The world’s biggest bicycle manufacturer, Indian-owned Hero Cycles is today announcing that its Manchester headquartered UK-operation will be headline sponsor of this year’s StreetVelodrome tour.
StreetVelodrome is a national initiative designed to encourage families to take up cycling. The concept takes the form of a ‘pop up’ velodrome touring cities in the UK and Ireland. A series of competitive races take place at the velodrome featuring top professional riders as well as amateurs and children. The events are free and open to the public to spectate, or take part in races, with bikes, equipment and professional instruction all supplied by the StreetVelodrome team. This year the tour visits venues in and around Dublin from June 10 to June 16, Ballymena in Northern Ireland on June 10, Wigan July 12 to 15 with the Super Finals finals taking place at Canary Wharf in London on August 14 and 16.
In a new development for 2018 Avocet UK, which is Hero Cycles’ UK company based in Manchester, will take headline sponsorship of the tour under its new Insync range of bikes launched at Old Trafford football ground in May. The Insync bikes have been designed at Hero’s new £2m Global Design Centre in Manchester’s Central Park. All bikes at the StreetVelodrome events will be from the new Insync range.
Avocet CEO Sreeram Venkateswaran said the StreetVelodrome series fitted the objectives of the new Insync range which is aimed at making cycling as a sport accessible to all.
“We have sponsored StreetVelodrome before with our Viking range of bikes but this year we wanted to do more,” he said. “StreetVelodrome is a great fit for our values particularly encouraging more families into cycling. Health and wellbeing are increasingly important for families and cycling is seen as a great way to spend quality time together escaping stress, polluted cities and improving fitness. The new Insync range is the first designed by our new Global Design Centre in Manchester and a lot of time and passion has been invested in designing bikes for all members of the family. From the stylish Ryedale range for women to the DeNovo childrens range, where we have consulted paediatric physiotherapists to improve the weight and reach dynamics of bike. In addition, we have our Viking and Riddick bikes which are terrific for mums, dads and teenage boys and girls wanting to try road and off-road biking for the first time.”
Mr Venkateswaran said an important element of the StreetVelodrome series is the Cycling Futures schools programme.
“We’re delighted to see our DeNovo range as the official partner of Cycling Futures,” he said. “The Cycling Futures programme will visit primary schools as part of the StreetVelodrome tour. This will see schools given cycling resource packs and we will deliver inspirational cycling experiences including visits by Insync ambassador and three-time BMX world champion Shanaze Reade. We are fully behind Cycling Futures’ campaign to make cycling part of the national curriculum like other sports. If we can encourage more young people into cycling there are many benefits from fitness to mental health to reducing pollution and congestion on our roads.”
Carl Thompson, event director at Cube Management, organisers of StreetVelodrome said:
“It is wonderful to be partnering once again with Hero Cycles as we head into another summer of exciting StreetVelodrome tours. Hero Cycles has the ability to support the full extent of our programme, from DeNevo Cycling Futures for children to Viking Pro Series racing and have-a-go events. We are the world’s most accessible cycle sport, offering equal opportunities for adults, children, male, female, professional and beginners alike. We believe that cycling is for everyone and we are sure we have the very best bicycle partner for sharing those values.”
For more details, and to take part in the Street Velodrome tour, visit: http://www.streetvelodrome.co.uk/
The Insync bike range is available to buy online: www.insyncbikes.com and from all good Independent bike dealers.
For more details on the Insync range:
Visit: website: www.insyncbikes.com Facebook: @insyncbikes Twitter: @insyncbikes Instagram: @insyncbikes You Tube : Insync TV
Insync background
The Insync range of 75 new bikes is the first designed by Hero’s new design team operating from the £2million Hero Cycles Global Design Centre (HGD) in Manchester, which opened in January 2017 following Hero’s investment in the Manchester based distribution house Avocet Sports Limited. Top bike names including three-time BMX world champion Shanaze Reade, from Crewe, showcased the new Insync range to an audience of dignitaries and industry leaders at Old Trafford football ground, home of Manchester United in May 2018.
Avocet Sports Limited’s CEO Sreeram Venkateswaran hailed the Insync launch as a massive moment for Hero as it seeks to grow its global market share. He said the new Insync range is designed to become one of the world’s leading bicycle brands for the mid-premium market in the £250 and £1500 price range.
