Michael Pryde and Mike Yakubowicz both saw an opening. Maybe it was a small one, but both saw an opportunity to offer something to the bicycle industry that wasn’t already out there.
So Pryde started Chapter 2 Bikes, based in New Zealand. And Yakubowicz is launching in 2022 with Bridge Bike Works. Both companies aim to offer more attention to the customer and a quality product for a wide swath of riders.
Before they invested a single dime into their ventures, however, both Pryde and Yakubowicz had to face a stark reality: Their fledgling businesses would face the long shadows of the big three. Trek, Specialized, and Giant dominate sales in the bicycle industry with good products, wide distribution, and well-known names. The big budgets don’t hurt either.
So why start a small business at all? Why go up against the well-known behemoths that most customers default to with their hard-earned dollars?
Pryde and Yakubowicz: A life in bikes
Pryde and Yakubowicz both have their reasons for jumping into the deep end. For Pryde, it was the feeling that he could do better to accommodate the customer and make the purchasing process more intimate and “bespoke.”
For Yakubowicz, the challenge of creating a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility to pump out world-class bikes was part of the motivator. And of course, for both Pryde and Yakubowicz, it was the allure of making a life in bikes. Both had other business experience within the bicycle industry that gave them the foundational knowledge they needed to make their businesses competitive.
Listen to the Slow Guy on the Fast Ride podcast episode to hear Pryde and Yakubowicz give insight as to how they got started, where they got funding, and what steps they are taking to ensure their bikes compete with the best in the world.