoping to begin work with a small number of U.S. distributors, as well.

In Canada, Bliss is distributed by EU-Can, an Ontario company that also distributes Cube bikes in Canada.

PHILADELPHIA (BRAIN) — Industry veteran George Simone has joined Advanced Sports International in the newly created role of vice president of global business development. Simone is charged with developing short- and long-term growth plans for ASI.

"As our business and brands continue to grow both domestically and internationally, we determined that we needed someone with experience working with multiple brands and with different types of customers," said Pat Cunnane, ASI's president and CEO. "We're always looking at new ways of growing the business, and George has worked in some different areas of development including licensing."

Simone, former VP of IBD sales at Accell North America, left that company in mid-April and has since relocated from Seattle to Philadelphia. He worked at Accell for five years. Prior to Accell, Simone was the vice president of licensing and new business development for Pacific Cycle and Dorel.

"This new role gives me an opportunity to work with an amazing portfolio of brands and to help create a global strategy that will not only continue our growth in the United States but internationally," Simone commented. "I'm also happy to be back where I started – selling Fuji bicycles."

Simone started his career in retail selling Fuji bicycles in Rhode Island and eventually working for Life Cycle, the New England Fuji distributor in Cambridge, Mass.

Simone joined ASI for its sales meeting at Stowe, Vt., two weeks ago to meet his new colleagues. He also will be traveling to Eurobike next month to meet many of ASI's international customers.

TONLEY PARK, Ill. (BRAIN) — This October's first annual Chicagoland Unconventional Bicycle Expo will showcase recumbents, recumbent tricycles, quadracycles, folding cycles, tandems, velomobiles, transporters, e-bikes, special-needs bikes, cargo bikes, child and load trailers, customized designs and accessories.

The CUBE will be held at the Tinley Park Convention Center, Oct. 2-4.

Organizers say it was inspired by Spezi, an annual German "Special" bicycle show.

"It's exciting to see this show come together," said Julie Keating, promoter for CUBE. "I've wanted to showcase this for a long time and for it to come to the Chicago Southland is truly wonderful."

The expo kicks-off with an industry-only showcase from 8 am-noon on Friday, Oct. 2. The public hours of the expo are Friday from noon to 5, then all day Saturday and Sunday.

"It's great having the inaugural showcase come to the Tinley Park Convention Center," said Jim Garrett, president and CEO for the Chicago Southland CVB. "I encourage all bicycle enthusiasts to check out the expo and take advantage of the countless miles of trails that weave throughout the Chicago Southland including the newly finished Cal-Sag
Trail."

The expo will include educational seminars, access to the nation's top unconventional bicycle dealers and test rides on the latest models. 

For more information visit: Cube-Expo.com or email InfoCubeExpo@gmail.com. Limited booth space is still available.

DENVER (BRAIN) — High end framebuilder Alchemy Bicycles is expanding beyond its road and 'cross offerings with a carbon hardtail mountain bike that it is now shipping, and plans to expand its mountain bike offerings in part by working with David Earle's Sotto Group. Sotto Group is an independent design company that has consulted with several bike brands, including Breezer and Look

Alchemy launched its Oros hardtail at the 2015 North American Handmade Bicycle Show, where it won the "Best Carbon Layup" award. The bike is designed for a 100-mm travel fork and is offered with 29-inch wheels on the larger sizes and 27.5-inch wheels on the size Small. It's completely built, painted and finished in Alchemy's Denver factory.

Earle said, "I'm a fan of companies that really put their money where their mouth is ... They say they're built in USA. And they really take that to heart. Not just prototyped. Not just designed — built. I cannot honestly think of any other brand that I'd rather help develop product. I tend to believe that all bikes are beautiful. But we're in supermodel territory here."

More information on the Oros: alchemybicycles.com/bikes/oros-carbon-fiber-hard-tail.

