Shimano is in the business of producing bicycle components and sport fishing equipment, both recreational tools whose value is determined by how well they perform in the hands of the people who use them. Our business philosophy is based on developing products that help people to interact with nature through the outdoor activities they love.

Whether you're looking for a competitive edge on a racing bike, or rediscovering the joys of cycling on a new mountain bike, Shimano components not only improve your performance, but make cycling a lot more fun. Shimano components have made a great contribution to the world of bicycle racing through advanced designs that reduce stress and make more efficient use of energy. The engineering behind these competition components is also applied to the full line of Shimano products so all cyclists can benefit from it.

Shimano Service Centres:
The bike you ride is a complex machine with hundreds of moving parts, it needs qualified, professional maintenance to keep it working. Shimano Service Centres are a network of shops with trained staff that will be able to service your bicycle to a professional standard.

You can be assured when you visit a Shimano Service Centre that you will receive the best advice and service from trained professionals. Each Service Centre has at least one bicycle mechanic who is trained (or in training) to the Government endorsed National Vocational Qualification in cycle mechanics.

Adventure

The Adventure range of products is designed to help the leisure cyclist get out there with family or friends and enjoy the cycling experience. For example, a cycle trailer will allow you to take along more than one child, as well as all the food, drink, and games required for an enjoyable day out. Trailer bikes allow you to move on to the next step, as the time will come when you really start to notice the extra weight of a child in a childseat or a trailer, but endurance, skill, or road conditions will make it impossible for him or her to ride on a solo bike. Enter the Trailer bike, which allows children to put out as much (or should that be as little?) effort as they want, and at the same time you can introduce them to the basic disciplines of controlling a bike. Adventure Trailer bikes offer the most important features required to keep family cycling convenient and enjoyable, and the quality is such that they will still be ready for duty when the next child comes along.

Agu

Agu is renowned for manufacturing outstanding bags and rainwear, which is not surprising when you realize that cycling is a big part of Dutch life: it carries on whatever the weather, so you will understand why they demand such a high standard from rainwear. Agu rainwear will give you the confidence to be outside in all weathers, keeping dry.

Agu also produces one of the most comprehensive ranges of cycle luggage available today, offering high quality products that have been proven over the years and around the world: whatever your needs, Agu will have a product to suit your budget. If you choose your luggage well, you will be able to concentrate on enjoying the journey ahead.

Animal

Animal was conceived back in 1987 by two surfers who were really fed up with continuously losing their watches in the water due to the straps breaking under extreme conditions. They came up with a solution in the form of a webbing and Velcro strap that put an end to their problems. Setting up 'production' in a back bedroom at one of their mother's houses, they began to make small quantities of straps and sell them to their surfing friends. The money raised paid for surf trips to far flung spots in Oz and Hawaii where the pair sold more straps to fund their storm-chasing escapades.

The simplicity and rugged nature of the strap made it suitable for crossing over into other action sports such as windsurfing, snowboarding, skateboarding, and mountain biking. First and foremost a functional product, the strap became a success and Animal was born.

Animal is now a design-led sports brand, boasting an extensive team of athletes in each of its core sports: these are surfing, snowboarding, windsurfing, kite surfing, and mountain biking. Their ride-refined programme means that all products get tried, tested, and tweaked by the Animal pro team for real rider performance. This ensures that the products excel in the harsh conditions found in today's active sport environments.

Asterisk

Asterisk is the world's premier knee brace manufacturer, with their Cell model being the flagship product. What makes the Cell so unique is the fact that it is the only knee brace designed to be used pre- and post-trauma; most knee braces are for post-trauma use.

Asterisk was started by a group of athletes who had extensive background in the design and use of orthopaedic devices. The motivation behind the formation and growth of the company was, and still is, to bring state of the art protection directly to the athletes, in the form of performance enhancing products.

Asterisk introduced the Cell Knee Protection System 2001 to satisfy the demand for high-level knee protection. The Cell was their first product and by 2005, the Germ had joined it's already well established stable mate to offer trickle-down technology to kids.

Paralleling the form, fit and function of the best orthopaedic braces, Asterisk's knee braces are a giant leap forward in design, affordability and protection. The company is committed to maintaining and enhancing the lifestyle of individuals participating in action sports, whilst providing the information need to improve the user's knowledge of biomechanics of the knee.

