Sir Chris Hoy launches HOY Bikes brand with seven models

Stay tuned cycling neophytes, you'll have a new Wiggo Cycle in your stable by next year...

Agree some, but there is a lot of cynicsm here.

If it gets more people cycling, and Sir Chris earns a few quid, what the hell ?

I think we're entitled to be cynical when you see the input Victoria Pendleton had with he Halfords bikes!

I am genuinely interested to see how these Hoy bikes turn out.

FWIW there were cheap Eddy Merckx branded bikes sold in the UK (made by Coventry Eagle) long before Eddy set-up his own operation in the 1980s. I see no difference between this and any other 'licensed' product - very few 'branded' products are made by the same company - even the majority of Trek, Specialized and Cannondale's products are sub-cpntract manufactured - the only big brand who doesn't is Giant.

I think there's more to be said on this by Chris and others, but a quick 2p from someone involved on the product side of things -

"If there was a track bike being launched amongst this lot I could perhaps buy into the Hoy input, but this does indeed just smack of a marketing opportunity for Evans and a money maker for Hoy."

There are track bikes in the plan, laid out to some exact specs and to be tested properly before being produced. It was mentioned in the launch, but the other bikes that have been made for testing got the headline. No reason to limit the range to the bikes Chris wins on though - we know first-hand that he's fast on an MTB and I expect much quicker than most of us on a road bike too.

"that would be foolish given the reputation and competitive pricing Boardman has established." - plenty of other brands already compete with CB at that level.

"It would be nice to see him produce something which is market leading in design and quality, but I don't think that it will happen."

Such cycnicism! ) It's OK, I'm as much a marketing cycnic as anyone, I understand it. But really, why not? There's not much, if anything, being done by most other brands that cannot be done under Chris Hoy's direction. It has to start somewhere. Being sold via one channel with focus means we can do things that are trickier logistically for other brands but benefit the rider - more on that in due course.
He's not so focussed on the real exclusive / high-price bikes initially though, more interested in seeing young riders supported to follow in his tyre tracks and getting people on bikes for the enjoyment of it. The whole idea from Chris was about how he started out, where the inspiration came from and the opportunities it has given him in life. I believe in that - and there's more expensive carbon out there than all we really need, the industry has an imbalance in focus on high-end performace bikes compared to youth and sports-practical use cross-over kind of bikes*

*the big kid in all of us means there's still going to be some nice toys coming out of all this I think ..

I'm not expecting great shakes but who knows? Boardman got it about right and the number of cycling brands started by ex racers and champions is.... huge.

The old way was hire a frame builder to do it to your numbers or do it white-label, the new way is rent some layup line and do it white label to your numbers. Nothing much has changed has it?

Can the UK take another brand? Who knows? Lets see!

I'm sure we can add to this list of ex rider brands(please do): Merckx, Bontrager, Le Mond, Coppi

Give the man a chance. So long as he puts his name to decent bikes that might conceivably be used for the activities he's famous for ie some form of cycle sport, what's not to like? Especially if they turn out to be good looking and affordable too - I have no idea why cheaper bikes tend to look so horrible. Pretty paint isn't more expensive than ugly paint, is it?

Of course, the bikes might turn out to be cheap Pashley clones or ugly hybrids like the Pendleton range for Halfords. But somehow I doubt it.

I share a lot of the scepticism expressed here. If there was a track bike being launched amongst this lot I could perhaps buy into the Hoy input, but this does indeed just smack of a marketing opportunity for Evans and a money maker for Hoy.

Fair enough to both of them but I suspect this will be aimed at the cycle to work scheme market rather than competing head on with upper level Boardman bikes - that would be foolish given the reputation and competitive pricing Boardman has established.

Interesting to see them anyway...

Let's give Hoy and Evans a chance to prove themselves. A lot of conjuncture here based on little information.