SAN CARLOS, Calif. (BRAIN) — Beeline Bikes has closed a $2.6 million Series A financing round led by Backcountry.com, owner of Competitive Cyclist, that will be used to expand the Bay Area company's fleet of mobile bike shops across the U.S. using a franchise model.

To date, Beeline Bikes has serviced thousands of customers at their homes and more than 100 corporate locations. The company has developed a technology platform, support infrastructure and supply chain to enable independent mechanic franchisees to run their own mobile bike shops.

"We are thrilled to have the support of Backcountry with its compelling brand and passionate customers," said Pete Buhl, co-founder and CEO of Beeline Bikes. "We look forward to partnering with Backcountry to innovate the bike-buying experience by marrying a dynamic online presence with professional in-person service. We are reaching a seminal time when the convergence of technology, commerce and the customer's increasing expectation of convenience provides a unique opportunity for a new business model."

"Beeline Bikes provides an amazing customer experience and has built their business to scale globally," said Backcountry CEO Jill Layfield. "By bringing the bike shop directly to the customer, Beeline Bikes is offering the ultimate in convenience. We are extremely excited about this announcement and look forward to collaborating with Beeline Bikes as they continue to grow."

Beeline Bikes is currently offering franchises across the U.S. Interested franchisees are invited to participate in "Discovery Day" at Beeline's headquarters in San Carlos, Calif. For more information, visit beelinebikes.com/franchise or contact franchise@beelinebikes.com.

SQUAMISH, British Columbia (BRAIN) — OneUp Components is now offering narrow-wide chainrings for Shimano XT M8000 and MT700 cranks, designed to be used with Shimano's new 11-speed offroad groups.

The rings save 35 grams and $20 over the stock XT (SM-CRM80) single-ring, OneUp said. 



They are made of 7075-T6 aluminum and are designed fr a 49mm chainline. They are available in 30T, 32T, and 34T and fit Shimano XT M8000 single-ring and double ring armsets and MT700 double-ring armsets
. They retail for $55.

The OneUp rings for the XT cranks include bolt shims allowing users to re-use their stock Shimano bolts, without compromising ideal chainline, whether they are converting a Shimano single- or double-ring crank.

OneUp recommends the single rings be paired with an 11-45 cassette. The company's 45T expander sprocket is compatible with both M8000 XT and M9000 XTR 11-40 11 speed cassettes.

SAN FRANCISCO (BRAIN) — Chrome Industries was established in Boulder, Colo., in 1995, but is now based in San Francisco. The bag company is returning to its roots with the opening of a new store in Denver in its 20th anniversary year.

After beginning in Boulder, Chrome relocate to Denver soon after, and then moved to San Francisco in 2002. 

"There was simply no question that we would return to the incredible bicycle culture in Colorado from which we were born, and it's all the more appropriate that we're doing so in our 20th anniversary year," said Chris Silverman, the president of Chrome Industries. "You'd be hard-pressed to find a more loyal and authentic community than in the Boulder and Denver areas, and we're thrilled to be a part of it again."

Chrome's grand opening event was on June 26 at its new location at 1331 15th Street. 

Chrome operates other HUB retail locations in San Francisco, New York, Chicago, Portland, Ore., Seattle and Minneapolis.

The Denver HUB features shelving constructed of reclaimed scaffolding from Portland; 1940s-era salvaged light fixtures from a decommissioned Bethel, N.Y., steel plant; tables built out of recycled pallet racking, and bench seating from a Denver restaurant. Customized bags are hand-crafted at each Chrome HUB's custom sewing bar.

KENT, Wash. (BRAIN) — Raleigh Bicycles is sponsoring the National Bicycle Dealers Association's "America's Best Bike Shops" program for 2015. The program highlights and promotes bicycle retailers that provide the industry with the best customer support, knowledge, operational excellence, and bicycle advocacy.

