Arrival of Specialized

Well, the news is finally out and Mike and Jenny are pleased to announce the safe delivery of that Special little bundle they have been expecting.

That's right, in a notable coup for small independent bike shops, Mikes Bikes are the newest Specialized dealer in the North. The arrival of the Specialized range adds some iconic model names such as Hardrock, Stumpjumper, Epic and Roubaix to the selection of established brands and models already on display at Mikes Bikes. Specialized's reputation as a market leader has been reflected by the interest shown in the bikes by regular visitors to the shop and several have already been sold - if you see a new Specialized around, check to see the orange Mikes Bikes sticker that marks its origins from a local business.

Of course, we continue to provide a wide choice for our customers. Newcomers Forme, a British company featuring Kinesis frames, are offering a particularly good deal this month on mens and womens Ramble Hybrids, knocking 20% off the shop floor price to deliver a 700c wheeled alloy hybrid with mechanical lockout forks and tektro disc brakes for £399. Leading the way on high end sales has been Merida, the company who make Specialized, with customers proving that money is no object when it comes to shaving an extra few seconds off their race times. It will be interesting to see how the Specialized S-Works models affect the market at this end. Also joining Forme, as from today 23rd June ,Merida have reduced a number of their srps - one of the best deals being £100 off the Merida 100D now retailing at £499.99.

This month's competition is to name five bike brands sold at Mikes Bikes, so with the previous two paragraphs providing three of them, I think that is enough for this article I think a future competition could be to decipher Specialized jargon - how about Body Geometry, Brain Technology and ZertZ for starters?

There is a rumour going round the town that Callum completed the Bikeathon on Sunday on something resembling a real bike. Also, Mike opted to provide mechanical and puncture repair services rather than risk his status as Aviemore's fastest Devlin, with Sally rolling up to the starting line on her public debut using SPD pedals. Unfortunately, there is no truth in the rumour that there is youtube footage of the embarrassing tumble at the flags at Dalfaber, resulting from an earlier SPD experiment (caused by Cal's brother, I am reliably informed). Sally's next competitive outing will be at Cairngorm Cycling Club's one mile challenge on Thursday - will Cal be there, or will he be collecting style points Strictly Come Cycling on his Ashton DB down round the town centre?