The Wiggle and Chain Reaction Cycles websites are no more, but could there be hope for an unexpected resurrection?
Both sites offered massive discounts yesterday before being abruptly reduced to holding pages with surprising messages
Recent updates
See our article Mike Ashley's Frasers Group to relaunch Chain Reaction and Wiggle websites for the most up to date news on this subject.
The saga of the unfortunate WiggleCRC's (Chain Reaction Cycles) demise seems to have finally reached its sad conclusion. With both the Wiggle and Chain Reaction Cycles websites reduced to just a holding page. However, there are intriguing statements that may signal that it's perhaps not quite the end for both. The Wiggle page says, "We'll be back soon, a new Wiggle is coming. Let's Go!" and across on Chain Reaction Cycles a similarly interesting statement says, "Check back soon for something awesome".
It was just yesterday we were alerted to massive 95 percent discounts on both sites with insane deals across what seemed like the last remaining stock. A few examples of the fire sale bargains were the POC Kortal MTB helmet reduced from $180/£180 to $9.99/£9.99 and also the Fox Rampage Full Face helmet from $190/£190 to $9.99/£9.99.
Although I am very much speculating here, it almost felt like perhaps someone was having a last-day joke by reducing everything to these crazy prices – so if anyone managed to grab an amazing bargain I'd love to know.
So what now for WiggleCRC? Who knows, but as first reported by the Times, it's believed that Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group has acquired the Wiggle and Chain Reaction Cycles brands and intellectual properties in a deal believed to be worth less than £10 million. As we also reported, it also resulted in all 447 of WiggleCRC’s employees losing their jobs, with a number taking to social media to confirm that their “time was up” at the company as the administrators “closed the shutters”.
The one burning ember of hope is the statements on the holding pages for both sites and there could potentially be news on some sort of rebirth to be announced at some point. This could hopefully be positive news for jobs and the in-house brands that include Ragley, Nukeproof, and Vitus bikes.
This is a breaking story and we will update as we get more information.
Paul Brett joined BikePerfect as a staff writer in 2022. He has been an avid cyclist for as long as he can remember, initially catching the mountain biking bug in the 1990s, and he raced mountain bikes for over a decade before injury cut short a glittering career. An award-winning photographer, when not riding a bike, he can be found at the side of a cyclocross track or a downhill mountain bike world championship shooting the action. Paul was the founder, editor and writer of Proper Cycling magazine, and he's traveled the world interviewing some of the biggest names in mountain biking and writing about some of the biggest cycling brands.
Current rides: Canyon Inflite, Specialized Diverge, Marin Alpine Trail 2