LONDON (BRAIN) — Brendan Quirk, the co-founder of Competitive Cyclist, is joining Rapha as president of its North American business, the company announced Friday. He will start Sept. 1.

Quirk co-founded Competitive Cyclist in 1999 and served as its CEO for many years. After the retailer was sold to Backcountry.com in 2011, he became general manager of Backcountry's bike division and then was named executive vice president of customer experience at Backcountry.

Simon Mottram, the founder and CEO of Rapha, said, "Rapha has established a solid and successful business in the U.S. since we first came over in 2006 ... The U.S. is the world's largest road cycling market and therefore it needs our full focus at the executive level. We are raising new capital specifically to invest in our U.S. business, to expand the number of Rapha Cycle Clubs in key American cycling cities, as well as further the reach of our e-commerce business.

"Brendan and I have been friends and business colleagues for a decade, which counts for a lot. In addition, the growth of the Competitive Cyclist brand was due, in large part, to its engaging content and effective retention marketing. This aligns closely to what we do at Rapha. Between this and the experience he gained at Backcountry in scaling an e-commerce business, we're confident in how he'll lead our increased investment in the U.S."

Quirk said Rapha is "the most compelling brand in the road cycling market."

"The design and the quality of Rapha apparel and accessories are industry-leading. But what makes the brand so amazing is the variety of ways it gives joy to road cyclists. The writing and photography on Rapha.cc evoke the romance of the sport, the intensity of the experience you get inside a Cycle Club is the next best thing to being roadside during a stage of the Tour de France, and the sense of community Rapha creates at every touchpoint of the brand brings together road cyclists from all over the world."

"The growth of Rapha in the U.S. over the last two years shows the appetite for the brand here, both in retail and online. Much of the credit for this success goes to Hillary Benjamin. I'm excited to learn from her and work alongside her."

The North American president is a new position for Rapha. A company spokesman said there were not other changes to the Rapha NA staff and Benjamin will continue in her role as head of sales and marketing for North America. The company said it will expand her team.

KOBLENZ, Germany (BRAIN) — Germany-based consumer-direct bike brand Canyon will sponsor a top-level women's professional road racing team in 2016.

Canyon has sponsored several men's pro teams in the past, including Katusha and Movistar for the past two seasons. For 2016, the brand is working with long-time sports director Ronny Lauke, who is currently the manager of the Velocio-SRAM women's team, which is being shut down at the end of this season.

Lauke will be team manager of the new Canyon-sponsored team. Beth Duryea, currently director sportif of the Velocio-SRAM team, will also join the new Canyon team organization.

Frank Aldorf, Canyon's chief brand officer, said, "We don't do things by half at Canyon and with Ronny we have found the right partner. He has built a team for the past few years, which is already in the world's elite. We believe firmly in a successful partnership and are looking forward to start the Olympic year together."

Canyon said the full team line-up and additional sponsor will be announced at a later date. 

NEW YORK (BRAIN) — A musical set in a Brooklyn bike shop will return to the stage next month as the Theater For The New City presents "Bike Shop" from Sept. 11-27.

The play was created by actress and former shop owner Elizabeth Barken and is being directed by Gretchen Cryer. The new performance has an updated script with a new character. In the performance, Barkan tells the story of three generations of characters as she builds and fixes real bicycles on the stage. Cyclists are encouraged to ride their bikes to the theater and park them on stage as a part of the show.

The Theater For The New City is 155 First Avenue. The play will be performed Thursdays through Saturdays at 7 pm and Sundays at 3 pm during its run.  Tickets are $15. More information at www.bikeshopmusical.com.

Related: 2014 BRAIN story about the play.

BOSTON (BRAIN) — Vittoria Industries North America has appointed Trevor Litten as regional sales representative for the Midwest region.

Based in Liberty, Mo., Litten will be responsible for Vittoria, 3T Cycling and Selle Italia in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Iowa.

Litten currently represents Bell Sports, Speedplay, Kuat racks, and Felt.

