Change of gear for Perth bike tech firm Cycliq

[Ross]

https://thewest.com.au/business/change- ... b88644977z

The Perth cycling technology company Cycliq has bolstered its margins by 17 per cent by cutting out distributors and changing its manufacturing model.

The firm is set to launch its new Fly6 and Fly12 rear and front camera and lights next week, off the back of record sales of $746,000 in the September quarter.

Cycliq spent $932,000 in the September quarter and is expected to spend a further $2.9 million by the end of the year.

The listed company, which began as a Kickstarter five years ago, has a market value of $13.3 million after closing down 10 per cent at 1.8¢ on Friday.

Cycliq chief executive Chris Singleton said the group’s manufacturing joint venture and a more streamlined approach to selling its products should result in positive cashflow in the near future.

In June the company signed a memorandum of understanding with Thompson and Kenneth Cheung, the Hong Kong-based team behind Glory Horse Industries, to form a joint venture, Cycliq Research and Development.

Mr Singleton said the partnership would allow Cycliq to vertically integrate its supply chain and have greater control over the cost of manufacturing its products.

He said before the joint venture, Cycliq would pay to get its products manufactured before it knew the cost of production.

“With the joint venture, we know what the cost of production and manufacturing is going to be, so our margins should increase significantly as a result and our use of capital should be better,” he said.

In the six months to October, Cycliq increased its margins from 22.6 per cent to 39.4 per cent.

Mr Singleton said the company’s decision to shift to a business-to-business model by cutting its ties with distributors including Australia’s FE Sports, had resulted in greater margins.

“When I came on in December, we did a 360 review of the company — we looked at the brand, the distribution, sales and manufacturing,” he said. “Our consumer research said that some people really wanted to purchase everything online, others really wanted to engage with retailers.

“We concentrated on getting online retailers that had a really good brand presence in their own right.”

Cycliq moved away from FE Sports early this year and shifted its product to websites including Wiggle, Bikebug, Pushys and 99 Bikes. Its online presence resulted in consumers asking for the product in bicycle stores, where Cycliq’s business-to-business model worked to allow bike shops to go straight to it.

The tech start-up has one distribution agreement remaining on its books with Madison in Britain. Its online presence boosted Cycliq’s global sales, with 80 per cent of its revenue in the last quarter coming from overseas.

Cycliq is working on a more affordable product range to be released next year.

[Mububban]

Good for them. I've got Fly6 and Fly12 on my bike.

I hope their next gen cameras have less bugs.

[Dodgy-Knee]

Good for them. I've got Fly6 and Fly12 on my bike.

I hope their next gen cameras have less bugs.

I hope they spend a few bucks on getting some (decent) after-sales service... and yes, better batteries with less bugs would be pretty good too.

[biker jk]

Good for them. I've got Fly6 and Fly12 on my bike.

I hope their next gen cameras have less bugs.

I hope they spend a few bucks on getting some (decent) after-sales service... and yes, better batteries with less bugs would be pretty good too.

Replaceable batteries are essential. I don't buy the waterproofing excuse. At least they sorted the mount for the Fly6 after the disaster of the first two versions. Hopefully the Fly12 gets status LED's top, bottom and sides. I can't use the status LED as I mount the camera upside down. Totally useless.

[AUbicycles]

The missing recording status lights on the Fly12 was a criticism I pointed out in beta testing and my review. The early prototypes for the Fly12 had a permanent rotating light however it was problematic and not always obvious what it was signifying.

The new twist/lick mount of the Fly12CE neans that the flexible mounting is a given and obvious visual feedback should be expected... I hope to find out.

Also interested in the rear mount... also twist?

[biker jk]

The missing recording status lights on the Fly12 was a criticism I pointed out in beta testing and my review. The early prototypes for the Fly12 had a permanent rotating light however it was problematic and not always obvious what it was signifying.

The new twist/lick mount of the Fly12CE neans that the flexible mounting is a given and obvious visual feedback should be expected... I hope to find out.

Also interested in the rear mount... also twist?

Looking at the photos from the DC Rainmaker review there is a status light on the side of the new Fly 12. Hard to say if the status light will be visible with a computer mounted above the camera. I'd be concerned about how stable the mount will be given it looks to be plastic. Perhaps the image stabilisation will compensate. The photos suggest the rear mount is also a twist mount.

[AUbicycles]

Plastic mounts are generally poor for achieving stable footage because the plastic introduces vibration whereas an aluminium mount does’t flex. A rough ride will still mean all of the road noise goes through but that is still preferable.

The Fly6 rubber and velcro mounts did a fairly good job. If the video stabilisation has to fix vibration then this diminishes the overall quality.

[PiratePete]

I haven't been involved with the development of these new ones, but have just received the Fly12 CE to have a play with. The LEDs are on the sides at the back. I'm hoping to take it for a ride tomorrow so will report back as to the visibility. I have mounted it under a Duo-mount with my Wahoo ELEMNT above, size wise they share a similar foot print so it will be interesting to see. Also a bit like the first prototype of the original Fly12, I suspect the LEDs may not be bright enough for sunny conditions but lets wait and see.

The 1/8th turn mount will suit the commuter but I worry that this will induce image issues a bit like what was demonstrated by DCR. Convenient but there is movement. The Go_Pro style adapter for it (possibly a Beta unit) doesn't lock into my Duo-mount, even with the screw at full hand tight the unit can still be easily bumped changing the angle.

I'll evaluate better after a ride, and of course me being me, will be running with a Fly12 at the same time to compare.