“Today marks a fundamental change in our approach to the market,” he said. “Launching Insync is a hugely exciting moment for Hero Cycles, the moment when we truly arrive in the UK and European bike market. Hero has taken the brands of Viking, Riddick, Ryedale and DeNovo and totally redesigned the range to operate under the new Insync masterbrand which is very much aimed at the family and leisure market (see notes to editors 1). But the big change is that we now have a very talented team of passionate and technically astute bike designers taking Avocet and the brands to another level. The Viking, Riddick, Ryedale and DeNovo bikes are now better engineered and better made than ever before. Launching Insync is the beginning of a journey for our new design team, as a company we are very ambitious to create the best bikes for our market sector. Consumers can expect to see lots of design innovations and improvements as the Insync brand grows. Insync’s launch sets us on an upward trajectory.”
Mr Venkateswaran said Hero has also made a fundamental change to its sales strategy by deploying a new multi-channel approach to support the new Insync range. He said Insync will be available to consumers through the traditional Independent Bike Dealer (IBDs) sales channel along with a new direct to consumer sales approach. This will take the form of a new online sales platform www.insyncbikes.com launched in partnership with THG Ingenuity, the proprietary technology platform of leading online Beauty and Wellbeing business The Hut Group.
1) Bike specification changes.
Viking
Price: Was £250-£399 now £250-£1500
Target market: Outdoors bike for men and women. Viking Pro Range model includes city, touring and road bikes.
What’s changed? One of the most competitive bikes at the price range. Full Shimano group set, lighter, tighter rear triangle enabling better power transfer, stiffer and more responsive better for cornering and generally a more lively performance. Return of classic logo with minimal retro graphics for better urban look.
Riddick
Price: was £400 now £400-£1500
Target market: Action and adventure bike range for male and female cyclists of all ages.
What’s changed? Lighter due to new butted tubes and hollow bb cartridge, more robust and more precise handling. Very competitive high quality components for price range including RockShox forks, WTB rims and Selle Royal seat.
Ryedale
Price: was £250 – £500 now £250 – £1200
Target market: Lifestyle bike range for women, fashionable and healthy.
What’s changed? Appearance now more contemporary and modern with greater attention to detail. Colour range more co-ordinated and on-trend, basket trim redesigned and basket can now clip off. Bikes are lighter switching from steel to alloy frame, ride generally easier and requires low maintenance.
Denovo
Insync Denovo film
Price: was £150-£299 now £150-£499
Target market: Mid-premium Childrens’ bike range ages five – 12 years.
What’s changed? Better designed and more sophisticated and stylish with on trend graphics and colours. Range now mid premium rather than mass market. Bikes frame lighter switched from steel to alloy 6061. Design team consulted with paediatric physiotherapist to improve weight and reach dynamics of bike. Safety paramount, easier for learning to ride. Competitively priced.
2) Study of 125 long-distance cyclists, some now in their 80s, found they had the immune systems of 20-year-olds. Visit BBC report
Hero Cycles Limited
Hero Cycles Limited was founded in India in 1956. It is the largest bicycle manufacturer in the world by volume producing 19,000 cycles per day and 5.2million per year. This represents one out of every 20 of the world’s bicycles. Hero Cycles has manufacturing units in Ludhiana (Punjab), Bihta (Bihar) & Ghaziabad (UP). It is part of the Hero Motors Company which has revenues of $400million and $1.2billion in assets employing circa 8,000 staff.
The company exports to more than 70 countries through a network of circa 250 suppliers and 2800 dealerships. Its bike range includes road bikes, hybrid bikes, children’s bikes, electric-bikes, mountain bikes, BMX and roadster models. Hero in India also manufactures automobile components like chassis for cars, safety components and transmission for motorcycles.
In August 2015, it acquired British brand Avocet Sports with 51pc stake targeting high-end bicycle market in Europe and now has full ownership. In 2015, it also acquired Firefox Bikes – India’s largest premium bicycle brand with an established presence Pan-India through a network of 160 outlets. In 2016, it acquired a majority stake in Sri Lanka’s leading bicycle manufacturer BSH Ventures, further boosting its manufacturing capacity. As part of major expansion plans across Europe it launched the £2million Hero Cycles Global Design Centre (HGD) in Manchester, UK, in January 2017. The design hub is led by creative minds from across the world including innovators from India, Taiwan and Denmark.
Hero Cycles is ISO9001 & ISO14001 Certified from BVC of UK and recognized by the R&D department by the Govt. of India.