Good News from the Industry as it Rallies Against the Spread of Covid-19 [Update: Endura Start Production on PPE]

Among the constant bad news about the worsening spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, brands and people in the bike industry are trying to make the most of a bad situation. Check out some of the positive news stories to come through our inbox.

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Endura start production on PPE for the National Health Service in Scotland

Endura has announced that they have been working with a number of different companies to start rapid production on PPE gowns for NHS Scotland. Starting from this week the apparel company has collaborated with Keela, Redwood TTM and Transcal to provide a significant volume of PPE for health services in Scotland. Using specialist fabrics produced by Don & Low the project from Endura will look to provide more than half on the non-sterile gowns needed for health and care workers in Scotland.



You can find out more about the project here

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Royal Racing Launch 'Thank you NHS' Jersey

To show their appreciation for the hard-working staff of the NHS, Royal Racing has launched a special edition version of their Core Jersey in the UK with all profits going to NHS Charities.

Find out more here.

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Nominate an Essential Worker in the Alta Cycling Group Real Heroes Bike Month Giveaway

Alta Cycling Group has launched the Real Heroes Bike Month Giveaway to celebrate and give back to workers on the frontlines of the COVID-19 crisis. Starting today through May 22, Alta is accepting nominations for healthcare workers, teachers, postal employees, grocery employees or anyone who has gone above and beyond to help their communities. Six nominees will be selected to receive a new bike from one of Alta’s five cycling brands— Diamondback, iZip, Raleigh, Haibike and Redline.

“We are thrilled to partner with local bike shops to deliver these gifts to the hardworking people in their community,” said Jill Nazeer, Marketing Director at Alta Cycling Group. “These retailers have been working tirelessly to support their neighbors and we are honored to highlight their efforts and put more smiles on the frontline.”

Rules and regulations can be found here. Alta looks forward to reading about all the amazing real life heroes helping on the front lines during this unprecedented time.

For additional dealer information and to nominate please visit wwww.altacycling.com.

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Clif Bar Donate 7 Million Bars to Food Banks and Frontline Healthcare Workers
Clif Bar has revealed on social media that so far they have donated seven million of their products to food banks and frontline health care workers as part of their effort to help those in need during these hard times.

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Roval Components Announces Support Our Shops Program

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Hiplok donates 100 bike locks to NHS staff hit by bike theft

To help prevent bike thefts from UK medical workers, Hiplok is donating 100 special blue bike locks to the NHS. They said on Instagram, "These are tough times but stealing bikes from the very people saving our lives is not the answer. That’s why we are producing and donating 100 locks to the NHS hospitals targeted by bike thieves. Our co-founder John just packed the first shipment of NHS blue ones."

'Supply Connector' launched by a group of North Carolina organisations

Supply Connector is a new venture launched by a group of North Carolina organisations that includes the NC Office of Outdoor Recreation Industry and NC Outdoor Recreation Coalition. The platform aims to provide vital information for manufacturers who have pivoted their factories towards making PPE and other important items, whether it is locating the correct materials, regulatory information or direct connections to those who need the equipment.

The site is a 100% volunteer effort from business management firm, Good Talk, and web design agency, Status Forward, with support from the NC Office of Outdoor Recreation Industry, Growing Outdoors Partnership, North Carolina Outdoor Recreation Coalition, and Outdoor Gear Builders.



Find out more here.

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Ibis Makes Protective Face Shields

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SRAM Mask Making Project

To date, the Zipp facility has sewn nearly 2,000 masks, and cut material for almost 20,000!

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WaveCel Shift manufacturing to PPE Shields

WaveCel, a company which normally focuses on producing liner for helmets has announced that they have shifted their manufacturing to face shields. Like many other companies, they have seen the huge demand for PPE and want to help those in need.

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Tairin Wheels Begin Production on Face Shields

Canadian bicycle wheel brand, Tairin Wheels, is another company stepping up and providing custom face shields for health workers as they begin production after finding out that local hospitals were running out of supplies.

