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20 Jun 2025

The House of Commons Business and Trade Committee has asked the ACT, and its parent company Bira, to help them reach out to small business retailers across the country, for their quick input on...

20 Jun 2025

Activate Cycle Academy has reopened its Cytech training facility in Darlington, offering a full range of courses from Home Mechanic up to Cytech Technical Three.
 

18 Jun 2025

The Association of Cycle Traders believes the time has come for greater accountability throughout our supply chain, writes ACT Director Jonathan Harrison in an article published for BikeBiz.

16 Jun 2025

The ACT has welcomed the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Cycling and Walking's report "Unregulated and Unsafe: The Threat of Illegal E-Bikes", which calls for urgent Government action to...

11 Jun 2025

A new academic study has found that overzealous pro-cycling campaigners on social media may be inadvertently damaging the case for better cycling infrastructure across the UK.

11 Jun 2025

Bira has welcomed the Welsh Government's consultation on business rate reforms for retail shops, whilst calling for significant improvements to ensure the proposals truly support high street...

10 Jun 2025

Bike thefts across England and Wales have continued their steady decline, according to new data released by cycle insurance specialist Bikmo.

9 Jun 2025

Retailers on Britain's high streets are being encouraged to put themselves forward for the first-ever Love Your High Street Awards, designed to celebrate the small businesses that bring...

9 Jun 2025

 To coincide with Bike Week (9-15 June) – the UK’s annual celebration of cycling – new research has revealed a clear shift amongst Gen Z and Millennials in their approach...

6 Jun 2025

Independent retailers are facing a "generational" transformation of employment law that could fundamentally change how small businesses operate, according to the final episode of Bira's first...

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Argos back in BSO Hall of Shame

Posted on in Cycles News

ActSmart recently reported on the importance of visiting local bike shops over the large chain stores, and now it seems Argos have provided customers with yet another reason for customers to use a specialist retailer.

In 2009 BBC's watchdog reported on Bicycle Shaped Objects, or BSO's cropping up in supermarkets and chain stores across the country. Since the report the ACT named and shamed some of the companies guilty of selling badly assembled bikes or flat packed bikes (read the full blog here.)

Argos were one of those retailers who failed to build bikes to an acceptable standard back in 2009 and it seems history has repeated itself as a Raleigh bike features in their national TV advert.. with the forks fitted the wrong way.

If the bikes can't even be set up properly for their national TV campaign, how can Argos expect their consumers to be able to set up the flat pack bikes properly themselves at home? Once again, this only highlights the importance of visiting qualified specialist retailers who assemble the bikes in store, correctly.

With blunders like these, consumers are advised to steer clear of non-specialist shops such as Argos and supermarkets, and instead to always look out for the Cytech logo which ensures bikes will be assembled safely and fit for purpose. Give your customers the peace of mind they need by becoming Cytech accredited today. Click here to find out more about Cytech.

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