ELECTRA BICYCLES | INTERVIEW
Flat foot forward
Electra, best known for its domination of the beach cruiser market sprung a surprise at Eurobike – a venture into ‘everyday’ bikes. Mark Sutton quizzes chief bike designer Mark Pippin and creative director Robin Vallaire about the brand’s future plans…
Where does the inspiration for each bike’s graphics come from? Vallaire: Everything. Design and fashion magazines, books, music, movies, blogs, Tumblr, color trends, cars, clothes, shoes, illustration. The smallest thing can spark an idea.
Where does ‘flatfoot’ technology come from and what does it offer the rider? Pippin: Our Flat Foot Technology offers riders a confidence-inspiring ride. The ability to have a pretty normal leg extension and comfortable riding position, while offering the confidence is a great benefit to many riders. To other riders, this more relaxed position puts them in a more upright position to see the world around them and not to be staring at the front hub of the bicycle.
Electra is traditionally a ‘beach cruiser’ brand – but is it really true that coastal towns see the most sales? Pippin: There is no doubt that the lifestyle and attitude of coastal communities are a magnet for our products. This is true for our coaster brake models for sure. But, our multi-speed
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“You may see some new products in the electric category from us once the ‘mad scientist’ stage dies down...”
product can be at home in many towns and cities in the world. It’s nice to have the ocean as a background for cruising, but just about any neighborhood will do also.
Are there any particular territories where Electra sells well? How important is the UK to the brand? Pippin:We do good business in a number of markets in Europe, but Germany, where we have our European base, is the best at this time. We feel very positive about our prospects in the UK with bringing in Surf Sales and their team. We have aggressive growth plans set for the UK market and believe that it can take a leading position in the region.
Prior to the paintwork, how important is attention to detail during the manufacturing stages? Pippin: We take painstaking care in making sure the underlying engineering and materials offer a durable product, as well as a long lasting finish. Our suppliers take more time to make sure that any part to be painted is defect-free, so the paint looks the best it can.
The brand is diversifying, introducing more mainstream designs for the ‘everyday’ rider – how did this come about? Pippin: Our introduction of the Verse is about as mainstream as we plan on getting. The fitness/trekking/transport segment is still a casual rider category, which is where we are focused. We felt that this category was lacking style and fashion. Most of the bikes are grey, or black in colour
and are effectively 700c MTB bikes. We wanted to blend the Electra styles and colours, but with a different take on the segment.
Will the brand remain urban, or could we see an off-road or electric Electra? Pippin: I think you will see some new products in the electric category in the future. We have been watching this segment for a while now and are waiting for the ‘mad scientist’ stage to draw to a close. We may miss some sales by not being a pioneer in the category, but we will also miss all the pitfalls of it also. Once the technology is truly mature, we can enter the category with a natural connection.
>>> BIKEBIZ DECEMBER 23
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