Pedelecs caught up with Ian and Trevor Hughes, from Storck Raddar UK, to get the background on how and why they entered the electric bike scene, the response to their bikes and where they think the market is heading in the next few years.
Who is behind Storck?
Markus Storck is the founder of Storck Bicycles in Germany. For over 15 years Markus has been developing innovative, ground breaking and timeless products which have won numerous tests and design awards. Markus Storck products offer an outstanding balance of lightweight and strength, plus award winning design. Numerous innovations which are standard features today were developed, patented and introduced by Storck. No other manufacturer takes such intensive care and passion of its products and Storck designs are ageless and never out of date.
Can you tell us more about the company’s background and what does ‘Raddar’ mean?
Storck’s collection of bikes include a range of City or Hybrid Bikes called Multiroad and Multitask. These are the base for our pedelec bikes and the RADDAR name is given to the drive and motor system developed by Markus Storck.
I formed and funded Storck Raddar UK Ltd mid 2010. I’ve developed considerable knowledge and experience of the Cycle and Sporting goods trade over the past 26 years and founded SCOTT Sports SA (UK Ltd) in the UK for the parent Swiss Company. I helped establish the SCOTT brand through Sales and distribution from its inception in 1994 to a recognized Premium bicycle brand by the time he left the company in 2009 with yearly sales of over 24,000 bikes in the UK and Turnover of over £14.5 million per annum.
Since then, I looked at the e-bike market in the UK and Europe and found the UK e-bike market underdeveloped and had been supplied with lower quality products from the Far East.
I felt I could use my knowledge and skills to help grow the e-bike market here and offer premium quality product and first class service. I was aware that Storck Bicycles are a very well respected and top quality bicycle brand in Germany. Markus Storck is a true design and engineering genius. As the e-bike market grew in Germany, Markus decided to use his award winning Multitask and Mulitroad hybrid bikes as the base for his pedelec range. Not satisfied with the quality of motors and drive systems offered from the Far East, Markus decided to find his own solution and design and make his own Raddar motors and drive system.
My Son Trevor joined the UK company in May 2011 to use his knowledge and academic skills – a BA (hons) Business with Finance – to help form a solid company. Trevor also brings valuable experience in communications and marketing from his previous employment in the telecoms industry. Trevor has already proven himself as a valuable asset to help develop a communication network using our website and social media such as twitter (@Storck_Raddar) and Facebook (Search: Storck RADDAR UK).
When did your passion for electric bikes start and what prompted the move into that market?
I guess I really ‘got it’ after riding a pedelec bike in Switzerland about 5 years ago as part of the range planning with Scott Sports. I could instantly see the opportunities and potential customers for this type of bike, even coming from a road and mountain bike background myself. Scott Sports felt it was too early to include a pedelec bike in their range at the time, but I always knew there would be a market for them in the UK.
Markus Storck saw the electric bike market developing in Germany about 5 years ago and designed his own drive system he named RADDAR, rather than go to an off-the-shelf system from the likes of Panasonic or Yamaha etc. The motors are built in Switzerland to very precise tolerances, are unique and very sophisticated with a patented torque sensor in the motor. The lithium polymer battery cells are all matched to provide an even charge and discharge rate before they are assembled in the battery pack in Germany. I really liked the design and quality of the whole bike from frame, right through to the incredibly smooth and noiseless pedelec drive system.
Why did you choose Storck?
I chose the Storck Brand to distribute in the UK for a number of reasons really. I admired Markus’ design and engineering, but also his business acumen. Markus is also a man with integrity and honesty. Values that are true to my heart. Markus saw my background in the cycle trade and felt comfortable for me to help develop his brand into an important (UK) market for him.
Can you tell us more about the electric bike models you offer?
The range of Storck electric bikes is very easy to understand. There are 2 frame materials. The alloy frame is called the Multitask and the carbon frame called is the Multiroad. The same Raddar drive system is used on both frames. SRP start at £2499 for the base model Multitask SE in 4 men’s frame sizes and 2 women’s sizes. The Multitask equipped SRP is £2899 in the same frame sizes. For a more sporty ride the carbon frame Multiroad Raddar starts at £3159. All the bikes are spec’d with either Shimano Deore or Shimano XT kit, including hydraulic disc brakes and finished with Custom Storck bars, grips, stem and seatpost. All the components and parts are carefully selected for function and quality, plus the frames are all individually checked for alignment before they are assembled in Germany and shipped to the UK.
Who are you aiming these bikes at?