"I'm honored to join Vittoria at this pivotal moment in the brand's history and look to build the brand and support Vittoria dealers in the Midwest," Litten said. "The bicycle culture here is very exciting right now and being a more integral part of the community is sure to be rewarding."

Litten can be reached at trevor@rpactivesports.com.

NORWALK, Calif. (BRAIN) — Odyssey's new freecoaster hub, called the "Clutch Freecoaster" features an external slack adjustment.

Freestyle riders can adjust the slack, which controls how the hub allows a rider to coast backwards without backpedaling, and also determines how quickly forward-drive kicks in when the riders starts pedaling. Street riders often prefer a loose slack adjustment, but park and dirt jump riders prefer it tighter.

Other hubs require disassembly for slack adjustment, for the Freecoaster can be adjusted through the hub shell with a 2.5mm hex key, without removing the wheel from the bike. 

The hub is 36-hole, with a 2014-T6 aluminum shell and a (-T driver. It can be run left or right-hand drive. It weighs 22.5 ounces (640 grams). It has an oversized chromoly female axle, and a 14mm non-drive side axle bolt and 3/8-inch drive-side bolt with 14mm adapter. An optional plastic hub guard is included.

It retails for $189.99. More information: odysseybmx.com.

INDIANAPOLIS (BRAIN) — Local retailer The Bike Line and Smith are providing the Marian University Cycling Team with helmets for all riders starting this fall.

Marian racers will use the Smith Overtake MIPS and the Maze helmets. 

"Many team are looking to make 'marginal gains' for their equipment to become more competitive, we are also looking at ways to minimize risk and keep our student-athletes safe," said Dean Peterson, the team's head coach. 

"We are expanding the traditional view of the team uniform to include a vital piece of every cyclist's equipment, the helmet. Thanks to help from The Bike Line and other partners, we are able to make the helmet an integrated piece of our team kit and hope to set the example for other teams to do the same," said Peterson.

The Marian team is the defending team national champion in the collegiate track, cyclocross, BMX, and road disciplines.

SCOTTS VALLEY, Calif. (BRAIN) — Giro Sport Design unveiled its new Montaro MIPS and women's Montara MIPS helmets at the Crankworx Whistler event in British Columbia this weekend.

The new trail helmets are designed to offer excellent ventilation and sweat management while offering more head coverage than a traditional XC helmet. The helmets feature Giro's Roc Loc Air fit system, hydrophilic, anti-microbial pads, the MIPS Multi-Directional Impact System, full goggle compatibility, and an integrated camera mount.

They will be available in October retailing for $150.

"We know that riders are after two main things in a trail helmet – staying safe and staying cool," said Giro marketing manager Amanda Schaper.

The Montaro MIPS will be available in eight colors and the Montara MIPS in three colors.

More information: giro.com.

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (BRAIN) — Quality Bicycle Products and Kinetic have teamed with the International Mountain Bicycling Association to create the Big Dig Trail Challenge, an initiative that encourages bike industry employees to volunteer hours building and maintaining their local mountain bike trails.

The Big Dig Trail Challenge will run from Sept. 21-28 and will invite participating companies and retailers to keep track of the total number of hours their employees spend doing trail work in their communities. Companies will be broken up into three categories for the challenge: small (fewer than 25 employees), medium (25-74 employees) and large (75 or more employees).

At the end of the challenge, the company in each category that volunteered the most hours per employee wins. The winning company in each category will receive a trophy courtesy of Kinetic as well as a cash prize from QBP to be donated to their local IMBA chapter.

IMBA will connect volunteers with local clubs. Participants can use the association's club finder at imba.com/near-you/clubs or contact Sallie Hoefer at sallie.hoefer@imba.com to find a local chapter.

For more information, contact QBP ACE director Seth Nesselhuf at snesselh@qbp.com.

HAUPPAUGE, N.Y. (BRAIN) — David Clopton is retiring after 25 years working for Finish Line Technologies, the company announced.

"Most of you have worked with David for many years and I am sure like myself, you will miss him dearly," Finish Line president Hank Krause told distributors in an email last week. "He always gave 100 percent to the company and as well to the customers he served. He would do anything to help a customer, and we all love him for that."