"Raleigh is proud to be sponsoring the NBDA's 'America's Best Bike Shops' program," said Larry Pizzi, senior vice president of sales and marketing at Accell North America. "At Raleigh, we want to get more people on bikes, having fun and just enjoying riding. The program allows consumers to find great, local shops that set them up for a lifetime of cycling success. It also honors those retailers that offer unmatched shopping experiences and are constantly giving back to the sport, both locally and on a national level."

Applicants to the program must be an independent bicycle store with a physical location open to the public that sells bicycles, parts, accessories, and has a service department. At least 50 percent of the store's total sales must be related to bicycles and be from a physical store location.

After an application is filled out by a dealer, the shop is evaluated by mystery shoppers visiting the store, reviewing its website, and contacting the shop by phone to assess the retailer's performance from a consumer's perspective.

2015 winners will be announced in August.

HAYWARD, Calif. (BRAIN) — After an approximately four-year hiatus, Bianchi USA is once again offering mountain bikes here. 

The Italian company stopped offering mountain bikes in the U.S. in 2010 as it focused on its 'cross, road, track and city bike categories. Bianchi has always offered mountain bikes in Italy and began selling them to retailers in Mexico again last year.

"We were confident that our road bike business was on a healthy track, so it was the perfect time for us to expand into the mountain bike category in the USA," said Jim Stevenson, Bianchi USA's vice president of sales and marketing.

The 2016 model year mountain bikes are available for dealers to order now and will soon be added to the company's consumer-facing website. The line includes six hardtail models at prices ranging from $629.99 to $1,699.99, plus the flagship Methanol model at $3,699. The lower-priced Kuma models use 27.5-inch wheels, while the Jab and Methanol models are 29ers.

"The bikes are very competitive with other top brands out there, and we are offering higher than normal profit margins for our dealers," Stevenson said.

SAN FRANCISCO (BRAIN) — Ass Savers, the Swedish maker of lightweight rear fenders, is sponsoring USA Cycling for the 2015 season and will provide Team USAC members with customized fenders.

"One of our principles as a company is to support cycling equally, respecting all ability levels and disciplines," said the brand's U.S. director, Jungho Kim. "We are looking forward to partnering with the team and saving a few asses while we're at it."

USA Cycling operations manager Brent Westenburg said, "The team is excited to start using Ass Savers! The custom design is inspired by our team kit that is worn by all of our top athletes. Ass Savers helps keep our kits clean and looking professional, even in rainy and poor conditions. We feel these will be a great addition to give out to all our athletes!"

Ass Savers recently opened its first U.S. office, Ass Savers Inc. More information at ass-savers.com.

The liquidation, which Tenneco said is subject to consultation with employee representatives, would eliminate 138 jobs. Tenneco, a publicly traded automotive industy supplier, employs 127 people at the Marzocchi plant in Bologna, Italy, and an additional 11 people in its operations in North America and Taiwan. The company intends to assist its motor bike customers with the transition of current production to an alternative supplier and expects to complete the closure by the end of 2015.

"We sincerely regret the impact these actions would have on our Tenneco Marzocchi employees, and thank them for their tireless efforts to improve performance and reduce costs. Unfortunately, it was not enough to overcome continuing market challenges in the two-wheeler business," said Brian Kesseler, chief operating officer, Tenneco. “We are committed to working with our employees’ representatives, and with our customers to make the transition as smooth as possible.”

Tenneco expects to record charges of approximately $27 million related to the liquidation in the third quarter, which includes approximately $17 million of cash expenditures, for severance and other employee-related costs, asset impairment charges and other expenses related to the closure. The company anticipates improving financial results by $7 million annually, beginning in 2016.

Tenneco is an $8.4 billion global manufacturing company with headquarters in Lake Forest, Ill., and approximately 29,000 employees worldwide. It's one of the largest designers, manufacturers and marketers of clean air and ride performance products and systems for automotive, commercial truck, and off-highway original equipment markets, and the aftermarket. Its principal brand names are Monroe, Walker, XNOx and Clevite Elastomer.

