We wanted to know a little more about the man and the family behind Cleary Bikes. Jeff gives us some insights why he started the company and why he is making some of the best steel frames in the business. He also gives a hint on things to come...
What was the motivation to start Cleary bikes?
I’m a dad and an avid cyclist, and I did what every parent cyclist has wanted to do, which is make a simple, high quality bike for my kids so they can ride with me.
Has it been a family affair to get Cleary bikes viable and thriving?
My own family gives a lot to the business, and our employees feel like family, so there’s a lot of love that goes into each bike.
It sometimes can seem like companies are bigger than they are…tell us about the people, scale and reach of Cleary Bikes. I imagine you are doing a lot with very little people.
We are a big family or small company, depending on how you look at it. Andy, our Product Manager, Ryan our Inside Sales Commissioner, Janet our Social Media and Customer Service Ambassador, and I are the core team. If you call or email, one of us will answer you.
Three of us are parents, two of us work at our worldwide Headquarters in Northern California and two of us work from home in Southern California. One of us can back flip his bike and one of us has raced motorcycles on the Isle of Man. One of us learned to ride a bike about 6 months ago.
What’s your opinion why the big brands have not adapted their kids designs over the years?
I can’t speak to another company’s goals, but generally kids’ bikes seem like an afterthought for most large brands. Until you’ve pulled enough chains out from between the cassette and the spokes, and re-set enough quill headsets, you don’t understand why kids need better equipment.
What are some of the challenges designing and manufacturing kids bikes? How do you get guidance or develop the skill to design such little machines?
When Andy and I first visited factories in Taiwan, it took some time to explain that we didn’t want to build a kids bike like companies had in the past. We ultimately stopped talk about kids and just said we wanted hand welded frames and high quality parts – just smaller. Several months after our first production in 2014, people from the factory visited us at the Sea Otter Bike event in California, and were blown away at the things kids were able to do on our bikes.
The bike design is a collaborative effort led by Andy, and we continue to look for ways to refine and improve the bikes.
Steel. We love our steel Chromag hard tail. How did you decide on steel frames and do you think you will experiment in the future with other materials?
We like steel because it’s durable, it’s lightweight and it looks great. We find our chromoly and Hi-Ten bikes weigh within a few grams of thin-gauge aluminum, they last ten times as long and they generally cost less. We rust proof them and apply multiple paint layers as the finishing touches to make sure even the third sibling is psyched to get her turn on the bike.
We have talked about doing some limited runs of titanium frames and possibly a carbon option, but for now we’re happy with steel. Steel has a lively ride quality, too, which makes a big difference for kids used to a clunky jalopy.
How has the demand for particular bikes changed over the last few years? Are parents asking for and willing to pay for better spec’d bikes for particular niches (i.e. Suspension/disc brake MTB’s)? Anything new in the works?
More and more, parents seem to regard kids bikes as tools, not toys. Five years ago, if I walked into a bike shop with one of our bikes, everyone in the store pointed at it and asked, “Is that a real bike?” Now, people call us with very knowledgeable questions about head angle on our 16” Hedgehog and gear options for our 20” Owl.
It’s encouraging and exciting for me as a parent and as a proponent of getting kids on bikes.
We do have a new line of pure mountain bikes coming out in the summer of 2018 specifically to give the hardcore parent what they’ve been requesting, which is a rig with modern trail geometry and race level drivetrain for kids who shred it. I’m waiting for that day when a kid passes me on the trail on one of our bikes.
A rising tide raises all ships…What’s your thoughts on the explosion of direct to consumer quality bike companies? Is going to the bike shop to purchase your child’s bike a dying experience or is there room for both channels?
Our first priority is to get kids outside on bikes so we’re excited about the positive trend in sales of nicer kids bikes. I consider local bike shops to be community biking centers. It’s a place to test ride or get a repair, but it’s also a local knowledge source on rides and trails and clubs and new gear. The internet is efficient, but I think shops will continue to be a great local, personal option.
What bikes are you personally riding these days and what type of riding you doing?
I get out on my mountain bike whenever I can. It’s a hardtail 29’er made by Steve Potts, another proud dad from Marin County. We live adjacent to Mt. Tam state park which offers an unbelievable network of singletrack, and I catch a lot of sunrises from the trail.
Loved reading about Jeff and his vision.