That said, in my opinion ( ), the likelihood is that Hoy and Evans will probably create a line of bicycles in a similar vein to that with of the Pendleton/Halfords collaboration. Though I think we will see some 'trendy' fixie bikes, and some proper track bikes.

Evans and Hoy know that they will not have international recognition for his track cycling, so his audience is domestic. If Evans and Hoy are looking to go global and high end they will need to do something impressive with the range (which is ambitious and unlikely in this climate).

This is a nice way for Hoy to make some money out of his success and reputation. It would be nice to see him produce something which is market leading in design and quality, but I don't think that it will happen. To this extent the comments above appear to show the palpable disappointment and acknowledgement of this.

It would be nice to see a cyclist putting his name to either components or clothing. The latter I think is a market which could easily be broken into with good design and style elements as I think Endura, Altura and Gore offer a poor deal on this, and Castelli, Mavic and Assos are too expensive for many budgets.

No different to Vicky P or that Louis bloke being on strictly cum whatsit and avertising subway sarnies! Good luck to him if it helps bring in the coffers and top up his pension, lets face it in 20 years time it will be Chris Who?

Or he could whore himself out on I'm a Celebrity etc (god forbid this ever comes back to bite me in the arse). He is like all of us trying to make a living. Admittedly his image has good value at the moment, but how long will that last and what income level will it generate as the years pass? I suspect that he is a long way behind a lot of "top flight" football players in the money he has earned to date. Good luck to him I say.

David, Mitsubishi are certainly one of the suppliers, saw many boxes of their raw fibre sheet in a frame factory.

What on earth is that location? It looks like a warehouse used for dog fighting.

AFAIK Giant doesn't make "raw carbon fibre". That would be the likes of Toray and Mitsubishi Rayon. Giant does make an awful lot of frames, though

Let's be honest, building a bike isn't that complicated. the technology is very mature. It's a double trinagle of tubes with an off the shelf groupset bolted on.

Beyond deciding what types of bikes you want to pffer then there is a limit to how much input anyone is going to put in. If I recall correctly, Chris boardman's bikes were built by Terry Dolan, and I am sure Terry will have had at least some input into the process too.

"(just to clear up, when I say built their own, I meant started a company that built bikes, where Hoy is just a branding tool for Evans bikes?)"

None of the bike brands you mention above actually make their own bikes - I see their proucts in the same factories as other brands. I could (but won't as it's not my place to) tell you who makes their frames and who assembles their bikes. So whether Hoy bikes are in partnership with Evans or if it was a seperate company entirely, the product has the same route to market. What counts is the design from the brand at the start and the manufacturing quality.

Chris Hoy is as passionate about the detail of a bike and about riding any kind of bike as anyone. His success came on the track, but he trains hard on the road and he's pretty quick on a mountain bike too, probably from BMX and MTB racing in the past.

Money-making at its best. Road and city bikes bearing the name of a track cyclist. Good luck to them but I won't be buying one.

Really seanie? I knew an investment company called Sobradis turned their loan into capital (shares) and that Merckx still retains 15% of his company, but I'm pretty sure that Pinarello have nothing to do with it.

Main photo also on the Daily Mail site:
"On your bike: Hoy poses with one of his new bikes"
Nice to see some good old fashioned Daily Mail research still exists.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/othersports/article-2239255/Sir-Chris-H...

I totally get what PaulVWatts means. I think that might be why he's basically just putting his name on the bike built by someone else.

Where as Boardman and Merckx built their own from the start and as far as I'm aware still do. A bit like Lemond did until Trek bought him over

(just to clear up, when I say built their own, I meant started a company that built bikes, where Hoy is just a branding tool for Evans bikes?)

'What if any input as he had as a rider into bike design?'
Plenty I would imagine, a guy his size would have to know what he wants to throw about the track at warp speeds. As a sprinter of great power he would know just what he wants technically in much the same way as Cavendish.

Looking forward to seeing one in the flesh so that I can point a shout "A Hoy!"