In 2008, Tenneco bought Gruppo Marzocchi, based near Bologna, Italy, and founded in 1949. Tenneco paid about $15 million for the company by assuming its outstanding debts.

Stay tuned for more on this story. 

SEYMOUR, Conn. (BRAIN) — Thule Group is reporting a net sales increase of 20 percent in its second quarter, a result helped by favorable currency fluctuations. In currency neutral figures, the Sweden-based company saw a 6.4 percent sales increase in the quarter, which ended June 30.

Adjusted for exchange rate fluctuations, underlying EBIT for the quarter rose 8.7 percent and the operating margin improved 0.5 percentage points.

CEO and president Magnus Welander said the results were bolstered by recent successful product launches, including products in the brand's newer categories such as child carriers and backpacks.

The Outdoor & Bags segment accounted for 93 percent of the Thule Group's sales during the quarter, increasing 18.2 percent (5.6 percent after currency adjustment).

Much of that growth was in Europe, however.

"In the Americas region, the trend in the sport and outdoor market remained relatively weak, but the Thule Group grew on the back of new product launches. In the region, the bags for electronic devices category continued its negative performance. In particular, we were impacted by a somewhat weaker Latin American market, a generally weaker trend in camera bags, but also by deliberate commercial decisions to leave some less profitable businesses. Sales for the region increased 22.5 percent (down 2.6 percent after currency adjustment)," Welander said.

The company decided in July to implement a reorganization that will lead to personnel reductions at its operations in the U.S., Belgium and Hong Kong. A total of about 50 positions will be cut.

BERKELEY, Calif. (BRAIN) —  The National Interscholastic Cycling Association and Pinkbike have announced their media partnership for the 2015 and 2016 season.

Pinkbike will provide NICA with advertising and promotional space, fundraising support, content and race coverage, and more. Registered users on Pinkbike.com can list themselves as a "NICA member" on their account, allowing members to communicate with other NICA members, and give them the ability to donate directly to the NICA Booster Club.

Pinkbike will also be able to work with NICA leagues to highlight different NICA race courses and riding opportunities on its trail database website, Trailforks.com.

Karl Burkat, the CEO of Pinkbike, said, "We see NICA as the most important advocacy organization in the bike industry, as they have built a program that directly welcomes new, young riders across gender, race and socio-economic groups to the sport. It's a massively inclusive program. It's the right thing to do."

Austin McInerny, the executive director of NICA, said, "We'd like to offer a huge thank you to Pinkbike for their support. Having the power of such a large media brand behind us will help us continue to share our work in the mountain bike community, and welcome new participants and supporters to NICA. Whenever we survey our membership regarding media consumption, Pinkbike ranks at or near the top of sites visited, and we look forward to working with Pinkbike to build on this engagement."

BERKELEY, Calif. (BRAIN) — GU Energy Labs has named Blair Clark as its president and COO.

Clark, an industry veteran who has worked in executive position at Specialized, Giro and Smith, joined GU as vice president of sales early this year. He replaced Tal Johnson, GU's president since 2012, who remains a board member.

Regarding Clark's promotion, Brian Vaughan, GU's chief endurance officer, co-founder, and owner, said, "Blair's leadership and passion has been evident from the day he arrived here. His skill set, experience, and values are exactly the right fit for the company as we move into the next stage of our growth in serving the needs of athletes around the world. I'm glad to welcome Blair to this new position and to thank our current president Tal Johnson for finding Blair and for his leadership during his tenure."

Clark said that taking on the role of President comes at a dynamic time for GU.

"These are still the early days of GU's growth and involvement in our endurance sports communities. We continue to innovate and are launching two new product categories at Outdoor Retailer and Interbike that will help athletes break through to new levels of performance," he said.

Johnson said, "My relationship with GU began with an investment in 2008 when I helped Brian Vaughan keep GU a family-run, Berkeley-based company under Brian's ownership. An investment turned into an obsession with cycling. I'm proud of the talented team and purpose-driven culture we've built and I'm looking forward to GU thriving with Blair's leadership. My involvement will continue as a board member, friend, and cyclist."