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Yeti Cycles Commits to Producing 20,000 PPE Shields

Joining forces to support continued shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE) in Colorado, Smith and Black Diamond support Colorado mountain bike manufacturer Yeti Cycles as they shift focus to produce face shields for health care professionals fighting COVID-19 from the front lines.

Smith’s donation of 4,000 yards of goggle strap material, along with Black Diamond’s donation of 5,000 headlamp straps, will help Yeti Cycles complete 20,000 face shields being manufactured at its headquarters in Golden, Colorado. Calling on the Yeti Tribe to connect with those in need through social media efforts, the initial run of face shields had been claimed by healthcare workers and first responders across Colorado within the first 24 hours. The group is looking to source additional materials to increase shield production quantities in order to meet urgent demand.

Yeti began production of the face shields on Saturday, following an open-source shield template shared by students from the University of Wisconsin. The first delivery of finished shields to doctors, first responders and hospital workers will leave Yeti HQ this week.


Learn more here.

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Pedal MTB Offers Free Coaching to Key Workers

Once the social distancing restrictions have been lifted, Pedal MTB will be offering multiple, free half-day coaching sessions. The sessions will be held at Coed Y Brenin, North Wales, UK over a full weekend. All key workers involved in the Covid-19 response are eligible to apply. Our Partners Bikes Brenin will be offering free bike hire on selected bikes (availability dependent) for those that need a bike. Kingud will be providing some spot prizes for people attending and we also hope to have them in attendance to offer free bike washes. We are still in discussions with other companies who support us, so watch this space for more developments.

How it will work

• If you are a key worker, register an interest HERE. (We are reliant on your honesty here, if you are not a key worker please do not register for this event).

• Once a date has been set, those that have registered will be contacted by email.

• Coaching slots will then be allocated by Pedal MTB; if demand exceeds supply then places will be randomly allocated.

• There will be a range of sessions happening over the weekend to accommodate all riding levels. So if you are new to mountain biking or a seasoned pro we will put on the right session for you.

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Specialized Donate 1 Million Masks to Health Care Professionals

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CamelBak Gives Away 10,000 Reusable Water Bottles to Frontline Workers

CamelBak has launched an initiative during COVID-19 that, as a hydration brand, supports our healthcare workers and those on the frontline to keep them healthy and hydrated.

CamelBak is giving away 10,000 reusable water bottles to healthcare workers and those on the frontline. The process is simple: anyone authorized within their organization or facility can reach out to CamelBak at social@camelbak.com from a valid company email address to submit their request. They should provide their name, name of the facility, shipping address, phone number, # of bottles needed, and a photo of their medical or organization ID.

To date, CamelBak has donated to hospitals throughout California, New Jersey and New York. If you know of anyone in need please send them this information.

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‘The CrowFro Show’ vodcast starts fundraiser for NHS Charities COVID-19 Urgent Appeal

As part of their new YouTube series ‘The CrowFro Show’ will be interviewing Danny Hart with a fundraiser launching to support the NHS Charities COVID-19 Urgent Appeal. With each episode, the guests will be asked to donate something special with those who donate have a chance of winning. Follow the show on YouTube here

Find out more here.

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Hope Produces Visors and Ventilator Parts

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Specialized Supports Covid-19 Essential Workers


Today, Specialized launched an initiative to bring safe and reliable transportation to essential workers on the frontlines of the COVID-19 crisis. Specialized is giving essential workers across the United States free bikes through a crowd-sourced community referral program, and has donated bikes to Transportation Alternatives, a bicycle advocacy organization in New York, which is matching essential workers with bikes where the need is greatest.