Alexander Barouh joined Finish Line on Aug. 10 to replace Clopton as national accounts manager. Barouh has four years' experience as store manager for Ride Brooklyn bike shops and two years as the director of operations for the Red Hook Criterium.

Clopton will work behind the scenes during the transition, Krause said, but will not be available for day-to-day issues. Barouh can be reached at ABarouh@finishlineusa.com or (631) 666-7300 xt. 228. 

KENT, Wash. (BRAIN) — Raleigh Bicycles is sponsoring this year's CLIF Bar CrossVegas race. It's the third year that Raleigh will be the official bike sponsor of the event.

"CrossVegas is the biggest cyclocross race in the country and we're excited to be a part of the over-the-top fun," said Larry Pizzi, Raleigh's senior VP of sales and marketing. "We love cyclocross at Raleigh, and being the official bike sponsor for this iconic race allows us to show our support for the unmatched spirit of 'cross."

This year CLIF Bar CrossVegas is part of the UCI World Cup, the first time an event outside Europe has been designated a World Cup race.

More information at www.crossvegas.com.

LAGUNA HILLS, Calif. (BRAIN) — The newest Bicycle Retailer & Industry News edition contains a special report on the growing market for fat- and plus-sized mountain bikes, including a look at the growing number of "mid-fat" bikes, a look at retailer inventory of fat bikes and the growing phenomenon of electric fat bikes. We also take a look at new fat- and plus-size model introductions by Scott, Norco, Salsa and Chumba USA, among other brands.

The August 15 issue of BRAIN is now arriving in subscribers' mailboxes. 

Besides the special report on fat bikes, the new issue contains a look at the travel-bike market, reports on big changes at Raleigh, takes a look at Felt Bicycles' decision to move away from model-year bike introductions. 

The issue also contains an article remembering Andrew Wright, the co-founder of distributor BTI, who died in July in a motorcycle accident.

This is in addition to regular departments like State of Retail, Global Briefs, Mad Dog Unleashed, Tech Briefs and Through the Grapevine that are only published in the magazine.

Bicycle Retailer & Industry News is published 18 times a year and is available in print or digital format. Visit our subscription page for more information.

VENTURA, Calif. — Zeitbike distribution has added U.K.-based Green Oil to its product mix. Green Oil's environmentally friendly bike lubricants, soaps, waxes, brushes and sponges will be available in the U.S. and Canada exclusively through Zeitbike by the end of August.

Green Oil has won several awards for being the greenest lubricant on the market. Its products have also won various performance tests in Europe, and the company was recently featured on BBC. Green Oil's bike care product line ships with wooden display units and is available in a variety of sizes, ranging from $3.99 to $17.99.

For more information about Green Oil and Zeitbike, visit www.zeitbike.com.

TOULOUSE, France (BRAIN) — French fork and shock brand BOS Suspension has hired Luke Musselman as director of global sales and marketing. 

A veteran of Cannondale, Musselman was most recently with the Hayes Group, serving as senior sales manager for five years. He also serves on the BPSA Statistics Committee. 

"I can't express how excited I am to join BOS Suspension. Olivier Bossard and the team at BOS hold a special place in the industry designing and producing the absolute leading performance suspension forks and shocks,” he said. “BOS is at a pivotal time in their growth as a company and I'm looking forward to ensuring that BOS’s commercial strategy and actions support this growth." 

Musselman started with BOS on Aug. 10 and will attend Eurobike and Interbike this fall. He can be contacted at Luke.Musselman@bosmtb.com. 

CINCINNATI (BRAIN) — The 2015 Recumbent Cycle-Con Trade Show & Convention (RC-C) will be held Sept. 25-27, at the Sharonville Convention Center in Cincinnati, featuring manufacturers of recumbent bikes, trikes and tandems from Europe, Asia, Australia, as well as the U.S.

Launched in 2011, RC-C draws bicycle dealers, staff and press from across the U.S., Canada and Europe. The newest recumbents are exhibited and available for test riding in an outdoor demo area adjacent to the Sharonville Convention Center.

