Back in August UK component brand Middleburn announced that it was ceasing trade. BETD have just announced that they’ve bought the brand.

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Kate Lewis, right and Paul Hadgett from BETD with Middleburn components

The name Middleburn may not mean much, if anything, to all you young guns out there but to any Brit biker on the wrong side of 30 the mention of their name will cause instant nostalgia.

You know the sort of thing: “I used to have some tasty anodised blue Middleburn chainrings on my racing mtb” … “I had a pair of RS7 cranks – they were lush” … “Bring back square taper, I say.”

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A few months ago Middleburn announced the sad news that they were shutting up shop. They’d found it hard to find their place in modern mountain bike market.

The news that Staffordshire based metal machinists BETD – best known for their dropout hangers and aftermarket suspension linkages – comes as something of a surprise. But it’s a surprise that makes sense.

Although a relatively small company, BETD do generally have their finger on the pulse of what riders want. If their purchase of Middleburn leads to properly updated cranks and 1x specific chainrings and such like – with a suitably retro aesthetic – that would be great.

Good luck guys!

Press release from BETD

The brand name of iconic UK bicycle component manufacturer, Middleburn Cycle Components has been bought by another cycle component manufacturer, Staffordshire based BETD Cycle Components.

Hampshire based Middleburn are well known amongst custom bike builders and enthusiasts for their sought after cycle components which include retro-style, British made, chainrings and cranksets. The company went into voluntary liquidation in September after ceasing to trade in August.

The brand will now live on thanks to the acquisition by BETD who are part of the KMF Group, specialists in precision sheet metal and precision engineering products.

BETD Managing Director Kate Lewis commented: “We are delighted to be able to keep the Middleburn brand alive. We shall manufacture and continue the supply of many of their iconic products and will also be able to increase their availability through our existing online store and growing trade accounts.”

KMF Group is one of the largest privately owned engineering firms in the Midlands. It employs over 450 in its state of the art factories in Newcastle-under-Lyme and at a manufacturing facility in Slovakia.

KMF Group managing director Gareth Higgins said: “BETD are now an established part of our group supported by a fully integrated suite of our precision engineering facilities. The business will continue to grow leveraging off group functions such as marketing, logistics and finance.

“I would like to assure all former customers of Middleburn Cycle Components that we will continue to supply their sought after components, manufactured to the same exacting standards that customers expect. We also now have the exciting opportunity to add new products to the portfolio backed up by our first class customer service.”