Why even coronavirus couldn’t put the brakes on the Northern Ireland developed £5,000 bicycle
A Co Down couple who created a bespoke bike just as the virus reached here have seen their sales flourish throughout the UK and Europe, writes Stephanie Bell
❝ Itwasabigjump to walk away from our salaries, especially with a young family
The coronavirus pandemic may have caused economic havoc worldwide but it had unexpected benefits for a Northern Ireland husband and wife who were just about to launch their unique bicycle when lockdown was announced.
While they feared this could ruin their dream business idea which had been three years in the planning, instead it sparked increased interest in cycling as a permitted form of exercise.
And with their design making their cycle equally at home on or off-road it had immediate appeal to the more serious cyclists as well as those looking for something new.
Admittedly the pandemic put an initial spanner in the spokes of the fledgling firm forcing Co Down couple Alastair and Julie Beckett to rethink some of their plans, but they have managed to overcome the challenges to realise their dream.
And they have been thrilled by the reaction to their unique new company, Fustle, which offers bespoke custom-made bikes to suit the cyclist’s individual specification.
Since launching in early April, this small self-funded family business has already hand built and shipped bicycles to customers across Northern Ireland, Scotland, England, Wales and as far away as Switzerland and Germany.
Their bike is an entirely new creation filling a gap in the market because it can be used equally well on and off the road.
Its unique design has already received glowing reviews from the world’s leading cycling media.
A bespoke custom-made bike, it doesn’t come cheap starting at £2,000 and can go up to around £5,000 depending on how you accessorise it.
However Julie and Ali believe that cycle enthusiasts and new people taking up the hobby who can afford it, will appreciate the value of the investment.
The couple are working from home in Crawfordsburn where they are locked down with their new baby daughter Emily, who is just six months old and young son Josh, who is three.
Julie (40) and Alistair (35) have a history of working in cycle sales and development, stretching back to the early Noughties.
They have each helped to grow multiple cycle retail businesses through their skills in marketing, sales, product and brand development.
In 2018 they felt the time was right to make their own contribution to the cycle community and began a journey of development which would take them over two years to realise while raising their young family.
Julie explains: “I started off road cycling in my 20s and got the bug and was soon competing all over Ireland and in Scotland.
“Ali also cycled and we both met through cycling. Ali is the designer and had spent a big part of his career developing bikes for other companies.
“We are both fairly ambitious and always wanted to do something on our own and even though it was a big jump to walk away from our salaries, especially with a young family, we decided to take the chance.
“I had also worked for a cycle company and had left after having my son Josh. Ali is the brains behind the design and I’ve worked on everything else.”
After more than two years of working on the design to get it ready for market while juggling caring for a new baby and a toddler, everything was lined up for launch in March just a week after the country locked down due to Covid-19.
The couple feared they were going to have to put the brakes on their venture but with a few tweaks decided to forge ahead and have been astonished by the response.
Julie admits: “We were petrified; we had no idea what we were going to do.
“Our first shipment of bike frames was on its way from the factory we use in Taiwan and Ali was due to go to England with bikes to allow cycling journalists to try them out and review them.
“The lockdown threw up a huge number of challenges to the business from an operational perspective, and we had to rethink lots of things such as warehousing and assembly to adapt to the new restrictions.”
On the flip side, as people were allowed to leave home for one form of daily exercise a day, across the province many were pulling long forgotten bikes out of the shed and rediscovering the joy of cycling.
Cycling enthusiasts who regularly travel to the mountains around the country to enjoy their time on two wheels started searching for alternative options to allow them to ride from their home.
The bike which Fustle has designed fills a gap in the market for a bike that works both offroad and on-road, opening up a new way of cycling.
Julie explains: “We have tapped into a relatively young segment of the industry known as gravel or adventure biking, which is really big in America but not so common here.
“Usually people either had a road bike or a mountain bike for off-road cycling and what Ali has designed can do both.