Asterisk knee braces are available in a range of sizes and suitable for a multitude of action sports, from snowboarding and skiing to MX and downhill mountain biking.

Aztec

Aztec has been producing high performance brake pads for many years, and has earned a reputation for providing reliable and consistent braking performance in all weathers – even in typical British conditions.

On-road or off-road, leisure trips or competitive events, if you have confidence in your braking performance you will be a safer and quicker rider. There is a brake pad for virtually every type of brake within the comprehensive Aztec range, including the many options of disc brake now available.

Bell

More World Champions have worn Bell Helmets than all other helmet brands combined. From Grand Prix racing through the Indy 500 to Olympic cycling, Bell helmets have played a vital role in protecting sportsmen and women for 50 years.

Bell began as a small auto parts store in a suburb of Los Angeles. Growing under the benevolent leadership of Roy Richter, Bell became a leader in safety equipment for auto racing, motorcycling and then bicycling.

His commitment to creating great product through a close connection with the sport, along with his trust of and care for the people who worked for him, turned Bell from a one-man operation into a multi-million dollar enterprise. His legacy lives on today in Bell's commitment to racing, quality and innovation.

Blackburn

In 1975 Jim Blackburn founded Blackburn Design with two principles: make reliable, superior products; and stand behind them with a Lifetime Warranty. Years later Blackburn is still dedicated to making high quality accessories designed for the rigours of real world cycling, and is backed by the best warranty in the business.

No fads, no gimmicks, just smart durable accessories that won't let you down when you need them most.

The secret to Blackburn equipments sensible design, premium construction, and incredible durability are the people who ride it every day, on road and off; in races, training, triathlons, tours, and daily commutes.

Every Blackburn product has hundreds of test miles on it by people who demand the same kind of performance from their equipment as you do. Cyclists all over the world know if they want equipment that will survive the worst kind of punishment, the first choice is Blackburn.

Cervelo

Cervélo Cycles saw the light of day in 1995 when 2 engineers, Phil White and Gérard Vroomen, decided to take the work they had been doing on developing faster Time Trial bikes to market. Already involved in bicycle and Human Powered Vehicle design since 1986, the turning point came when a top-ranked Italian pro cyclist approached Gérard to design the fastest possible Time Trial bike for him. He had come to the realization that his bike sponsor was capable of building traditional bikes using off the shelf tubesets, but did not have the interest or expertise to develop leading edge designs with the focus on aerodynamics. He also realized that he could not look at the novel designs put before him and know if they were improvements, or just "different".

With help of his team Phil and Gérard started the bike design from scratch: they evaluated the bikes on the market, and set a design goal for the bike that was difficult and uncompromising. They wanted something that was unbeatable in aerodynamics yet sacrificed nothing in weight or stiffness, and was unfettered by issues of marketability. It was to be a one-off design for this rider. The result was a pretty radical bike that pushed the rules in almost every area. It tested extremely well for aerodynamics, as well as handling, stiffness and comfort.

Phil and Gérard were already personally involved in triathlon and road racing, and everywhere they went with the bike people asked us where they could get one. An important exception was the team's bike sponsor, who was not yet ready to part with tradition. Phil and Gérard drew the conclusion that if pro riders and athletes liked the design but the bike companies didn't, the only option would be to start their own company. In the following months they built the business, overhauled the designs completely, studied the market, and decided to take the plunge.

Two important factors that made Cervélo's success possible are customers and athletes. Cervélo is lucky enough that many consumers understand and appreciate what the designs are about. They know how many bikes there are to choose from, and are honored every time someone recognizes the merits of a Cervélo.

Then there are the pro athletes, who together with customers are the true ambassadors for the bikes. Because Cervélo is a relatively small company, they tend not to be able to offer athletes and teams the same benefits the big companies can. This means that when an athlete or team chooses to ride Cervélo over something else, it really happens because of the product. This may not seem like that big a deal, but if sport is your profession, it is a difficult decision to choose potentially greater prize money winnings over money-in-hand with a base salary.

