SRAM has purchased clipless pedal manufacturer Time from the Rossignol Group. The acquisition includes the entire range of road and mountain bike pedal systems, Time’s shoe range and all associated intellectual property.
SRAM has a history of buying brands to expand its product portfolio, and its most notable recent acquisition was PowerTap in 2019.
Time’s pedal range spans all disciplines and price points; from the feathery Xpresso 15 road pedal to its recently-released gravel pedals, the acquisition significantly expands SRAM’s overall product lineup.
Time also launched its premium Osmo road cycling shoe in early 2019 – at the time, the brand’s first cycling shoe since 2013 – so the acquisition could also mark SRAM’s entry into the clothing and footwear market.
However, the FAQ page for the sale cautions that SRAM is “still looking into this and have made no determinations regarding this part of the business”.
In a separate transaction, Time’s bicycle business and RTM (resin transfer moulding) composite factory has been sold to Arkansas-based Cardinal Cycling Group.
Details of this newly-formed company are scant according to reports, but the company is part-owned by Tony Karklins, a veteran of the cycling industry and the founder of Allied Cycle Works.
Neither SRAM nor Cardinal Cycling Group intends to rebrand its products, and both groups will continue to use the Time name for their respective products.
SRAM will begin selling spare parts for Time pedals in mid-2021 and, until that date, customers should go through their regular dealer/distributor channels.
SRAM vs Shimano – does the acquisition of Time put the groupset titans on level pegging?
SRAM has steadily increased its product range through acquisitions in recent years, with RockShox, Avid, Zipp, Truvativ and Quarq all part of the American company's stable, so it's little surprise to see another addition to the group.
In fact, a clipless pedal system has been notably absent from the line-up and, given the dominance of Shimano's SPD and SPD-SL pedals, the acquisition of Time gives SRAM a ready-made slice of the market.
Time's XPro and Xpresso road pedals are lightweight, offer generous float, and are extremely easy to clip in and out of, but it's relatively rare to see a set out on the road. Could that change with the backing of SRAM?
Power meter pedals are growing in popularity and, with the acquisition of PowerTap – which, until recently, produced a Look cleat-compatible power meter pedal – it’s not beyond the realms of possibility that SRAM will produce a power meter pedal built with fully in-house technology.
