So you thought your bike was sustainable? An interview with Racer Rosa on where bikes really come from

We’ve really loved the Good Travel theme this month. So for our second interview we have the cycle loving, 70’s Italian prog-rock listening Diego, the founder of Racer Rosa Bicycles talking about the reality behind sustainability and cycling.

Tell us a bit about yourself and your passion and inspiration behind Racer Rosa Bicycles.

I have always been into cycling since I was 3 when my dad taught me to ride without stabilisers and later on in my teens when together we stripped down bikes to re-building them up. About 10 years ago, a lifetime hobby gradually became a profession, fuelled by the boom of cycling in East London. Racer Rosa was founded in 2010, in Walthamstow E17.

Racer Rosa’s Founder, Diego

Cycling has always been seen as a sustainable mode of transport, what makes traditional bicycles and manufacturers not eco-friendly?

Actually, I would say that traditional bikes, through history, have always been sustainable. They were made by hand, locally and made to last.  Up until the 60s and 70s, buying a bike was a big investment. A bike was a valued item which would grow old with you. It is only in the recent years, since the early 90s, that bike manufacturers started to outsource their productions from East Asia that things changed. Now 95% of the bike frames in the market are mass-produced, often in countries without environmental regulations and workers welfare laws... in countries under a dictatorial state. Components are often manufactured in the poorest countries in the world, in order to keep the labour costs to a minimum. Especially the lower end of the market, in order to minimise costs and maximise profit margins, these bikes are cheaply produced, with a very limited life span; in most cases they're not even fixable... and even when you can actually repair, it is cheaper to replace them. These types of bikes easily and quickly end up in land-fill.

We can see that your bicycles are custom made, what makes them and the manufacturing process sustainable?

In our opinion our bikes represent the 'choice in the market' for those users who decide to go back to something more valuable and longer lasting than disposable bicycles. A bike that fits you like a glove and performs efficiently for your body, which you will grow old with. A bit like the old days.  In contrast to most manufacturers in the market, we offer the ultimate customisation and transparency of our sourcing process. We select all the components together with our clients, offering them the choice to have a bike that is made as locally as possible. For example: our frames are all made to measure, hand made in Italy by master frame-builders with 3 generations expertise. The components that we give priority to are all pretty much made in Europe and in some cases, even in the UK. All nearby countries (less carbon mileage too) with environmental regulations, work welfare laws and... a democracy! The tubing we mostly use are steel and aluminium, which are sourced in Europe and produced from recycled prime materials. The wheels and the bike projects are hand-assembled by us in London and we offer a lifetime guarantee on our made-to-measure frames.

Racer Rosa bicyles

How has your brand's sustainability evolved over the years and is there anything you hope to do in the future?

Our sustainable DNA is a solid and well established one, it is very transparent in our process, for clients to see and choose from. Since the beginning, we researched a lot and found more and more components manufacturers that are made more locally and established a close relationship with them, helping promote each other. In the future, we would like to offer a written carbon impact ID certificate that goes with each bike we build... but we need to grow a little more in order to have the admin time to do that! 

My hope for the future is also that many manufacturers that outsource their production in East Asia will identify a value in producing things locally and come back to a local manufacturing process, for the sake of a long term benefit, even if their short term profit margin may suffer a little.

Diego and Arup hard at work.

Maintaining a bicycle is not easy and we see that you have some awesome mechanics on the team, but what advice and practical tips do you have for the average cycler when maintaining their bicycle?

When you change a part of your bike, make sure you opt for the one that is actually repairable, i.e. a brake that is made of metal rather than plastic, with metal adjusters; even if this option is not the cheapest one. This attitude would be a good start.

Since the lockdown lots more people have taken up cycling, have you seen any new trend or traveller behaviour emerge since and what could that mean for the future?

Because of the nature of our bespoke business, we deal mainly with people who cycle for sport or exercise, rather than leisure.  However, we have seen a lot of athletes picking up cycling, especially those whose sports were not allowed during the lockdowns, like football and tennis. Also, since cycling was still allowed, more people working from home have started cycling in order to keep fit and healthy. For the future this means only good things, as modern culture should be less based on fuel-propelled vehicles.  We need more cyclists.

Bike fitting with Giuseppe

We know you love your Essex cycling routes but if you could ride any destination in the world where would it be and why?

Too many to name, but I built myself a touring bike 10 years ago and I was planning to travel through Europe to Italy and back, perhaps further: i.e. Greece and Turkey. Well, work and family got a bit in the way... now I am 51 and I am still here hoping to be able to do that journey, one day!  Other places I would like to cycle to are the north of England and definitely Scotland; we cyclists love a bit of rain!

We love sharing new things for everyone to discover! What would you recommend to others...

- Listen: Try some Italian 70s prog-rock!

- Watch: All the Michelangelo Antonioni films, especially "Blow-up"

- Read: I love the books by Douglas Coupland, i.e. "Generation X" is very dear to me.

- Something that made you smile: the campervan lifestyle guide by Martin Dorey: "Take the slow road".

Words by Jess Morgan