NEWSFLASH

We are exhibiting at the TWOO bicycle show in Basel (19.02. - 22.02.2008). Feel free to drop by our stand at hall 3.1 stand b22.

Our main focus on this show will be our brand new "USED STEEL BIKES". Have a look at them by clicking the link below. Our new STEEL BIKES range offers Singlespeed and Fixed Bikes as well as hauling bikes and a touring bike. We'll show the BiGBOYs, the Carry freedom trailers, the Xtracycle and a BionX pedelec as well.

We don't have many space at the trade show and so we have left our ScooterBikes, ScooterTrikes and the industrial bikes from MONARK at home. But if you've got questions about these products we will be happy to answer them.

We're looking forward to meeting you.

das USED Team

Get your own - Open publication

This is the 2009 USED Urban Steel Bikes Catalogue. It features all you need to know about our new product line. It's our first digital catalogue. We are trying to put our information on the Internet instead of printing thousands of catalogues that people take but seldom use. I sometimes wonder if people must use them as fire wood? Anyway this catalogue put up on ISSUU works just like a paper catalogue but with links and has the advantage that we can update any time. More about USED Steel Bikes here >>>>>

The music that is playing, if your computer has sound, is “Destiny Train” from the Illegal Artists. Bob from USED is singing, Marc Praed (Guitar - ex Cliff Barnes), Henry Rebellius (Bass - ex Cliff Barnes and Surplus Stock), Susan Voelz (Violin - Poi Dog Pondering and Giant Sand) and El John Nelson (Percussion - Thievery Corporation and Poi Dog Pondering). Enjoy....

We talked a lot about our new USED Steel Bike range. The people at the trade shows 2008 were simply amazed by the first samples. Finally the first shipment arrived, we took some nice photos of the bikes and now they are ready to hit the road.

There are five different models. We've got singlespeed bikes and fixed gear bikes, the URBAN COWBOY - a mountainbike designed for the city, a truck with mounts for racks in the front and in the back and a travelling bike that might get you to the Himalaya and back! All these bikes have got two things in common: a plain and ageless design and a ChroMoly frame, designed in Australia.

"Simple street bikes that are fun to ride", says Richard Ayling the designer of the bikes. ...READ MORE

Carlton Reid is one of the busiest bike journalists i know. Not only does he write for BikeBiz the UK trade magazine but he also twitters with many bike business people, he blogs and spreads the bike word better than one of those western preachers saving souls in the afterlife with a half empty bottle of whisky in his pocket. Carlton is doing his stuff for the present and making a lot of noise, promoting the bicycle, both politically and emotionally. Check out Quickrelease TV to be convinced.

The next step is his new book "bike to work"... read more

a journey of 30 years, project of a lifetime

A journey of 30 years - the longest expedition ever documented in human history - that's the aim of Denis and Tanja Katzer. Using Carry Freedom Trailers they are currently on their trans-east-expedition from Germany to Burma. It's all here.....more

The Carry Freedom Paper Bicycle

This is a bike for the modern city.

Enclosed chain and mudguards keep you clean and dry. Puncture proof tyres, internal gears cables and brakes, guarantee reliability.Add a touch of colour with a personal chaincase.

One size fits everyone. It's all here.....more

Bob with Mark and Rob from Loads Better at the Cycle Show in London

Shot over to London for 5 days. Back in the hometown for the first time in ages. Don't kill me but we flew Ryan Air from Bremen to Stanstead. I know it's not really politically correct to pay more for the bus ride to the airport than the flight, but it worked surprisingly well. They are efficient, on time and somehow must make some money. After a short bus ride with our guilty conscience we arrived in the the biggest pulsating trendy capital of the world, probably - and we couldn't get something to eat at 10:30 at night! Now i know why i love european cities like Berlin where everything is open. And the famous "Last Orders" is also still in use, so drink fast! It's all here.....more

DAn and Bob at the Eurobike - FOTO: Claudia MüLLER (www.vincentz.de)

USED has always been a strong supporter of the IFMA the business bike show. But the IFMA has lost a lot of ground to the Eurobike over the last 5 years. So this IFMA was the last one. Read our report on the things we experienced in Cologne, from "No beer for Nazis" to a cool cruiser ride and Bobs thoughts about the future of the bike business. It's all here.....more

part one Richard ayling interview

Here's a two-part interview that i did with Richard Ayling, when he came to visit me after the Eurobike Show in Quakenbrück. Richard is the owner of Allegro Bikes in Melbourne Australia. USED and Allegro have signed an agreement to build and distribute a line of Singlespeed Urban Bikes. The bikes will come out in Europe under the name USED and in Australia under Allegro. Richard has done a great job with the specs and the bikes are really cool. They are fast, tough and a lot of fun to ride and they will carry a lot of stuff as well. Richard is an ex-track racer and trainer and has worked with people like Cadal Evans, Robbie McEwan and Stuart Grady on the track. He also worked for Cannondale for a long time before setting up distribution for Ortlieb, Basso and Tubus in Australia. In this interview Richard explains about Global Cooperation and what each of the bikes can do.

In part two of the interview below you can also hear a Aussie folk tune, played by Richard on his mandolin, which is his trusty companion on those long trips away from home. Richard is a great guy, friendly, knowledgeable and a feast of information about biking in general and singlespeeders in particular. The track frame was a big hit at both Eurobike and IFMA this year. I hope we can make the video quality better next time, but it gives you a good insight into what the new range is about. A catalogue will be ready soon.

part two Richard Ayling interview

Rocking the bigboys

New front and rear cargorack

You know, when we sit down in one of our marathon "What should we be doing next?" meetings, the discussion always comes back to carrying stuff. And we don't mean camping and kajaking, we mean a beer crate, a stack of groceries and ok, maybe even the kitchen sink. USED has always had this core interest. We sell the CarryFreedom trailers and the Xtracycle. The Monark range is also a big seller with it's range of transportbikes. We felt we needed something to convert a standard bicycle into a truck..... more.

Lightbox - Allegro and cactus10

Richard Ayling and Bob Giddens met in 2007 at an Ortlieb-Party during Eurobike. Now they have agreed to a global collaboration in which Richard's Allegro Brand and Cactus10 will produce the same bikes for two different markets. Allegro's home is Melbourne, Australia, where Single-Speed and Track bikes are very popular among Aussie-Urbanites. USED will issue the same bikes and more under the Cactus10 logo. "Together we have some beautiful bikes that will turn some heads, both here and down under" said Bob Giddens, recently in Taiwan. Richard, who also imports Basso and Ortlieb into Australia, is pleased to have a partner that can consolidate some of the production and to promote both brands in the world. A lot of bikes get made in Taiwan and then transported to either Europe or the USA or Australia. These bikes will go both ways, making Taiwan the perfect base for global collaboration .... more.