ENCINITAS, Calif. (BRAIN) — A startup cycling clothing company is benefitting from its own California-based factory, which produces custom and inline items for its Eliel road bike clothing and Wattie Ink triathlon clothing.

The company was founded by Derek Wiback and Ryan Cady. Cady is the former owner of Sock Guy; Wiback is a former national sales manager at the sock company, which manufactures in the U.S.

In preparing to launch the new clothing company, Cady said he toured factories in China, Taiwan and Eastern Europe, ultimately deciding that owning its own factory in the States was the best route. The factory began delivering custom orders last year; this summer Eliel has taken the next step forward, turning on a website offering its first lines of stock road clothing. The Eliel Summer Collections include several designs of jerseys and bibs for men and women.

Eliel's 6,000-square-foot Vista, Calif.-factory employs about 22 people. Using Swiss and Italian fabrics, it has in-house sublimation machines and a laser fabric cutter, which reduces labor costs and aids in factory flow and organization, Cady said.

"We didn't know how to have control and innovation without doing it ourselves," he said. "We decided that if we really want to do this thing, we could get cheap pricing from overseas but if want to do quality gear we're going to have to do everything under one roof."

By all accounts, the market for custom cyclewear is strong in the U.S., with more and more companies jumping in to offer custom programs for teams, clubs, shops, events and other buyers. Cady said having a stock line of clothing complements the custom program.

"Didn't want to be just manufacturers (of custom clothing). We wanted to do design and push the design edge," he told BRAIN. "We'll do whatever (custom buyers) want to do, but we want to show them what we can do."

Cady said Eleil is targeting the higher end of the custom road clothing market.

"We are a little bit more expensive than some of the other custom options, but we think when people see the quality of our products, they see it as worthwhile. These are the people who are putting the most miles on their bikes so they are willing to pay more for quality," he said.

Eleil is providing gear for Huntington Beach, Calif.'s Surf City masters team and for the nearby retailer Ride Cyclery.

The factory also produces clothing for the triathlon brand Wattie Ink in a partnership with Wattie Ink's owners, Sean Watkins and Heather Jackson.

More information: elielcycling.com.

WILTON, Conn. (BRAIN) — Nick Hage, who started with Cannondale in 2010 in sales operations, was recently promoted to the role of vice president, sales and operations for Cycling Sports Group's Cannondale brand.

CSG announced the change in Hage's role at the recently concluded annual global sales meeting for Dorel's CSG division, held June 19-23 in Ogden, Utah, where it unveiled a record number of new model-year 2016 products for the Cannondale, GT, Schwinn and Charge brands to its sales team. More than 200 members of the sales team came in from more than 15 countries.

Hagen will report to Dave Manchester and is responsible for managing the Cannondale sales team across bikes, apparel and P&A.

CSG also noted that it unveiled a record number of new model year 2016 products for the Cannondale, GT, Schwinn and Charge brands.

"MY16 is a phenomenal year for Cycling Sports Groups and our brands, as we launch more new products than ever, including nine new platforms for Cannondale alone," said Manchester, SVP marketing and sales, North America, CSG. "The new bikes are in stock and ready to ship to our dealers around the world."

The new product focused on road, mountain and casual riders with complimentary apparel, parts and accessories.

The product, which will be launched to consumers in the coming months, includes the new CAAD12 and the all-new SuperSix EVO Hi-MOD.

HEERENVEEN, the Netherlands (BRAIN) — Accell Group N.V. noted that operating profit in the first half of the year was up 29 percent to $53.8 million (€49.1 million), while net profit was up 21 percent to $34.9 million (€31.9 million).