WHAT: Bikes provide healthy, reliable, and convenient transportation while practicing safe social distancing.
WHEN: The community referral program begins April 13, 2020 and will run through April 22, 2020.
WHERE: Consumers can visit www.specialized.com/essential-transportation for more details on how to get involved nationwide.
WHY: Keeping essential workers moving is critical for our communities. The impact of COVID-19 is hard to process, and the actions we can take often feel small in comparison to the scale of the problem.

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Muc-Off launch 'Anti Bac Fight Back' project

Muc-Off has added to their recent efforts of assisting with the shortage of plastic bottles for hand sanitiser by launching their new 'Anti Bac Fight Back' project. The new program from the UK based company sees them take three different approaches to the situation. Support front line workers, protecting people and global support.

Adding to their previous efforts Muc-Off is now providing ITU nurses with anti-bacterial moisturising creams to help with the soreness creating by wearing face masks during their shifts. The aim is to donate 100,000 products to front line health workers.

They have also released a new range of anti-bacterial sanitisers and gels for everyone which will see 10% of profits from the products go to the World Health Organisation’s COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund. Finally, they have also started using their R&D team's 3D printer to produce PPE faceguards for local hospitals.

You can find out more here.

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Oakley Donate 20000+ units of protective eyewear to Healthcare Workers while also developing protective shield for front line health workers.
Oakley has announced on social media that they have so far donated over 20000 units of protective eyewear that will be sent across America and Europe. In addition to their sizeable donation, the company have also put their R&D and Manufacturing teams to work on a protective shield that they hope to mass produce for first responders and front line medical staff.

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Santa Cruz Bicycles' R&D Team Uses CNC Machinery to Produce Face Shields for Local Medical Staff



Although Santa Cruz, California is in a shelter-in-place like most of the world, Santa Cruz Bicycles’ R&D team is at work producing face shields (PPE) for local medical staff using sheets of plastic cut using their CNC machinery typically used for cutting carbon fiber as well as 3D printers used for prototyping.

The equipment is able to make up to 20 face shield lenses every 9 minutes, yielding ~1000 shields per day. Ten days were spent evaluating designs, developing multiple prototypes and getting feedback from local healthcare professionals to ensure the end product suited their needs. 3D printers are used to make reusable and sterilizable support frames using open source CAD designs. Enough material has been procured to produce 8,000 face shields in two different designs in the next week. 75 face shields from the pilot run were delivered to the Santa Cruz County Donation Center today. The team isn’t working in isolation, this is a community effort, working with volunteers, medical professionals and other local companies to coordinate efforts into effective and rapid action to address the anticipated needs.

With a little help from everyone, we’ll get through this together and come out as an even tighter community on the other side.

If you'd like to help donate to the cause you can find the Santa Cruz Community local COVID-19 response fund info here.

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Bell + Giro Donate 3000+ Goggles to Healthcare Workers

Bell and Giro, major providers of outdoor sports and recreation products, today announced the donation of 3,194 protective goggles to America’s frontline healthcare workers combating the spread of COVID-19, or coronavirus. The goggles, held and distributed at Vista Outdoor’s Rantoul, Illinois manufacturing and distribution facility, will be delivered to hospitals and other public health facilities in 18 states and 41 different health care facilities.

“Our Bell and Giro products are designed first and foremost to keep people safe, whether they are commuting to work or recreating in the outdoors. In light of the ongoing pandemic, our products are now proving to be an essential element for health care workers responding to the unprecedented public health crisis the world faces as we tackle the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Chris Sword, President of Bell + Giro. “This personal protective equipment, or PPE can help doctors, nurses, and other first responders focus on what they do best, and where they are needed most. Bell + Giro, and the entire Vista Outdoor family is indebted to our country’s medical professionals, and it is our duty to do everything we can to support them.”

The donation was done in coordination with Goggles for Docs, a newly formed organization that gets ski, mountain bike, and motorcycle goggles into the hands of healthcare workers who currently have no eye protection as they treat COVID-19 patients. The organization was created by members of the ski and snowboard industry after reading various reports that goggles had turned into valuable personal protective equipment for health care workers. More than 13,000 goggles have been donated thus far.