Cervélo is a small group of people who not only love cycling, they love pushing the envelope in every way possible. With nine people in engineering, the company focus remains unchanged from its early days. The additional manpower in both engineering and support services means that the rate of development at Cervélo is faster than ever before.
When Phil and Gérard started Cervélo the mission was simple: "To help our customers win races". It is safe to say they accomplished that, with a highly successful association with Team CSC and now with the Cervélo Test Team. The P3 is the winningest triathlon bike model in Ironman history with over 20 victories, and now the benchmark by which other brands are measured. Add to this wins at the Paris-Roubaix for the R3, the lightest bike in the peloton on one of the toughest races out there. But it is equally true for "regular" customers: Cervélo are proud and happy to have played a small role in so many people's achievements.

Cervélo is still fully owned by the two founders, Phil and Gerard. They don't need to answer to investment companies or other shareholders about short-term goals; they can simply concentrate on building better bikes. This relentless pursuit of excellence will continue to remain the focus. Each time Cervélo goes to the windtunnel it cost about $25,000. It might make more sense to spend that same amount of money on adverts and marketing, but that won't get you a better bike. Cervélo apologize in advance if their ads look like they were written by engineers, but they figured you would rather read an advert designed by an engineer than ride a bike designed by the marketing department.

Commencal

Andorra is a pretty small country. A small country in the middle of themountains, with its lowestpoint at around 1000m in altitude. From our offices, 1400m above sea level, we can see ski slopes in winter,and bike trails in the summer. Everyone rides here. Sure, not all of us are championship winners, wehaven't all received a good whack from the bike skills stick, but we are
definitely passionate about mountain bikes.
On the ground floor, the R&D, team mechanics and warranty service allwork together. You can bet that they talk bike, even on Sundays! They livein a world of prototypes, all kinds of tests, building up frames and strippingthem down...It's also the staff bike storage area. Show me your bike and I'll tell you whoyou are! And if you want to see the latest and greatest bike DVDs, both proand amateur, look no further. Go to the first floor, and you'll feel the constant buzz of commercial andlogistical activity. Quite a few languages are spoken, with the phone ringing
practically non-stop. But when lunchtime comes 'round, out come thevarious bags and ski, snowboard or bike equipment, depending on whichtime of year it is.
Up on the second floor, you'll find the marketing & communication team,the computer department, and the administrative and financial services. From our spacious meeting room, we have a great view of the mountainsand the ski slopes! Here you will find on display the bikes used by ourKings & Queens, also known as our champions. The ones that are all overthe magazines, the ones who made and make generations of riders fromaround the world dream!
We love nature and the mountains. We love beautiful things, and our bikesare not just simple tubes of metal or carbon bonded together. They are theobject of our passions!For us, the esthetics of a bike is of natural importance. A bike, an ad, acatalogue, a t-shirt, they all have to look simply superb. So, from our smalluniverse comes a way of thinking, a way of working.
We feel we know how to do things well, and we most definitely want you tocome and join us in our world. A world that for a couple of hours, either alone, with family or friends, enablesyou to forget it all, enjoy yourself, have fun, riding down a hill or in themud, out in the sun or in a forest, in the mountains or by the sea...

Continental

More than 100 years of experience in the development and production of bicycle tyres has made Continental the outstanding company that it is today. As a result, Continental has accumulated more medals at European, World, and Olympic games than any other brand.

Continental's unique market position is evident in its product range for cyclists, with tyres designed at the Two-Wheel division's technology and development centre in Germany. As a global player, Continental has manufacturing plants in Germany and elsewhere in the world, but is passionate about having as much production "Made in Germany" as possible.

Backed up by cutting-edge equipment, Continental's test engineers have sharp eyes when checking for irregularities, and no detail is too small to escape their attention. Continental subjects competitors' products to close inspection for strengths and weaknesses, and are thus able to optimise their own new products for maximum performance.

Co-pilot

Child seats are a great way for you to enjoy cycling with the youngest member of the family, and are an important first step to introducing the joys of cycling to the next generation.

Co-Pilot child seats have set the industry standard for years, with children being their most precious asset. All Co-Pilot child seats conform to the demanding American ASTM standards, assuring you of peace of mind and satisfaction.

Co-Pilot products perform, and with their in-house design, research and development; rigorous endurance testing, and bone shattering shake testing, Co-Pilot child seats could even outlast your bike.