MONTEREY, CA (BRAIN) Monday April 23 2012 9:12 AM MT—Rove Bike may be a name familiar to few in the industry, but its parent company Neco has been behind the scenes machining headsets and bottom brackets in Taiwan for the biggest names in the industry for nearly three decades.
Rove, which debuted last week at Sea Otter, is Neco’s aim to get into the mid to high-end aftermarket headset and BB game in North America and Europe with its own brand.
The first-year line includes an array of anodized bottom brackets and headsets for cross-country, road, downhill and freeride bikes. The Turret downhill/freeride line includes four headsets machined from chromium steel and a forged aluminum alloy English threaded BB501 in 68 millimeter and 73 millimeter widths. The lighter weight Guide line is aimed at cross country and road applications.
The parts are made in Neco’s Taiwanese factory, which recently underwent a $3 million renovation.
Left: Nick Chen, international sales manager for Neco. Right: George Sanchez, Bike Fetish. Photo: Nicole Formosa
Neco is known for its manufacturing expertise in durable, quality private label parts, but it’s never been able to gain traction with its own aftermarket brand, said Kevict Yen, who’s handling marketing for Rove Bike in the U.S.
This time around, Neco is bringing on Yen to put some marketing muscle behind the project, and has designed the line with a focus on visual appeal incorporating a rainbow of bright colors and laser-etched graphics.
Rove is distributed in the U.S. by Bike Fetish.
