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news
temple cycles 2 (1).jpgTemple Cycles hits crowdfunding target in days + video
Bristol bike brand Temple Cycles is looking for crowdfunding to grow its business, allowing it to launch a revamped range of bikes, recruit 15 new members of staff and invest in manufacturing bikes from scratch in the UK.
Private investment was opened on Friday (17 February 2017) and Temple Cycles has already met its £150,000 funding target. The owners are still calling for investors to take part of 10% of the company to help them to grow UK bicycle manufacturing.
The investment will be used to develop new products, hire and train new staff, research UK manufacturing and expand Temple Cycles’ facilities. Last time we checked they had raised £155,000 through CrowdCube with a month of the campaign still to run. The minimum investment you can offer is £10.
“We want to grow bicycle production in the UK,” says Temple Cycles owner Matt Mears.
“We want to make beautiful, stylish British bicycles here in Bristol and sell them throughout the world. There was a time when the UK’s bicycle industry was the envy of the world. It’s our dream to bring those days back.”
Matt, 26, started out restoring classic bicycles whilst studying at the University of Bristol. He founded Temple Cycles in 2014 with £5,000 of his own money and in two years has created a range that includes adventure bikes, singlespeed/fixed, all-rounders, hybrids and more.
Temple Cycles says that up until now it has received no outside investment, relying instead on customer service and its range of products for growth.
Temple Cycles is offering investors a variety of rewards ranging from special edition merchandise to one-of-a-kind custom bicycles, depending on the level of investment.
The funding will allow Temple to research new products such as eBikes and high-quality kids bikes, to grow their accessories range and to refine their current range of adult bicycles.
Some of the capital will be committed to researching how best to batch-fabricate frames from scratch in the UK.
Temple Cycles Crowdfunding from Alex Wilson on Vimeo.
Temple Cycles is also hoping investors will bring their own experience and expertise into the business.
You can learn more about Temple Cycles’ Crowdfunding campaign here.
Mat has been in cycling media since 1996, on titles including BikeRadar, Total Bike, Total Mountain Bike, What Mountain Bike and Mountain Biking UK, and he has been editor of 220 Triathlon and Cycling Plus. Mat has been road.cc technical editor for over a decade, testing bikes, fettling the latest kit, and trying out the most up-to-the-minute clothing. He has won his category in Ironman UK 70.3 and finished on the podium in both marathons he has run. Mat is a Cambridge graduate who did a post-grad in magazine journalism, and he is a winner of the Cycling Media Award for Specialist Online Writer. Now over 50, he's riding road and gravel bikes most days for fun and fitness rather than training for competitions.
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9 comments
The forks are Surly but the frames are made to Temple's specs in Taiwan, powdercoated somewhere near Bristol and assembled at Temple Cycles in Bristol (this information is all from the Temple Cycles website)
So where are the frames 'batch fabricated' from at the moment?
No encouragement for a young British design engineer already doing well with export then? Same criticism as doled out to Rapha and Pashley.
Bloody well done for getting this far Matt, best of luck to you.
For 699.99 a Genesis Borough with the same 'look' plus already equipped with 'guards and rack - and with disc brakes - from a British company, looks better value. Don't think this from Temple cycles offers anything newer. Until we know how much a British made bike with like for like components cost not sure how its merits can be judged.
The forks are definitely from Surly. Look at the big Ss on either side of the steerer tube on the top of the fork crown. Are the frames also Surly? The top one looks like a Cross-check. Surly's frames are actually made in Taiwan.
There are lots of shops assembling bikes in the UK, yet I got the impression from the article that Temple is actually manufacturing bikes in the UK?
I've had a Temple for a couple of years as a bike for commuting a couple of miles to and from work, and some more relaxed summer rides. It largely looks like a classic bike, but handles and responds like a modern bike, and is much more confidence-inspiring than older bikes I've ridden. It's amazing that they've smashed the crowd funding target so quickly. Matt's a really nice guy and I hope they do very well.
I quite like it (top pic), it's got just the right mixture of retro and just modern enough. The problem is retro never sells in massive numbers even when it's 'hip', for big sales you need the current look or to be pushing your own fashion.
From a personal point of view it's the sort of thing I wouldn't buy though as I'd prefer to buy an old frame, get it powder coated and just make my own version.
No.
Nice looking bikes, but...
They fit right in there with the zeitgeist, what with steam trains now running a scheduled service, and trade wars with our neighbours in Europe. Does British manufacturing have always to be retro and British steel? Other countries manage to move on- their flagship products are modern and look forward (think Pinarello, Sarto, Lightweight, tune, Look). If this island is going to be success on its own, it's going to have to look forward to glory days to come, not just good-old-days past.
Rant over, and seriously, good luck to them.