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Edited by John Stevenson
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Cannondale's losses: Montgomery replies
Yamaha thinks right outside the square
Diamondback to the future
Rob Eva grips Australia and NZ
Woods puts out Magura fires
Rowney brings Yeti to Australia
Continental issues downloadable 2002 catalog
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After our story a couple of weeks ago about Cannondale's losses for the first quarter of fiscal year 2002 we asked Cannondale CEO Scott Montgomery for his comments on the situation.
In a brief reply to emailed questions, and apologising for being unable to go into more detail, Montgomery told Cyclingnews that, yes, the bike side of the business is "very profitable."
It wasn't always so, though, and in response to a trip down memory lane to my days selling Cannondales in a shop in the UK, Montgomery commented, "Glad you are familiar with our past success. We were not very profitable in the early history of our bike production. It takes time."
While it's undoubtedly true that a project of the magnitude of Cannondale's foray into motorsport takes time to become profitable, it has to happen eventually or it's game over. However, Montgomery would not be drawn about when this might happen: "Sorry as a public company we do not make forward comments. The good news is the motorsports products are getting great reviews which reinforces the view that the product is superior."
Cannondale's 2002 motorbikes and ATVs are now in the shops. Let's hope that in the next few months they live up to the company's expectations.
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At the Tokyo motor show Yamaha showed this distinctly UCI-illegal time trial bike, writes Tony Whitney. Not only does it lack the mandatory number of tubes, but hidden in that monocoque frame is a battery and motor. At last – a way for the mere mortals among us to come to grips with Jan Ullrich! Maybe this was just what David Millar needed for the last ten km at the world's.
Almost unnoticed in the hoo-hah about carbon cranks and 10.5lb bikes lately is the news of the return to the road of a company that used to be a big player: Diamondback.
"Eh? Diamondback?" you say. Yep. Under the Centurion brand, the company now known as Diamondback, and better known for BMXes and mountain bikes, was responsible for one of the best-selling bikes of the mid-'80s. Diamondback/Centurion gambled that index shifting would be a big hit, bought a boatload of the first indexed Shimano 105 group, hung them on tidy Japanese chromoly frames and used triathlon god Dave Scott to head up a massive marketing campaign.
Those Centurion/105 bikes sold loads and were a common sight at club races and triathlons until bike manufacturers decided they could sell almost anything to triathletes if they could convince them it'd make them go faster, and the 'tri-bike' trend started.
Without the wave of the first triathlon boom to surf, we'd guess Diamondback's intentions this time round are more modest. That seems to be indicated by the range: three bikes from the mostly Sora-equipped Interval to the 105-clad Master. Nevertheless, it's a welcome sign of the health of the road bike market to see a company now far better known for fat-tyre bikes return to the fold.
SRAM has announced the appointment of Rob Eva to fill the new position of Australian and New Zealand Technical Market Manager. Rob is a well-known figure on the Australian racing scene, both as a racer (with six downhill and cross country Australian National Championships on his trophy shelf) and as a team manager.
According to SRAM, Rob has been involved in prototype testing for the company since 1998, having maintained a relationship with SRAM during his racing career. He joined SRAM's Technical Race Support, and mobile marketing teams in 1999.
Rob's role as Technical Market Manager will include handling OE tech support questions and advising dealers ion SRAM products.
Speaking of former racers finding careers in the bike industry, 1996 Australian MTB Olympian Rob Woods, who returned to his main career as a firefighter last year, is also helping out at Sydney bike parts importer Velo-Vita, where he's pitching in on a part-time basis as Velo-Vita's technical guy for Magura hydraulic disk and rim brakes.
If you're an Australian who fancies a top-notch US-built off-road frame, you now have an extra option: well-known mountain bike racer Paul Rowney is starting Yeti Cycles Direct which he describes as "the only feasible way to get Yeti frames into Australia thanks to our weak Aussie dollar."
You can get hold of Paul at: yeticyclesdirect@yahoo.com
Tyre fanatics who are pining for their fix of Continental 2002 info and can't wait till December for the print version of the catalog need wait no longer; you can download a PDF from Continental's UK site: www.conti-tyres.co.uk/conticycle/downloads/downloads_default.htm
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