“It means people can take the bike off the road and cycle in forest parks and climb up mountains. We even have attachments for luggage if people want to go back packing.
“We decided to offer a detailed custom-build function on our website so that each customer can build their own bike, adding whatever components they want to make their bike suit them and their needs.
“There is a choice of different coloured frames and different sized handle bars and seats to a choice of tyre types.
“We even have the option of an electronic button to raise or lower the seat to suit.”
For Alistair it has been all about simplicity and giving people the chance to indulge their passion. “When I came across gravel bikes, I became immediately hooked,” he says.
“Juggling the demands of a busy career in the bike industry with growing family commitments meant finding the time to get out and ride all the more difficult, but having a gravel bike changed everything.
“The rides closer to home that I’d previously discounted as ‘not much fun’ on my mountain bike all of a sudden became challenging and immensely rewarding.
“As a bicycle engineer by trade, I couldn’t help but notice that the market was saturated with similar bikes, most of which didn’t offer the things I wanted.
“On discovering the extent at which gravel bikes were open to interpretation thanks to their appeal and functionality I started
to look at creating my own and after nearly three years of planning the result is Fustle. The aim with the online bike builder is to ensure customers get the bike they want first time round.
“Putting their bikes out to be ridden by experts was the acid test and when lockdown led to the cancellation of a press trip in March, Ali and Julie arranged to have the bikes shipped to the specialist cycle magazine writers.
The reviews they received were so favourable that sales have taken off in Europe.
Gran Fondo’s Trev Worsey was one of the first to try out the new bike.
He described the Fustle Causeway GR1 as: “a sublime blend of all-round versatility and potent off-road capability”.
In his glowing review he adds: “What it lacks in agile playfulness, it makes up for in confidence and composure on the roughest trails.
“Redneck adventure seekers will love the provision of frame and fork bosses, and an exceptional build kit allows the Causeway GR1 to punch above its price point.”
Julie says: “Trev Worsey is one of the most respected cycle journalists in Europe and he actually bought the bike we sent for him to review. He said it was the bike he had been looking for. As a result of his review about 40% of our sales have been in Germany.
“It has been fantastic and we are at the point where stock is low and we don’t want to be out of stock.”
With the Government hoping to spark a cycling revolution due to Covid-19, far from being the disaster they expected, their timing couldn’t have been better.
Stormont Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon has talked about extending pavements and pedestrianising streets with popup cycle lanes to encourage a “green recovery” after lockdown.
The UK’S Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has pledge £250m for improvements to cycling and walking infrastructure. The Government is hoping that the surge in cycling for exercise during lockdown will continue when things start to return to normal.
The Cycle to Work scheme has also boosted early sales for the new company. With people able to claim back a huge part of the cost of new bike through their tax and national insurance, many have been encouraged to join the scheme.
Julie says: “Cycle to work is huge for us as many employers are covering the cost of the bike and then the employee pays them back monthly.
“The National Insurance does not need to be paid for a year under the scheme and people also pay less tax which adds up to around 42% saving on the cost of the bike.
“It is an area where we anticipate continued demand. For us as people who love to cycle as a family, we think it is fantastic to see so many more people cycling during the pandemic.”
With over half of their first batch of bikes now sold, and more frames currently in production, it is the couple’s hope that their new company will encourage and promote off-road cycling in Northern Ireland.
And with the aim of making choosing a bike as easy as possible the name of their brand was chosen to reflect this — thanks to a little help from their threeyear-old son.
Julie laughs as she explains: “We knew that we wanted the whole bike buying process to be simple and no fuss.
“It can be a bit complicated for people who have never cycled before because there are so many accessories and components now and we didn’t want that to make things difficult.
“Ali kept talking about ‘no fuss and no hassle’ and our son was just starting to talk at the time and he picked it up as ‘fustle’ which stuck and we thought that’s a good name for the business.”
You can find out more about this new company and its bespoke bike design service at www.ridefustle. com or find them on social media by searching @ridefustle