British bicycle manufacturer
Muddyfox (formerly Muddy Fox) is a bicycle manufacturing company based in Basildon, England. The company specialises in mountain bikes, also producing road, hybrid, and BMX bikes. Muddy also has a clothing line for cycle sport that includes sportswear (jerseys, jackets, trousers, shorts, gloves). Protection gear and accessories include helmets, sunglasses, pumps and bicycle parts.
Muddyfox is currently a subsidiary of Frasers Group (formerly, "Sports Direct Int.").[1]
History
Muddyfox was founded by the serial entrepreneur Aristidis Hadjipetrou and Drew Lawson after spotting a gap in the market in the UK for off-road bicycles with stronger frames and chunkier tyres which offered the user more versatility and range, following from the success of developers in America like Gary Fisher[2] The company developed a successful marketing campaign based around a yellow background with black fox paw prints and were instrumental in reimagining the style of off-road cycling in the UK.
The company produced BMX bikes in the 1980s before a slump in the market forced them to switch to mountain bike production. The company has been a brand of Universal Cycles since 2001,[3] itself since 2009 a majority-owned subsidiary of Sports Direct (current Frasers Group),[4] and produces Silver Fox bicycles for bigbox retailers such as Argos.