For more, please visit their website at: gogglesfordocs.com

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Dario Acquaroli Donates his World Championship Winning Bike to Corona Relief Effort

Dario Acquaroli is donating his 1996 Under 23 winning bike to help support the Mobile Intensive Care Units in Bergamo, Italy. Caroli beat Cadel Evans to take the win on September 17 1996 aboard this custom titanium hardtail and has kept hold of the bike for nearly 25 years.

Acquaroli competed in 19 UCI World Championships in total with the Italian national team, winning two European Championships (1992, 1993), two UCI World Championships (Juniors in 1993, U23 in 1996) and five Italian Championships (1992, 1993, 1996, 2000, 2005) with Team Bianchi, Full-Dynamix and Sintesi Larm.

He told the UCI: "Many people I know have died or are sick. The situation is worse than you can imagine reading in the news. But here we don't cry too much, we roll up our sleeves and give our contribution."

To win the bike, you can donate as little as $10 on his Wishraiser, here.

Acquaroli said: "I would be happy if the winner is someone who appreciates the value of that object and who understood that I donated it with my heart and for the cause. I imagine the bike hanging on a wall in the house and guests who come for dinner and ask what it is, and they can discover the story behind it. It’s nice if the winner of the bike is a simple person, who just donated only 10 euros."

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Smith Optics and 100% offer protective eyewear to caregivers and hospital workers

Both Smith Optics and 100% have announced programs that will see both brands provide personal protective equipment to those working hardest against the spread of the virus. Smith is currently sending out goggles to fufill hospital requests and they are asking the riding community to donate goggles or money to the cause. 100% have announced that so far they have donated over 1000 pairs of eyewear to caregivers who are being asked to buy their own Personal Protection Equipment.

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Velocio launches 2020 Unity jersey to benefit efforts battling COVID-19

New England based cycling apparel brand Velocio has announced the launch of their 2020 Unity jersey which will see 100% of profits go to three charities that are working hard to fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

The chosen three charities are Save the Children, Project C.U.R.E and Corona Virus Relief Fund.


For more information on the UNITY project, log onto www.velocio.cc.

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Shotgun release 30 free illustrations for kids to colour in at home


And all illustrations are drawn by the super talented Mike Hearsey from @snide.art, who is certainly worth a follow on the gram if you like bike art. Subscribe for the drawings, here.

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Muc-Off looks to offer help with the short supply of hand sanitizer bottles

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USA Cycling to assist companies who are supporting those in need with the ‘Bikes Give Back’ program

With companies offering their support for those in need by using their manufacturing services to produce face masks and ventilators, USA Cycling have announced their new ‘Bikes Give Back’ program which will see 50% of all memberships sales given directly to support companies who have pledged aid to those who need it. Currently, the cycling federation has committed to providing financial support through the program until 3 May 2020, which is when their domestic event suspensions will expire.

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Scicon Sports to produce face masks and protective eyewear

Scicon Sports joins the ranks of companies using their factories to produce personal protection items. The company has converted its production line to make respirator face masks and protective eyewear in response to requests from companies, private entities and law enforcement agencies for protective equipment.

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Panaracer will continue to financially support events despite cancellations

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The Bike Project launches virtual bike maintenance classes to teach people how to repair their own bikes

UK charity 'The Bike Project', which donates bikes to refugees in the UK, has launched virtual "Dr Bike" sessions. These will be one-to-one video sessions delivered by their team of mechanics with the aim to help people fix their bikes. All National Health Service staff are being offered the sessions for free to ensure they can keep using their bikes as a way to get to and from work.

Find out more here.

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Santini and Kitsbow shift clothing production to make facemasks
Performance clothing manufacturer Santanti announced this week that with the falling sales of its clothing range due to the virus it was planning to instead shift its production lines towards masks with the aim to produce 10,000 a day. The masks once produced will be given to those fighting against the spread of COVID-19.

