PRESS RELEASE: Pon Holdings today announced that they have acquired Cervélo Cycles, after successfully concluding negotiations that began last December.

“Cervélo is a unique brand that we are very pleased to bring into Pon Bicycle Group (PBG). The Canadian based company’s state of the art technology and passion for pushing the limits of engineering has captured the imagination of cyclists around the globe,” said Janus Smalbraak, CEO Pon Holdings. “With Cervélo we believe there is great potential for growth and we are looking forward to working with them to achieve these goals.”

Cervélo will continue to operate independently, retaining its unique identity, innovation and premium brand positioning. This is the same strategy Pon employ with their other PBG properties, Royal Dutch Gazelle and the German manufacturer Derby Cycle where Pon is a major shareholder.

Cervélo co-founders Phil White and Gerard Vroomen both remain with Pon Bicycle Group. White will continue in his present role as Cervélo CEO. Vroomen will assume a (part-time) role as Business Development Manager within PBG, focusing on special projects for the Group.

“The opportunity for Cervélo within Pon Bicycle Group, is tremendous,” said Phil White, CEO, co-founder Cervélo. “The combination of Pon’s considerable resources and expertise and Cervélo’s cutting edge technology will make us stronger and more competitive as we continue to engineer the best bikes on the planet.”

• Bell Sports has designated separate brand presidents for Bell/Blackburn and Giro. While still part of the same company, splitting the brands internally was done to let each group focus on what they do best. Bell will focus on motorsports, although they’re saying some innovations will come in their bicycle helmets, too, and Giro will expand their offerings across more adventure sports.
• The 2012 Philly Bike Expo already has 20 exhibitors signed up, including builders, component manufacturers and other clothing, gear and miscellany that makes the cycling experience complete. Looks like the event continues to grow, great job Bina!

Cervelo co-founder Gerard Vroomen and former BMC CEO Andy Kessler have announced that they are starting a new brand that’s likely to focus on mountain bikes.

The news seems to have originated from a SlowTwitch forum where Vroomen has chimed in to set a few details straight:

(Andy) and I are looking into doing something in mountain biking, not exactly sure what yet. It’s fun to do something new, although I have to say it’s frustrating trying to come up with a new brand name. Cervelo was so easy to come up with, I never worried that it could be difficult to come up with another one. So if anybody has any suggestions, let me know.

The operating name is “Open Mountain”, but from the sound of things, they’re looking for something a bit edgier.

In December, Cervelo entered into a agreement to sell to PON Holdings. Vroomen made it clear that he will still be working with his original partner in Cervelo, Phil White, to pen designs for that brand and that any forward motion with Open Mountain will be with their consent.

Thanks to Jason for the tip!

Cane Creek is a small company with a big name. Like any other small company, their people cross over between roles to get the job done. Chris Strout is no different, juggling customer service -which means shops, distributors and consumers like us- with sales while also getting out in the field to promote the company at events like Interbike, Sea Otter Classic and smaller events throughout the U.S.

It’s a job that’s gotta get done, and like any other job in the cycling industry, it’s got some pretty sweet perks. His story also continues to illustrate the benefit of having a broad variety of life experiences and jobs outside of the industry before trying to “break in.” Here’s his story…

BIKERUMOR: Who are you and what are you doing here?

STROUT: I am Director of Domestic Sales and Customer Service at Cane Creek Cycling Components. I’m part of a a “new guard” at Cane Creek, a management team that has come on in the past couple of years and really paved the way for Cane Creek to be successful as we develop our future. Cane Creek has this amazing history and legacy that we want to preserve; our challenge is to figure out how to do that while moving forward and staying cutting-edge against the backdrop of today’s business realities.

My focus is to continue to strengthen our relationships at the distributor level while providing resources and education for dealers across the country. I’m also the “advocacy guy” here. Finally, my team and I are responsible for all customer service – and we have big shoes to fill in that regards, as Cane Creek has built an incredible reputation for service. It can be tough sometimes: Our staff isn’t very large, but we take our customer commitment very, very seriously.

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PRESS RELEASE: Privately held Marin Bikes announces that it has reached agreement for sale to Minestone Limited, a European based investment firm. Since its inception in Marin County California, the birthplace of mountain biking, Marin Bikes has been a cycling innovator.

Robert Buckley, President and Founder of Marin:

“The acquisition of Marin by Minestone will allow us to strengthen our brand through increased investment in product innovation, marketing and human resources. We will continue to operate from our Novato headquarters in Marin County California, designing and testing on the trails and back roads that have inspired us for over 25 years. I greatly look forward to accompanying our talented and dedicated staff during this exciting new phase in our company’s history.”

Ross Patterson, Sales and Marketing Director, ATB Sales Ltd added…

“This is excellent news. The investment this acquisition will bring will strengthen Marin’s position globally and we look forward to the exciting times ahead for Marin in the UK”.

Founded in 1986, Marin has pioneered the application of cutting edge materials and production processes to lightweight performance bicycle frames. Sold by specialty retailers in over 40 countries, Marin has international offices in Canada, Switzerland and Taiwan.