The target customers for these bikes are ones who want real quality pedelec bikes that ride and perform incredibly well and don’t look like the ‘older fashion’ type brands. They do what they say on the tin. The range was chosen because there really isn’t anything else like it in terms of quality and performance in the UK market. What I did not want to do is to get into developing a brand or product that I don’t believe in, or is just selling on price alone to mail order or internet only business.
What is your business model?
Our business model is very much a customer focused business model. That means appointing only authorised stockists who ‘get it’ and understand the quality end of the (still very young) e-bike market here in the UK. We do provide a first class service and support with back up and warranty should anything go wrong, and expect our stockist to do the same. We will only list the stockist on our website and other communications as who are actually carrying stock of our bikes. I’m amazed at some UK e-bike brands who list their dealers that either don’t have stock for the customer to see or try out, or even worse, have gone bust months ago. What type of signal does that send out to a potential customer?
Tell us about the partnership with Cosworth. Is it a one-off, will we see further models?
The partnership with Cosworth started from a past contact I knew. I used to sponsor Colin McRae and Matthew Wilson who drove the World Rally Championship for Ford. I met a few of the Cosworth Team during this time and Andrew Warr, a Programme Manager at Cosworth contacted me asking about the e-bike market in the UK and if there were any companies who may have been interested in their (Cosworth) services.
Andrew Warr and representatives of Cosworth met with Markus Storck in Germany, and both like-minded companies formed an exciting technical partnership early in 2011.
Andy Warr, responsible for the Storck relationship at Cosworth, said the partnership enables two leaders in their respective fields to work together to improve electric bike performance.
“Our diversification into developing clean technologies has identified cycling and more specifically the electric bike as an exciting area for Cosworth. Storck have a like-minded approach to technology and so our partnership will bring together some state of the art mechanical and electronic developments to create lighter, more powerful electric bikes.”
Markus Storck and Cosworth produced a one-off bike for Williams GP driver, Rubens Barrichello, to celebrate his 300 GP start in Spa last year. The first production model that customers can purchase is the Storck Cosworth EFV bike. Based on the carbon framed Multiroad bike, the Cosworth EFV has a special Cosworth paint job. It sports a Shimano XT groupset and hydraulic disc brakes, alongside a high performance 250W motor, which produces 60Nm of torque, powered by a 25.5V Lithium polymer battery. It is available for order with a retail price of £3,999 and comes with a desk trophy engraved Cosworth engine piston, engraved Cosworth Pedals and Cosworth memorabilia.
This is the first of a special program of Storck Cosworth Bikes and there will be more to come in the future.
What has been the response so far?
The response to the range of Storck Raddar bikes has been amazing. Every person I have shown the bikes to and have ridden them, all come back with similar comments on how well the bike handles and rides, even with the system switched off, and how smooth, strong and silent the power delivery is. A number of bike shops in the Lake District were very sceptical of pedelec bikes coping with the terrain in the Lake District after trying some well-known and popular bike brands that had failed to cope with the conditions. As soon as they tried the Storck Multiroad and Multitask Raddar bikes they were convinced these would cope extremely well with the hilly terrain and wet weather the Lake District would through at them. Grizedale Forest visitors Centre is just one place where you can hire a Multitask Raddar bike.
Where do you see the electric bike market in the next few years? What is next in store for Storck?
The e-bike market in the UK has a huge potential for growth. I think there are many parts of the (e-bike) jigsaw puzzle that need to be linked together. That includes a good education and communication channel to help non e-bikers and potential customers understand the products and what they can do. Getting bums on e-bikes by offering customer demo days with bikes from all manufactures at different locations around the country. I see a lot of similarities to how the mountain bike market grew in the early 80’s and then took off. The German e-bike market is probably about 4 years ahead of where the UK market is right now. I have also learned a lot how the e-bike market has grown in Germany to around 250,000 e-bikes sold over the last year. I do not see any reason why these figures could not be reached in the UK in the next 4 – 5 years.
During this time I would expect continuous development of the Raddar drive systems with strong input from our Technical Partners Cosworth, plus some very innovative new frame designs from Markus Storck. From the UK side, I expect to develop our Network of Authorized Storck Raddar Stockist and build a strong community with our customers and end users through events and social media.
Our thanks to Ian and Trevor for speaking to Pedelecs about the history of Storck Raddar to date and the exciting times ahead of them.
You can find out more about Storck’s electric bike models and see a video of the range on the Storck RADDAR website www.storck-raddar.co.uk
