A few weeks back, British framebuilder Quirk Cycles shared news that Simon Mottram, the original founder of Rapha, was backing the company’s plans to expand production and go global. We’ve seen Quirk progress over the years, as a small premium custom steel and titanium framebuilder based in London.
So, what is Rob Quirk planning to do with a big influx of investment capital? We decided to dig a bit deeper to get an idea where Quick Cycles is headed…
Quirk aims to rejuvenate UK cycle manufacturing with Simon Mottram’s backing
“Quirk Cycles, the independent British framebuilder known for its award-winning handcrafted bikes and rider-first design philosophy, [in late November] announced that Simon Mottram, founder of global cycling brand Rapha, has joined as a lead investor ahead of its next phase of expansion. Mottram’s backing comes as Quirk Cycles targets a £500,000 fundraising round to scale its boutique performance bike line-up, marking a pivotal moment in Quirk’s journey as it prepares to launch its new models in early 2026.”
After more than a decade building bespoke bikes in its London workshop – like the monster gravel Suprachub we spotted at Bespoked back in 2022 (above) – Quirk has now set its sights on going global. The aim is to scale up what they do best, a unique blend of precision hand craftsmanship mixed with modern 3D-printed detailing, thus opening up their brand to a wider clientele.
But totransition from creating each custom bike one-at-a-time to full serial production, they needed an influx of cash in order to expand while still remaining true to their UK-handmade roots. So, to make that happen, Quirk are taking on investors. Headlining that push was Rapha’s original founder, something Rob Quirk described as “a huge vote of confidence” in his vision for the bike brand.
“What drew me to Quirk Cycles is their absolute authenticity – the same spirit that drives every great cycling brand. Rob and his team are building something truly special: a brand rooted in craftsmanship and rider obsession, with the ambition to set a new benchmark in performance and design. Quirk isn’t following trends; it’s defining what’s next for boutique performance cycling, and I’m excited to help him scale this vision into a modern, globally respected performance brand.”
– Simon Mottram, Rapha founder
So what does all that mean for Quirk Cycles’ bikes?
OK, so an influx of funding will help Quirk grow their production numbers. But what will that actually mean for the bikes?
We wanted to know more nitty-gritty bike tech details. And we hadn’t seen a lot of all-new bikes from the brand for a couple of years. So I asked Rob Quirk, “What’s up?” It turns out, there’s been quite a bit of quiet refinement going on in the background, as they dialed in new production methods and laid the foundation for his bike brand’s imminent expansion.
The first goal for 2026 we’re told, is to “distill” the Quirk line-up to the three core bikes that form the brand’s backbone.
“Durmitor as a performance road bike, Mamtor as an endurance road platform, and Kegety as a modern gravel bike.”
Rob describes these 3 steel bikes as the epitome of what Quirk really does best – balancing premium performance, classic ride feel, and the combination of traditional & modern manufacturing techniques. In fact, each of these ‘newly refined’ bikes have already been quietly dripped out into the world. In various prototype and pre-production versions, they’ve been sneaking out on the UK scene – including at the Brooks Open Factory event this past summer, where Rob showed off this new blue Durmitor against the backdrop of a look inside how Brooks manufactures leather saddles in England.
Quirk Cycles, still 100% UK-made
So, the next steps are to continue to refine each bike’s details, “sharpening their intent, purpose, and usability”. Rob describes his plan more about iterating performance-oriented handmade steel bikes, rather than just releasing new models. In the end, Quirk’s steel bikes are designed for “longevity”, not something new just for the sake of novelty.
As for manufacturing, made-in-London remains a core tenet of the Quirk brand. “The ambition is for London to function as a genuine manufacturing and development hub, not just a symbolic address,” Rob explains. That’s where he started his bike-building business, and where he developed the brand and its style. And it’s really where the heart of Quirk Cycles lives on.
Growing the bike building brand to offer ‘off-the-peg sized framesets’ to a wider global audience needed to remain rooted in London framebuilding to retain the Quirk spirit, “both culturally and technically,” according to Rob.
While Quirk also introduced a couple titanium bikes on the road in the past few years, this upcoming serial production shift will focus back on steel for the time being. Rob describes steel as, “the clearest expression of how Quirk rides and how we design“, so it’s the natural direction for the brand in its next steps.
What’s next?
For now, we wait for more updates on the stock production framesets and possible complete bikes – like when they will officially go on sale and how much they will cost? (Unless you too want to invest in the brand. You can apparently still do that by reaching out to them by email.)
We have a pretty good idea what they will look like. Classic round steel tubing welded visibly to 3D-printed headtubes & seat clusters> This combination offers sleek modern integration, including the fully hidden cable routing trend, plus a mix of traditional & contemporary component standards.
As for us, we have a plan scheduled to test out the newest production steel Kegety gravel bike in early 2026. So stay tuned, and we’ll let you know how it rides and how slick the details are in just a couple of months.