• American Classic is sponsoring their first Pro Tour team, putting lightweight hoops under Cofidis riders for 2012. They even have an early season win under their belts thanks to Rain Taramae at GP Marseillaise.
• Bespoked Bristol, the UK Handmade Bicycle Show 2012, will be held this year on March 23-25th. Over 70 independent bicycle builders from the UK, Italy, France, USA and Germany will be present for you to drool over their handmade wares. Click here for more info.
• Mark your calendars for the March 10th Autodrop Doubleshot to be held in Moore’s Springs north of Hanging Rock State Park in North Carolina. The combination 12 mile single track/ 13 mile road race will raise money for the Moore’s Springs trail system and campground.
• GT Bicycles adds Kyle Strait, freerider extraordinaire, and Kenny Baley, multi-time Trials World Champion, to their Wingmen team.
• Ike Tseng, founder of Merida, passed away January 30 at the ripe old age of 81. According to the brand’s statement, he served as a multi-term chairman of Taiwan Bicycle Exporters’ Association which helped turn the country into the powerhouse bike manufacturer they are today, and invented welding robots that guaranteed quality mass production way early in the game. Full story here.
• OnYerBikeSeat has introduced brand able rain covers (pic after the break) for your bicycle saddle. They also protect against dive-bombing pigeons and presumably baking hot sun. Eventually, maybe, we’ll run out of places to advertise.
• Wanna know what your riding buddies are really thinking? Well, at least the riding buddies that a) subscribe to Bicycling Magazine and b) took the time to fill in their reader survey? Download the Reader’s Choice results as a PDF right over here.
• The 2013-2014 USA Cycling Gravity National Championships have found at home at Angel Fire, NM. Exact dates are still rolling around. Official PR below.

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We have discovered that VeloPress is in the process of converting an array of their new and bestselling titles to eBook format for such popular devices as Kindle, Nook, Apple iBook, Kobo, and others. VeloPress offers a wide selection of cycling books pertaining to training, exercise, nutrition, biography, and history. They also offer books on triathlon, running, and winter sports.

For example, VeloPress is now offering their recently-published (and quite interesting) “Team 7-Eleven” Kindle version on Amazon for $13.49. Watch Bikerumor for a review of this book in coming days.

To see highlights of what they’re offering and to get the link to the full list of titles currently and soon-to-be available, click more…

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For nearly as long as I have been following the Peaty and the downhill race scene, SRAM and the Santa Cruz Syndicate seemed to go hand in hand. Wherever you would see Peat, Minnaar, Bryceland, etc, you would see them aboard the latest and greatest from the big red machine. As they say, all good things come to an end, and after 8 long and successful years, the Syndicate is thanking Sram for their incredible support while moving on.

What are they moving to? Rumors have been circulating that the new bikes will be equipped with Shimano parts and possibly Fox suspension, but only time will tell.

Check out the full press release from Santa Cruz after the break.

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• Ray’s Mountain Bike Park is hosting two Women’s Weekends, one at Cleveland (Feb 17th) and one in Milwaukee (March 9). Both are FREE to attend for women and offer professional coaching and guidance from Leigh Donovan and others. It’s not only free of cost, it’ll be free of dudes, too. Full details at the links.
• The Tran-Sylvania Epic mountain bike stage race returns for year numero tres, scheduled for May 27 to June 2, 2012 in State College, PA. Sponsored by Stan’s NoTubes and Dirt Rag Magazine, the event will drop a few miles in order to up the fun quotient, says promoter Mike Kuhn. Full press release along with some choice event photos after the break (plus the one above!).
• Retailer registration for DealerCamp 2012, scheduled for July 24-26, is now open. All bicycle retailers are invited to register and attend this free event. You can even apply to have your trip subsidized or covered.
• Trek Bicycles has launched the Trek-ODI developmental DH racing team. Comprised of five juniors, they’ve put World Cup champion Aaron Gwin in charge of coaching the grooms (including US 16-and-under National Champion Logan Mulally, plus Jason Schroeder, Charlie Harrison, Matt Branney, and John Buckell) into international gravity stars. They’ll be racing the Session 88 decked out with Bontrager parts and rubber.
• Zym, one of our favorites among the effervescent electrolyte tabs, is celebrating five years on the market. Congrats, guys!

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Now, back to your regularly scheduled bike news.

Here’s our first actual hands-on look at the new 2012 Cervelo P5 up close.  After months of anticipation and speculation (here, here and here), the bike has made its official debut.  The Canary Island of Fuerteventura is providing us with an incredible backdrop to see this bike first hand for its public release.  As you can see from all of the pictures that leaked out earlier this week, this new TT/Tri offering from Cervelo has an incredibly fast, clean, simple look as well as incredible sex appeal.  More detailed pictures and information after the break…

UPDATED: Sizing, Full Geometry, and More Info after the break!

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For those of us who’ve owned, ridden, or followed the arc Paul Turner’s Maverick bikes over the years, sad news.  It’s been apparent for some time that Maverick hasn’t been in great shape- the promised carbon DUC36 has been in the wings for what seems like years, common sense upgrades like thru-axle rear ends, tapered head tubes, direct-mount or E-type front derailleurs, and a rumored suspension redesign were postponed, and certain frame sizes and spares had also become hard to come by.  No doubt triggered by a post that we saw this morning, Ethan Franklin, the technical hands and online face of the brand today posted a note on MTBR about Maverick’s status:

Its time for me to post a short message regarding Maverick. As of Jan 1st Maverick has ceased operations. Paul Turner has reclaimed the brand and licenses. What he will do with it remains up in the air, some rumors have floated around but none for me to add to! I don’t think the technology will disappear, it’s too good and other manufactures are looking for ways to beat their competition.

As for Me, I have been in the process of restarting the small parts and full service/repair end. This will be my own gig and not associated with Maverick of the past. The previous owners (Mike & Chris) have generously made this happen for me and Maverick owners can take solace that parts and service will be around. I’ve been with Maverick for about 7 years and see that the products are worth keeping going and even make better with detailed expertise…

Read the rest of the post after the jump.

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