Demand for a specialist bike protection tape supplied by Keighley company Viking has rocketed ahead of the Tour De France.
Managing director Colin Bennett said that, as Grand Depart fever grows and more cyclists take to the road to test the route for themselves, orders for the polyurethane protective tape have soared.
He said: “Demand is running at a record high, not only among cycling enthusiasts across Yorkshire who want to protect their valuable machines from scratches, scrapes and rust, but also UK-wide. Our website has been inundated.”
The tape, invisible on application, was specially developed by 3M – Viking remains the leading online supplier of the global giant’s products in the UK – originally for the US military for protecting helicopter rotor blades in desert conditions.
“It’s now found a niche market among both racing and mountain bike aficionados. While we have started selling it to a number of bike shops, in the main it is enthusiastic end-user cyclists who are ordering online.”
The firm is based at Coronation Business Centre in Keighley, a few hundred yards from where the York to Sheffield stage of the Grand Depart will pass on July 6.
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