24 Bicycles: A wide-open progressive mindset and bad-ass hardtails.
When I say Le Toy and Porn Tour, what comes to mind? If you are a mountain biker, a bunch of guys and girls having
as much fun as possible on a mountain bike, riding some of the best built, most hardcore hardtails in the industry probably
jumps into your thoughts. 24 Bicycles not only designs some of the burliest hardtails out there, but pushes the extreme
limits of fun and skill riding them and promoting the mountain biking lifestyle.
Created by a French aerospace engineering student, 24 Bicycles officially began its life as a bike company in 1999, in Rennes, Brittany located in the north west of France. Tristan, 24’s founder had just returned back to France from an internship at Texas A&M’s Aerospace program. He and a good friend Stef were on their way back from a trip to the Alps, when they decided that current mountain bike geometry was just not effective for an aggressive riding style. As soon as he could, Tristan took his ideas for an ultra-sloping tob tube, higher bottom bracket, short chainstays and beefy tubes to Remi Jamin, a local frame maker. Remi accepted the challenge and Tristan’s first custom frame was built.
Three variations of the original design later and the very first Le Toy was born. Since then there have been three subsequent modifications, however, the Le Toy 4 has really not migrated very far from the original concept and design. A primary motivator in design was the ability to effectively run 24” wheels. At the time of the first Le Toy there was very little interest in 24” products, although companies like Arrow Racing and Nokian had started to market 24” tires and wheels.
In 2001 as the company slowly grew, Tristan took on a partner and moved 24 Bicycles further south to Toulouse. To this day, 24 Bicycles is still a two-man operation. Tristan’s view on 24’s growth, “Despite many opportunities, we have decided to keep it small because we like our independence and flexibility so much. We don't want to be driven by the market too much and don't want to loose that close contact with the riders. Above all else, we are riders ourselves. We
also both ride motorcycles, Fred is heavy into surfing and I am into boxing and free-fighting. No way we're going to stop all that.”
Being a small company can have its’ down-sides… with independence and the flexibility to react to rider and market demands comes limited distribution and a fairly long design to product turn around time. Tristan describes the struggles, “The price to pay for independence is self-development. We have to self-generate our investments and it takes time. Time to develop but also time to produce. This is partly why our customers have to deal with such long delays to get their stuff. Usually when a batch is ready every frame is already sold and we make 2 batches a year.”
Currently 24 Bicycles offers the Le Toy 4, the PornKing 3 and a full suspension frame called the Le Dude. In addition to frames, 24 Bicycles also designs, manufacturers and sells pedals, wheels, chainguides, stems and a bunch of soft goods. 24 Bicycles also promotes a wide-open mountain biking lifestyle through events like the PornTour. Tristan on future events, “Check out our next East-Euro Porntour. Stay tuned for some really cool footage... and not only bike.”
24’s vision for the future can be summed up in one word: ENJOY. Tristan plans on keeping to the same formula that got him and 24 Bicycles to this point. When I asked him about his thoughts on the current state of the bike industry, his reply was, “Honestly I don't care much about what's going on in the bike biz.” I believe him because for 24 Bicycles it is about being true to a love of biking and life and not making money or big business. Pretty refreshing to see that approach these days, when everyone and every company seems to have a price at which they sell out their passion for living in exchange for the chance at fame and fortune.
www.24-bicycles.com
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