H&S Bike Discount

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H & S Bike Discount GmbH
legal form Company with limited liability
founding 1989
Seat Grafschaft , GermanyGermanyGermany 
management Managing Directors :
Ralf Heisig, Christopher Stahl
Number of employees 337 (2018)
sales 145 million euros (2018)
Branch Bicycle trade , bicycle manufacturer
Website www.bike-discount.de
As of December 31, 2018

The H & S Bike Discount GmbH (spelling: H&S Bike-Discount ) is a German bicycle dealer and manufacturer based in Grafschaft ( Rhineland-Palatinate ). Under the brand Bike-Discount bicycle retail in to Bonn and the international online trade operated. The company develops its own bicycles and manufactures them under the Radon brand .

history

Company history

The H & S Bike Discount GmbH was founded in 1989 by the students Ralf Heisig and Christopher Stahl in Bonn, initially as a sideline on a shop area of ​​20 m². After two years, the company moved into business premises on Hausdorffstrasse in Bonn-Dottendorf and after another five years the company moved to a shop on the Probsthof. In addition to components, accessories and clothing, the Bike-Discount range included bicycles from well-known manufacturers with a focus on sporty racing bikes and mountain bikes from the start. In 1994 the first mountain bikes were sold under the company's own brand name Radon . The company started online trading in 1999 under the Bike-Discount.de domain . The company's shipping and logistics department, which according to its own information sends around one million parcels annually, moved into the newly built logistics center in Grafschaft near Bonn in 2007. In May 2013, the bike discount megastore in Bonn-Hardtberg was finally completed and moved into, where customers today (as of 2017) are offered a wide range of bikes on a total area of ​​24,000 m² with 120 parking spaces. A large area in the megastore is the presentation of the Radon range, which today also includes racing bikes, trekking bikes, urban bikes and e-bikes in addition to mountain bikes for different areas of use.

Radon bikes

Radon Bikes logo

When the first mountain bikes came in 1994, they were classic me-too products , as they are often offered in stores as private labels. The solid constructions from Asian production were equipped with components that were above average for the respective price range, which led to a great success of the brand. The direct sale of the bikes via the Internet helped to spread the word quickly and increase sales. From 2008 the designer Bodo Probst was responsible for the development of the radon wheels, who handed over the management of the design department at the end of 2017. With him, the brand succeeded in asserting itself on the market as a manufacturer with independent designs.

Radon bikes

Products

The product range today includes a spectrum of bicycles for different areas of application. A total of around 30 frame platforms and 115 models are offered.

The products are offered through direct sales . Customers can have their bike delivered to their home or to a service partner, or they can pick it up from the company's own megastore in Bonn.

Awards

Radon bikes were rated well by the specialist magazines. With the step towards own development, the number of test wins and awards has increased. In addition to successfully performing in classic comparative tests, Radon received the Design and Innovation Award in 2015, 2016 and 2017 and was also awarded 3rd place as the best eMTB brand by Delius Klasing Verlag in 2016. Radon also received multiple awards at the MTB News Reader Awards.

Professional sport

With its bicycle brand Radon, the company has sponsored various professional cycling teams in the mountain bike sector since 2010 . The Radon Factory Downhill Team was founded in 2010. Oliver Fuhrmann founded the Radon Factory Enduro Team in 2014. The four-time Mountain Bike World Cup winner Joost Wichman (NL) and Petrik Brückner formed the Radon Flow Team in 2014. Radon also supported the EBE Racing Team with Elisabeth Brandau and national driver Martin Gluth in 2014 . In 2015 the teams were restructured. In the downhill team, a UCI World Cup team was added to the existing national team. The Radon- / Magura-Factory-Team competes with three national champions ( Benny Strasser from Germany, Nick Beer from Switzerland and Manuel Gruber from Austria). The four-time world champion Joost Wichman takes over the management of the enduro team for the third place in the German championship, Raphaela Richter.

In 2017, the brand was represented by two works teams in the UCI Cross Country and Downhill World Cup. Ralph Näf is the manager of the Radon Factory Cross Country Team . With the XC junior world champion from 2013, Alessandra Keller (SUI / 20), Kathrin Stirnemann (SUI / 28), world champion in the XCE 2014 and the XC junior and U23 world champion from 2006/2010, Mathias Flückiger (SUI / 28), the team consists of 100% world champions.

In the Radon Factory Dowhnhill team led by Joost Wichmann. Manon Carpenter (UK / 22), 2014 Downhill World Champion, the reigning City DH World Champion Johannes Fischbach (D / 28) and Faustin Figaret (FRA / 22) will fight for the best times in the World Cup. Raphaela Richter, who finished the 2016 season as Enduro World Champion (U21), will join the team on special occasions and will continue to compete in Enduro races.

After the 2017 season, the cooperation with Ralph Näf was terminated due to the realignment of the company and the lack of a main sponsor. The Radon Factory DH team competes in the UCI World Cup in 2018 with Johannes Fischbach and Faustin Figaret.

All team riders take part in races with modified production bikes. The type of route, driver profile and weather can lead to different setups within the season. As part of product development, prototypes are also tested in everyday racing and optimized in close cooperation with the manufacturer until they are ready for series production.

Test events

The company offers test events for its bicycle brand every year and is represented at trade fairs to enable interested customers to test drive under real conditions. The highlights here include the Garda Trentino Bike Festival , the Glemmride Festival in Saalbach-Hinterglemm and the Roc d'Azur in Fréjus, France, as the traditional end of the season.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. Thomas Paatz: Interview with Radon founder Chris Stahl: "If you get emotional yourself, you are directly unprofessional." In: mtb-news.de , January 28, 2018, accessed on August 22, 2018.
  2. Presentation of the Radon Jealous 10.0 SL as winner of the Design & Innovation Awards 2017
  3. Third place at the Reader Award 2016 at mtb-news.de
  4. Third place at the Readers Award 2017 at mtb-news.de
  5. ^ Message about the change from Elisabeth Brandau and Martin Gluth to radon on MTB-News.de

Coordinates: 50 ° 34 '26.1 "  N , 7 ° 1' 56.9"  E