Cycling News & Blog Articles

There are not many names bigger in the UK bike industry than Peaty’s. Steve Peat, the legendary Sheffield rider has won more than his fair share of massive bike races all over the world, including 4 UCI World Championships and 17 UCI World Cup wins, Steve’s racing career was all about getting down hill. Fast. […]

The post Brand Focus – Peaty’s appeared first on Merlin Cycles Blog.

A post war success story, Panaracer began rubber production in 1952. However, as the popularity of bicycles for use as transport and leisure increased, they soon began to focus solely on bicycle tyres. Excellence Focussing solely on bicycle tyres allowed them to aim to produce the finest tyres on the market. Panaracer have remained based […]

The post Brand Focus – Panaracer appeared first on Merlin Cycles Blog.

Created by Jim Jannard in 1975, Oakley wasn’t originally involved in eyewear. He invested a total of $300 to create the company, named after his dog Oakley Anne, from his garage. Jim began by making handlebar grips for motocross motorcycles, which he sold from the back of his car at motocross events. They were made […]

The post Brand Focus – Oakley appeared first on Merlin Cycles Blog.

There are lots of cycling brands that started out because of an un-met need or requirement. Niterider started out by accident and by necessity Tom Carroll was a super keen outdoors athlete based in Southern California. The best surf waves were to be had at night. However, there wasn’t a light capable of lighting up […]

The post Brand Focus – NiteRider appeared first on Merlin Cycles Blog.

While manufacturing ski-boot liners way back in 1971, little did Gianni Piva know that he was starting one of the biggest worldwide sports brands. The Italian family-owned brand would be recognised as a global player across three main areas, Snow, Bike and Lifestyle. Espresso Hit From ski-boot liners to OEM boots for the big snowboard […]

The post Brand Focus – Northwave appeared first on Merlin Cycles Blog.

Starting off just before Merlin Cycles in the early 1990’s, Muc-Off began life as X-Lite, founded by Rex and Marilyn Trimnel. Producing a selection of high quality products, X-Lire manufactured the first twin crown forks and the world’s lightest bar-ends – this was at a time when bar-ends were at the top of the important-things-in-life […]

The post Brand Focus – Muc-Off appeared first on Merlin Cycles Blog.

One of the shining lights in the world of Bike lights, Moon produce excellent quality lights which work extremely well and offer excellent value for money. So, what’s the story behind Moon? History Moon Sport started out 26 years ago in Hong Kong. It was established by a talented group of passionate cyclists, designers and […]

The post Brand Focus – Moon appeared first on Merlin Cycles Blog.

Over 130 years ago, two brothers Edouade and Andre Michelin had a farm supply shop near Clermont Ferrand in the heart of France. They tried to help a cyclist one day whose tyre was glued onto the rim, they realised that it was extremely hard in those days to remove and repair a tyre, so […]

The post Brand Focus – Michelin appeared first on Merlin Cycles Blog.

It was back in 1987 is when MET started manufacturing helmets. The couple behind MET, Massimiliano Gaiatto and Lucianna Sala, used to work at Massisilano’s family business Brancale, which was a popular brand of shoes and helmets in the 1980’s. The pair found producing cycling shoes in Italy too stressful and moved to a new […]

The post Brand Focus – MET appeared first on Merlin Cycles Blog.

Mavic is a French company best known for its range of bicycle wheels and rims. Mavic is an acronym of Manufacture d’Articles Vélocipédiques Idoux et Chanel. The company was founded by Charles Idoux and Lucien Chanel in Lyon, France in the late 1800s. They initially specialised in making bicycle mudguards. Innovation Mavic was the first […]

The post Brand Focus – Mavic appeared first on Merlin Cycles Blog.

When a company name becomes the generic name for the products they sell, they have done pretty well, like Hoover with vacuum cleaners for example. This same can be said of Camelbak, the name has become synonymous with hydration packs. Here’s how Camelbak came to dominate their market. Back When… Way back in 1989, Michael […]

The post Brand Focus – Camelbak appeared first on Merlin Cycles Blog.

Early Years Beginning at a time when German manufacturing was booming, Magura began its rise into being a powerhouse of engineering and manufacturing over 125 years ago. Founder, Gustav Magenwirth, was known as an inventer and a thinker, way ahead of his time. Initially he worked as an apprentice for Karl Benz (of Mercedes Benz), […]

The post Brand Focus – Magura appeared first on Merlin Cycles Blog.

Based in the beautiful city of Melbourne, near the banks of the Yarra River, Knog have never produced anything that was challenging to look or performed less than brilliantly. So, who are Knog? Design Brief Established in 2002 by two designers, Hugo Davidson & Mal McKechnie, Knog set out to produce products which were different […]

The post Brand Focus – Knog appeared first on Merlin Cycles Blog.

Compared to many manufacturers in cycling, Lezyne is a relatively new business. Established in 2007 by Micki Kozuschek, a former professional triathlete. Previously he had built the Truvativ brand before selling it to Sram in 2004. From the beginning, Lezyne’s tagline, ‘Engineered Design’ spelt out what Lezyne were going to do differently. To engineer and […]

The post Brand Focus – Lezyne appeared first on Merlin Cycles Blog.

Few bike brands have helped evolve bike riding in recent times as much as French firm Look. Whether creating innovative solutions or edgy designs, Look have always had the skill to turn riders heads with that certain French ‘je ne sais quoi’… Look back through History We should all be grateful to Look for one […]

The post Brand Focus – Look appeared first on Merlin Cycles Blog.

Since the beginning in 1977, KMC have had single-minded focused on producing the best bicycle chains available from their base in Taiwan. Today, they are the most sought after chain brand, with worldwide recognition for excellence in producing long lasting, high performance bicycle chains. Their chains are chosen by bike brands as an original equipment […]

The post Brand Focus – KMC appeared first on Merlin Cycles Blog.

Originally known as ProNav, Garmin was set up in Kansas, North America by Gary Burrell and Min Lao in 1989. Garmin became etched into road cycling fans memories through sponsorship of the Garmin Slipstream / Garmin Chipotle Pro Cycling teams. Not just Bike GPS Although primarily known by bike riders for their GPS head units, […]

The post Brand Focus – Garmin appeared first on Merlin Cycles Blog.

Based in Italy, Kask specialise in developing, designing, and manufacturing helmets of the highest quality. KASK helmets are at the forefront in cycling, mountaineering, horse riding, rescue and the industrial safety world. Proudly Italian, Kask design and manufacture their products in Italy. Rapid Rise Kask started producing helmets in 2004. It is testament to a […]

The post Brand Focus – Kask appeared first on Merlin Cycles Blog.

As a brand Hutchinson can sometimes be over-looked because of their size compared to their competitors. However, Hutchinson produce some extremely good tyre options for Road, MTB and Gravel bikes. Hutchinson are also innovators, being largely behind the initial development of Tubeless road tyre technology. History We have some long established manufacturers in cycling and […]

The post Brand Focus – Hutchinson appeared first on Merlin Cycles Blog.

Zero to 8 Seconds 37 years ago, founder, Jim Gentes came up with the logo for Giro. He also had a head full of design ideas. Following his first aero helmet design called Advantage in 1985, Jim came up with a prototype road helmet called the Prolight. He showed the Prolight at the Long Beach […]

The post Brand Focus – Giro appeared first on Merlin Cycles Blog.