Charge Bikes wins "Manufacturer of the Year" and "Bike of the Year 2009" Awards. October 9th, 2009. London, UK.
The annual Bike Biz Awards were hosted last night at the Cycle Show in London, and Charge Bikes had been shortlisted as a finalist in the "Manufacturer of the Year" category. Up against some pretty formidable competition in the form of brands Cannondale, Giant, KHE, Hope, Brompton, Giant and Merida.
Charge was summarised by Bike Biz as: "Not content with launching a host of new bikes at Eurobike, chic Charge is also launching a completely new clothing brand, dubbed Surface –featuring a strong line of products for both casual and keen cycle enthusiasts. The zeitgeisty brand’s cult following shows no sign of abating, with a packed out press launch in London in July this year, and a strong export market stretching all the way to Australia, the USA, Germany, Switzerland, Spain and Taiwan."
Nick Larsen of Charge Bikes who received the award cited UK distributor Hotwheels as key in the success of Charge " It is undoubtedly the unfaltering support of Hotwheels that has enabled Charge to flourish against the odds. It's this faith in my tunnel-like vision that has enabled me to construct things like a run down Launderette as a booth at the Cycle Show here last year and this year enabling me to reconstruct a massive old English Pub in Germany, not to mention some of the products I have in the pipeline for the forthcoming years."
Nick Larsen also made specific mention to Hotwheels employees David Jones, James Hoppe and James Champion who he said, " Have been a massive help to me, and considering that they have had to put up with my obsessive attention to detail and constant bossing around, which must be pretty annoying - they have been invaluable."
It was also revealed at the Cycle Show that Charge had also been awarded overall "Bike of the Year, 2009" by Bicycle Buyer Magazine for it's 8 speed internally hub geared bike called the Mixer. Bicycle Buyer Magazine described the Mixer as being, " innovative but stylish, cool but utilitarian: it's a sensible bike that represents the best of both the now and the then".
Nick Larsen said, "I am particularly proud that we won this award, as the Mixer is probably the most unique product in our current line-up and it is my favorite complete bike, in terms of it's design."
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