Dutch conglomerate Accell Group owns a range of bike and accessory brands sold and distributed in various European countries including Batavus, Sparta, Koga, Ghost, Haibike, Lapierre and XLC. It also has a wholly owned subsidiary, Accell North America, that sells Raleigh, Diamondback, Redline and more recently brought in Ghost bikes to U.S. and Canada.  

Overall sales were up 13 percent to $628.8 million (€573.8 million), something the Dutch company attributed mostly to higher sales of e-bikes in the European market. 

In a financial recap of the first half, Rene Takens, chairman of the board of directors of Accell Group, noted that e-bikes account for 34 percent of overall revenue. 

“We are ahead of the field in technological innovations and the introduction of new Haibike performance e-bikes and Sparta and Haibike e-speed bikes, both of which new products have the clear potential to further boost our organic growth in the years ahead,” Takens said. 

Bicycle parts and accessories sales were up in Europe both organically and as a result of recent acquisitions. However, Takens said in North America, “we were confronted with tough conditions and the performance of Raleigh and our bicycle parts and accessories were below expectations.”

Across all markets, Accell Group sold 985,000 bikes, down from 1,018,000 last year, in the first half at an average sales price of $481 (€439) — the higher average (compared to €380 euros last year or $416) influenced by the greater number of e-bikes and more expensive sport bicycles, the company said. This brought overall dollar sales up 12 percent. 

Sales of e-bikes were up 20 percent, largely due to growth in Germany. Sales of traditional bikes were up 4 percent, while sales of sports bikes were up 8 percent.

In North America, dollar sales were up 2 percent in complete bikes. Accell said sales of Diamondback bikes were up thanks to deliveries to sporting goods chains. The newly introduced German brand Ghost, sold exclusively through REI, also made a solid contribution to revenue growth. But sales of Raleigh bikes in the specialty channel declined, which Accell said was partly due to competition from Internet sales. 

“The focus for the Raleigh brand is on renewed brand positioning,” the company said in a press release. “Accell Group will also adjust its North American sales organization. Sales of electric bicycles that were introduced this year were higher, but this segment remains modest for now.”

Sales from parts and accessories in North America fell slightly in dollars for the first half. 

“Many of the larger suppliers have now opted to deliver their products directly to the retail trade, Internet sellers or even directly to consumers, and no longer use distributors,” the company said. “As a result, in North America Accell Group will focus on the sales of the parts and accessories produced by its own brands XLC, Raleigh and Diamondback, together with a limited number of additional product lines. Sales will be to bicycle retail trade, multisport chains and web shops.”

More information: Accell press release.

ROSSANO VENETO, Italy (BRAIN) — Selle San Marco has unveiled a custom Regale Racing Protek saddle for the Rudy Project 3EPIC Mtb Marathon event.

The limited edition saddle commemorates the first edition of the race, which will take place in the heart of the Dolomites.

The saddle will be used as a prize at the event and will not be available on the traditional distribution channels.

It is based on one of the Selle San Marco's new off-road models with a special cover containing the name of the MTB Marathon and the 3EPIC logo in green with the profile of the "Tre Cime" on a black microfeel cover.

It features Protek silicon protection on the sides for abrasion protection. The Protek design is intented to improve control when the rider is not sitting on the saddle. The company said the shape is ideal for the rider who is looking for a model with a flat profile and who uses the entire length of the saddle. 

BAULKHAM HILLS, Australia (BRAIN) — Trent Fitzgibbins, one of the co-founders of the Australian distributor JetBlack Products, has sold his share in the company to co-founder Tony Simmonds and plans to take "a lesser role in the company."

Fitzgibbins' position will change from managing director to sales, research and development director.

"This will enable me to be singularly focused on driving sales both in our domestic and international channels without the distraction of the day-to-day business management," Fitzgibbins said in an email to clients on Wednesday. Simmonds will become managing director, he said.

JetBlack distrbutes BH Bikes, Pivot Bikes, CamelBak, Stans Notubes, and a variety of other products in Australia, including its own JetBlack house brand products. The company distributes to IBDs as well as big box retailers.