RC-C starts with industry-only hours on Friday, Sept. 25, from 10 a.m. to 5 pm, followed by the annual Recumbent Industry Banquet and Awards Dinner, held at the convention center. Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 26 and 27, the show is open to both consumers and members of the bicycle industry. Recumbent enthusiasts also have access to demo the newest 'bents.
A number of seminars and presentations are scheduled for all three days of the show. Presentations are designed for shop owners and employees, as well as anyone interested in the many aspects of recumbent cycling.

Adaptive cycling is a growing segment of the recumbent market, and the show will host a contingent of military veterans who will be on hand to explore the many adaptive cycling options provided by the makers of recumbents, particularly recumbent trikes and hand cycles.

The Recumbent Cycle-Con Trade Show & Convention is produced by Coyne Publishing LLC, publisher of Recumbent & Tandem Rider Magazine. For more information, contact Charles Coyne at (800) 351-2738 or ccooyne@rtrmag.com, or visit recumbentcyclecon.com.

SAN DIEGO (BRAIN) — Speedplay, Inc. is now shipping its Zero Aero Pedal System.

The pedal, first shown at last year's Interbike, was designed to reduce aerodynamic drag. The race-specific design has a tiny frontal area and a dimpled, contoured surface to smooth and shape the airflow.

The pedals were used to set a UCI World Hour Record and a new bike course record at the Ironman European Championships.

"There are two key elements to consider when improving aerodynamics: reducing frontal area and streamlining the surface to smooth airflow," said Richard Bryne, Speedplay's designer and CEO. "Fortunately, our standard Zero Pedal System already has a small frontal area, so I only needed to focus on streamlining the shape. I redesigned the Zero pedals and cleats to form a continuous contoured profile to produce the smooth uninterrupted shape now found in the Zero Aero system."

The Zero Aero Pedal System is specifically intended for use in against-the-clock competitions where seconds count, such as time trials, triathlons and track events. It is available in both stainless steel and titanium models. All Zero Aero Pedal Systems are hand-built at Speedplay in San Diego.

MSRP: Zero Aero Stainless:$275; Zero Aero Titanium: $399.

More information: Speedplay.com.

SANDY, Utah (BRAIN) — Reynolds Cycling has promoted Tom Gosselin to its new domestic sales manager position. Gosselin has worked in-house at Reynolds for two years and has managed inside sales, the frame builder program, and Reynolds' web store sales.

"It's a privilege to be selected for this position at a company that is a leader in carbon wheel innovation," Gosselin said. "I'm excited to head to this year's tradeshow, listen to the needs of our IBDs, provide consistently excellent service to them, and deliver them the very best product in the marketplace."

Gosselin's background includes four years spent as an outside sales representative in New England representing Reynolds, Pivot/BH, and Magura prior to making the move in-house at Reynolds.

"We believe strongly in promoting from within wherever possible," Mike Dufner, Reynolds' CFO and director of sales and marketing, commented. "We're excited to see Tom continue to grow and step into this new role. He's been a strong performer in every position we've had him in and expect him to excel in this role as well."

Gosselin can be contacted at: tomg@reynoldscycling.com.

MINNEAPOLIS (BRAIN) — A new bike brand that promises to donate 100 percent of its profits to bike advocacy programs, has completed a crowdfunding campaign and is moving forward with production of its first three models.

Tim Krueger, a former product manager for QBP's Whisky Parts Co. and Salsa brands, is the founder of Advocate. 

"Our business plan is very simple and completely unique," he said. "We make high-quality dirt, gravel and commute bikes. Retailers sell them at parity pricing with leading industry brands, so there's all the niche-brand cachet without the 'niche-brand tax.' After the retailers make their margin and the brand covers expenses, we donate all the profits to advocacy groups so they toward making cycling better for all of us."

Advocate had a goal of $10,000 on its Indiegogo campaign, but raised nearly $22,000. The funds will bankroll production of the brand's first two models, the Hayduke and Watchman.

