Remodelled Reid Cycles Rolls out Latest Electric Offerings

Frankfurt, Germany

A remodelled Reid Cycles was on display at Eurobike 2023, including the Australian brand’s escalating shift into e-bikes and e-scooters.

Reid Cycles founder James Reid, group CEO Rob Akam and the Reid team used the Frankfurt trade show to unveil several new e-bike and e-scooter models, including the company’s first folding compact e-cargo bike, and a few updated versions.

The folding KADe is the latest inclusion in Reid’s fledgling range of electric cargo bikes which was officially launched in early 2023.

James said the original KADe longtails – with 20-inch wheels, Ananda mid-drive motor and dual battery system – sought to take high-level technology and make it affordable, with a retail price close to half the price of some existing longtails on the market.

He said the folding KADe provided a solution for people with limited space to store an e-cargo bike.

While the folding KADe isn’t planned for official release in Australia, they are now available in overseas markets and could be available to Australian customers who requested one.

Reid also used Eurobike to unveil its new Quest 1 and 2 SUV e-bikes, a Sphinx dual suspension e-MTB and e-scooters, including a model it will sell under the Reid brand and another it is supplying to the Anaconda adventure store chain.

Company Restructure

Speaking at Eurobike, James and Rob said the multitude of new models coincided with a significant restructure of the Reid organisation, more closely aligning its Australian and UK operations.

Reid was launched in Victoria in 2009, declaring its goal was to provide Australia’s best value bikes by selling direct to consumers.

In 2014, the company launched a UK office to oversee its international operations and the two operations had largely worked autonomously.

However, James said the UK headquarters has now been designated as the product development hub for a unified global range.

Reid says its end-game plan is a “just in time” supply of bikes in Australia through the UK operation, to piggyback the benefits of operating in larger volumes with the company’s international markets.

The restructure included a consolidation of Reid’s retail chain in Australia, in response to the state of the domestic market. The company closed two stores in Melbourne, one in Adelaide and one in Sydney, to focus its energies on shops in Brisbane, Perth and its Melbourne headquarters, as well as its online direct-to-consumer sales.

Rob said the restructure has also been accompanied by a greater emphasis on quality, throughout the Reid range.

“That includes custom high-performance tubes and having entry level bikes with a higher level of finish than other brands are doing,” he said.

“That means using hydroformed tubing, internal headsets, internal cabling on our most entry level MTBs now. Noone else is doing that.

“We benefit from the fact we don’t just make Reid. We make bikes for several other brands, so when we develop something really cool, we can incorporate that into a couple of brands in the same market.

“It dilutes our developments costs, so we can do more and do better product development.

“Making for more brands gives us that volume so we’re more important to our supply contacts up the chain, to the factories.

“They treat us a lot better than they did five or 10 years ago. Those people knock on our door now.”

E-Bike Growth

Rob said e-bikes had rapidly grown to represent more than 50% of Reid Cycles sales in Europe.

“We’ve seen e-bikes go from zero percent of our revenue to internationally now well in excess of 50% of our revenue in only a few years,” he explained.

“In Australia, it’s not quite there but it’s going in the right direction. It’s now at around 25%.

“That’s only going to keep going as the Australian market follows the international trend.”

Reid also used Eurobike to showcase updated versions of the Blacktop e-commuter that came onto the Australia market last month.

In addition, Reid Cycles is preparing to release two new models of children’s bike, along with updated versions of its higher-end Granite gravel bikes.

Reid marketing director David Hannay said niche – but steadily expanding – markets, such as electric cargo and gravel bikes, have been very successful sectors for the company. It has tapped into customers seeking good quality but who don’t want to pay the premium prices of brands that have pioneered those sectors and now protect their higher profit margins.