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Industry Nine hopes to shift manufacturing to support fighting the virus

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Monkey's Sauce begins produce hydroalcoholic gel to supply hospitals



Monkey's Sauce has decided to use its large stock of glycerin and alcohol to produce alcoholic gel for hospitals. Monkey's Sauce said: "Monkey's Sauce and Hexis Group (our parent company, manufacturer of self-adhesive vinyl films) produce hydroalcoholic gel to supply hospitals. Glycerin is a major component of our sealant and we use alcohol to clean all machines & to produce some products like Hexis Shagclean. As we have a lot of stock that's why we decided to produce hydroalcoholic gel. Thank you to all the staff currently working at the factory while respecting the safety rules"

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BMZ Group stops production of batteries for ebikes to make batteries for ventilators

The BMZ Group, who produce Li-ion batteries that are used in e-Bikes, has decided to convert their production lines to make Li-ion batteries for medical equipment with a focus on ventilators, which are in short supply across the world. They have found that companies producing ventilators desperately need batteries with the company seeing a 50% increase in inquiries.

BMZ Founder and CEO Sven Bauer told Cycling Industry News: “For us, health protection is paramount. That is why we didn’t hesitate for a moment when we received a distressed call from manufacturers of urgently needed ventilators. We are in the fortunate situation of having access to an extensive inventory, allowing us to increase the number of batteries we produce for use in medical technology.”

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RGT Cycling indoor training app has been made free to users

Alex Serban, the founder and CEO of RGT, told Cycling News: “As the impact of COVID-19 is felt around the world, this mission has become more important than ever and after watching inspiring communities come together to support each other, our need to do everything we can to help became obvious.

“At a time when focusing on profit would be easy, this removal of restrictions will provide free access for all and, we hope, offer some support to the cycling community.”

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Cycling shops report a rise in sales as more people look to cycling as a mode of transport
Cycling Industry News reported earlier this week that with the spread of COVID-19 and the worries over using public transport they have found that bike shops have been seeing a rise in sales.

Energise e-Bikes has found that they are selling to people who they would not normally serve with a spike in sales at weekends. They told Cycling Industry News: “We did have a spike on the weekend sales-wise, particularly in the 30 to 40-year-old commuter demographic, which we don’t see that often.

Tring Motion’s David Barnett, hasn't found quite the same kind of sales as Energise but they have seen more people coming to have repairs on their bikes: “Mine has been mainly repairs, activity has increased despite my website being offline for a few days. I have had an uptick on lower priced units, for sure.”

Bicycle Retailer has also reported that New York has seen a rise in sales with New York city bridge counters seeing increased traffic and Citi Bike share system finding a usage increase of over 50%.

In the same report, it mentions that Bicycle Habitat which has three locations in the city has found increases of over 75% in their shops since the outbreak of COVID-19. Charlie McCorkell, owner of Bicycle Habitat told Bicycle Retailer: “We’ve been pretty busy; we’re an important part of the whole system right now and we’re doing our best to keep it going.

“We’re seeing sales in two categories: the transportation category and the other is what I call ‘normalizing your children’s experience in a time of crisis.’ We’re selling a lot of kids bikes. I think parents are trying to give kids a good experience as opposed to everything sucks out there.”

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Trash Free Trails announce selfless isolation initiative with the DIY spring trail clean
Trash Free Trails were set to kick off their Spring Trail Clean tour next month, which would have seen them head to 10 locations across the UK to clean up the trails from plastic waste left behind by trail users. But with the spread of the virus and government restrictions, the plans could not go ahead but that does not mean that trails can't be cleaned. To keep their idea going, they have announced 'Selfless Isolation', which involves anyone interested to head out to their local trails and pick up any rubbish that you can find. Even if we can't have as much fun on our bikes at the moment we can at least make sure that the places we ride stay clean and healthy for when we can return to the trails.

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