Shipping of those models will begin soon after Interbike, Krueger said. Both models are made of Reynolds 725 chromoly; the Hayduke carries an MSRP of $2,699 as a complete bike and the Watchman is $2,799. Both will be on display at Interbike. There is also a titanium version of each, available as frameset only for $1,950.

A third model, the Lorax, will premiere at the show.

Advocate will sell through brick-and-mortar retailers and, at a higher-than-in-store price, consumer direct.

"Selling direct to cyclists at premium pricing helps us keep retailer territories large while still making the Advocate brand available in places where we don't have dealer coverage," Krueger said. "Given the higher cost to buy direct from us, we anticipate 100 percent of riders will prefer to buy Advocate models though local bike shops whenever they can."

Advocate currently has five advocacy partners and is adding more. Names of the first wave of partner groups will be announced before Interbike, Krueger said.

SAN FRANCISCO (BRAIN) — Electric bike brand Faraday Bicycles has hired Monty Hudson as its head of sales.

Hudson most recently worked in sales for digital media firms.

"As one of Faraday's early customers, I know first-hand how this bike can improve peoples' lives," said Hudson, an avid bicycle commuter who was first introduced to Faraday at a demo event.

"I look forward to sharing the passion I have for Faraday with dealers across the country, and helping them successfully introduce these beautiful bikes to a wider audience."

Hudson joins Faraday just as the company's latest model, the Faraday Porteur S, becomes available to dealers across the United States, and shortly before new stock of the company's flagship Faraday Porteur — which is virtually sold out after just three months on the market — becomes available.

"There couldn't be a better time to have someone with Monty's experience and energy join our company to support the fantastic dealers that we already work with, and introduce us to new dealers we know can be successful in selling the Porteur and Porteur S," said Adam Volmer, the founder and CEO of Faraday. 

MADISON, Wis. (BRAIN) — Saris Cycling Group is working with OwnerIQ, a Boston-based digital advertising company, on a new program that targets interested online shoppers with messages intended to drive them to SCG's nearby brick-and-mortar dealers.

Visitors to the Saris, CycleOps and PowerTap websites will be shown co-branded ads from nearby retailers. OwnerIQ creates the ads and the dealers are able to approve or edit them before the ads launch.

The company noted that 60 percent of consumers visit a product's brand website on their path to purchase and half of those consumers will purchase within 30 days.

"We are continually looking for ways to help the IBD win at retail," said SCG's national sales manager, Mike Blang. "We were the first brand to adopt Buy Local Now and are the first brand within the bike industry to partner with OwnerIQ. We believe this is a unique solution to drive our online traffic to the IBD's store and we are optimistic that it will be very successful for those who implement it."

"SCG is known as an innovator in the cycling field so it only makes sense that they are the first cycling brand to join our platform," said OwnerIQ's CEO, Jay Habegger.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (BRAIN) — Registration has opened for this year's Bill Woodul Race Mechanics Clinic, held at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. The clinic is Nov. 18-22.

The clinic is intended for experienced mechanics looking to move into professional or amateur race support positions. Early registration through Sept. 15 is $600, then $650 from Sept. 16 until registration closes Oct. 1. The fee includes housing, meals, course materials and a two-year USAC mechanics license.

According to the USAC, the instructors are world-class race mechanics with national and international experience. Topics cover the breadth of mechanics' responsibility supporting bicycle racing in all disciplines. 

Licensed mechanics may support Olympic trials, national championships, USA Cycling training camps and international events and are covered under the USA Cycling insurance policy during their participation at sanctioned events.

Registration is a multi-part process. Please email your resume outlining two years of bicycle-related mechanical experience to James Stanfill at stanfill.james@me.com. Once approved, you will receive an email from USA Cycling with registration and payment details.

Classes start Wednesday evening and run through Sunday afternoon. Participants should plan on arriving at the Olympic Training Center by 3 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 18. Classes will end around noon on Sunday, Nov. 22. Transportation will be provided to and from the Colorado Springs Airport.

More information: usacycling.org.