Canada’s Hugo Barrette celebrates Gold in the Men’s Sprint at Pan Am Games in Toronto Saturday, July 18, 2015. .COC Photo by Michael P. Hall
Garmin is expanding its product suite for cycling, acquiring aerodynamics analysis provider Alphamantis Technologies, it was announced last week.
The acquisition could make Garmin a convenient one-stop shop for portable cycling technology. The company already offers bike vision accessories, mini-computers, power meters, and radar. Garmin has been in the sports tech news this year for a series of new product releases.
Alphamantis, founded in 2011 and based in Montreal, Canada, creates aerodynamics tests for cyclists in real racing environments that analyze the drag coefficient and suggest optimal positioning and bicycle accessories.
“Alphamantis is on the leading edge of aerodynamics analysis in the cycling world, and that makes the company a perfect fit for our robust suite of bike products,” Cliff Pemble, Garmin’s president and CEO, said in the statement. “Aerodynamics is another way for cyclists to measure and improve their performance – something our customers crave.”
Alphamantis could likely point to the results of Team Sky, which it exclusively provides with aerodynamics testing, as evidence its testing works. Team Sky’s Chris Froome recently won the Tour de France, his fourth victory in five years of climbing through the Alps and Pyrenees mountains, coasting through rural French villages, and staring down the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.
Alphamantis’ mission statement, however, lies in making aerodynamics testing accessible not just to the top tier of world cyclists, but to the general biking population. In a letter about the acquisition on its homepage, Alphamantis wrote:
“More than six years ago, we created Alphamantis Technologies with the mission of bringing aero technology to the masses. At the time, aero testing was considered a thing that only Olympic champions and Pro Tour winners would do. Aerodynamics was a mysterious and magical realm, known to only a special few. …
“And now comes a time for change. We’re spreading our wings and taking the next step in our maturation as a company. Alphamantis is being acquired by Garmin Ltd.
“To all our customers, past and future: this is great news! It means that we get to combine our knowledge of cycling “dynamics with that of a company with a proven track record of producing excellent consumer electronics.”
According to the news release, Alphamantis will keep the majority of its workforce and its office in Montreal. The monetary value of the deal was not disclosed.
Under Garmin, Alphamantis’ reach could be multiplied, furthering its goal of opening aerodynamics to a larger population.
