Eurobike preview: Live out the surfing spirit in alpine terrain too

Ion - a brand previously known primarily for water sports - will be presenting its first mountain biking clothing collection at the upcoming Eurobike. The focus is on men and women who feel comfortable on all-mountain trails or poaching in bike parks.

Be it at the surf spots of Brazil or South Africa, but also in the Swiss surf mecca of Silvaplana: Water sports enthusiasts love Ion's wetsuits and beachwear. This is not surprising, however, because behind the brand that was launched in 2004 is Boards and More, a company that has a firm place in the stand-up paddling, windsurfing and kiteboarding business with Fanatic, North Kiteboarding and North Sails. Behind the public limited company Boards and More is the Montreux-based company Airesis SA, which acquired a seventy percent stake in the French sporting goods manufacturer Le Coq Sportif in 2005 in addition to its wholly-owned water sports division.

From water to land
Now the Ion tailors also want to dress mountain bikers and Till Eberle, founder of Ion and Managing Director of Boards and More, explains the reasons: "Water sports and mountain sports have always been a great shared passion of our team. The desire to create our own bikewear collection was a long-cherished but secret one. We are therefore delighted to finally see Ion on the trails."

The new bike collection from the water sports specialist comes in a relaxed, surf and urban style-inspired design and is aimed at the suspension-intensive varieties of mountain biking. There are four men's and two women's lines to choose from for areas of use that oscillate between all-mountain and downhill. Gloves as well as knee and hip protectors round off the product portfolio.

In terms of materials, the manufacturer claims to use environmentally friendly bamboo-based fabrics and recycled polyester for the bike collection and combines these with functional fibers such as Coolmax, Cordura and DriRelease.

Available from March 2013
The microsite, which reflects the bike products, goes online on August 24. Ion bike products will be available for the first time in the UK, France, Italy, South Africa, Germany, Austria and Switzerland from March 2013. At Eurobike, the new bikewear supplier can be found in Hall B5, Stand 607.

Distribution of Ion products - whether for water or bike sports - is handled by the distributor Sideshore, a company that has been active in sports wholesale since 2006.

www.ion-products.com