HAYWARD, Calif. (BRAIN) — After an approximately four-year hiatus, Bianchi USA is once again offering mountain bikes here.
The Italian company stopped offering mountain bikes in the U.S. in 2010 as it focused on its 'cross, road, track and city bike categories. Bianchi has always offered mountain bikes in Italy and began selling them to retailers in Mexico again last year.
"We were confident that our road bike business was on a healthy track, so it was the perfect time for us to expand into the mountain bike category in the USA," said Jim Stevenson, Bianchi USA's vice president of sales and marketing.
The 2016 model year mountain bikes are available for dealers to order now and will soon be added to the company's consumer-facing website. The line includes six hardtail models at prices ranging from $629.99 to $1,699.99, plus the flagship Methanol model at $3,699. The lower-priced Kuma models use 27.5-inch wheels, while the Jab and Methanol models are 29ers.
"The bikes are very competitive with other top brands out there, and we are offering higher than normal profit margins for our dealers," Stevenson said.
