What does cycling mean to me? Being absorbed in the bike industry, it’s easy to lose perspective, so I often ask myself this question. For me cycling is about escape and being free, it’s about moving through the landscape under my own steam, while being exposed to the elements and being able to take in the world that’s going on around me. Riding is my thinking time, away from work, away from the day to day stresses, just me and the bike, pedalling and flowing, beautifully simple and honest. In a fast changing world where we are bombarded by the latest gadgets, blinded by the poison that is marketing, or absorbed into the ether of social media, the simple process of riding a bike gives me something that I can understand, something beautifully utilitarian that somehow gives me a feeling of peace and a feeling of being truly alive. The bicycle itself should be the tool to enable me to do this.

My basic design principles are fed by this and those key principles are to create bikes that are functional and to let the function be the main focus of the design, to keep them as utilitarian as possible and to avoid trends like the plague. A bike shouldn’t be a ‘statement’ and risk going out of fashion in two minutes. Primarily it’s a tool, whether for commuting, touring, racing, exploring the woods, or just getting lost on. Finally, a bike should be designed to be ridden hard with minimum maintenance and fuss even when riding in the toughest conditions.