New 80-84 Age Group Hour Record Set; Canyon Enters U.S. Market

Editor’s Note: The following was sent to us from Mike Tierney, our erstwhile Wheel Builder columnist who’s been sidelined by health issues for a time. Mike, who lives in Ontario, Canada, owns a few Marinonis and has known Guiseppe for years.

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On Saturday at the Mattamy National Cycling Center in Milton, Ontario, 80-year-old Giuseppe Marinoni bested his own world hour record in the 80-84 age group. The new mark he set is 39 kph, or 24.24 mph. Wow!

 

For those here who don’t know who he is, Guiseppe is:

• The owner and producer of Cycles Marinoni in Montreal, Quebec.
• The previous hour world record holder for his age group.
• Past age group record holder for the Mt. Washington hill climb.
• Ex-Italian national team member somewhere in the early ’60s.

Giuseppe and his frame builder son, Luc, also made one of my prize possessions, a custom 40th anniversary Marinoni (I also own a few others). The photo below is of Guiseppe on the right, me in the middle, and Luc on the left. It was taken in 2006.

 

Giuseppe and three other Canadians broke hour records on Saturday in Milton, out of eight who made attempts across various age groups (both male and female cyclists). For more info you can read the article in Canadian Cycling Magazine.

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Canyon Now Selling Direct in U.S.

Canyon Bicycles, the pre-eminent direct-to-consumer brand known for its top-shelf builds and discount pricing, has now entered the U.S. market for the first time.

The German company has long been known across Europe and elsewhere (more than 100 countries in all) for building some of the nicest high-end bikes, with top-notch spec, at some of the best prices available anywhere. But the company had steered clear of the U.S. market until now.

Other big, well-known brands (Giant and Trek among them) will let you order your bike online, but you still have to go to a brick-and-mortar bike shop to pick up and complete your order. Canyon builds the bike to your spec and ships it directly to you. You do have to build it up, or have it done for you, but the price differential compared to many other brands is significant – easily in the 20-30% range, according to a detailed article on Canyon in BusinessInsider.com. Here’s how Canyon details the difference in approach:

Canyon bikes come with a 6-year warranty on its frames and forks, and a 30-day right of return.

The article quotes a few industry players on their opinions of whether Canyon will be a “disruptive” force in the U.S. market. Many think it will, including at least a couple of bike company execs I spoke to last week at Interbike.

Only time will tell, of course. But it’s hard to argue against having a viable choice for high-end bikes at prices that don’t (always) take your breath away. —John Marsh