The Spokesmen Cycling Podcast
$100,000 For A Bicycle? In Conversation with Michael Mourechek of Festka
Episode 233
Monday 23rd December 2019
SPONSOR: Jenson USA
HOST: Carlton Reid
GUEST: Michael Mourechek, cofounder of Festka
NOTES:
Forbes article on Festka.
TRANSCRIPT
Carlton Reid 0:13
Welcome to Episode 233 of the spokesmen cycling podcast. This show was published on Monday 23rd December 2019.
David Bernstein 0:24
The Spokesmen Cycling Podcast is brought to you by Jenson USA, where you’ll always find a great selection of products at amazing prices with unparalleled customer service. For more information, just go to Jensonusa.com/thespokesmen. Hey everybody, it’s David from the Fredcast cycling podcast at theFredcast.com. I’m one of the hosts and producers of the spokesmen cycling roundtable podcast. For show notes, links and all sorts of other information please visit our website at the-spokesmen.com. And now, here are the spokesmen.
Carlton Reid 1:08
Hi there I’m Carlton Reid and this episode of the Spokesmen Podcast is a bonus show, my little Christmas present for you. It’s an interview with Michael Moure?ek, cofounder of the lustworthy bicycle brand Festka of the Czech Republic. The company was in the news recently with a $35,000 carbon road bike painted to look like porcelain so I called Michael for a chat, and we talk about this particular paint job as well as why one Festka bike recently sold for $100,000 in a charity auction. Festka is co-owned by a billionaire and I’ve just written a story about the brand for Forbes. Check it out at Forbes.com/sites/carltonreid
Michael, tell me about the world. The reason we’re talking to you today and you’ve had some media on this in the last few days is this project that you’ve been working on for like 13 months for this, this Bangkok bicycle collector. So tell me about that before we get into into Feska as a whole,
Michael Moure?ek 2:22
This was a very interesting project for us because we love for this difficult project. And this client was amazing because he gives us a freedom and he just influence us with his life and then we have complete freedom. So we know about him that the collect the bike, so he has a more than 40 full custom bikes, and he also collects the porcelain. So for us, was this like a good idea to works with illustrator named Michal Ba?ák, which is an amazing guy. He did a lot of porcelain stuff. And there was a long time ago in our heads
Michael Moure?ek 3:17
to do something what represent like check porcelain or check glass school. So this was a good opportunity for us. So why they took the 13 months was because the client wants to have a lot of personal details. So we was drawing on the paper, lot of sketches and this just took us like a six months to send him the sketches and discuss every detail so if you sit on the bike, you’ll see that there is a lot of small pictures and everyone somehow it’s connected with his life with his life past the Finally. So this was interesting on one time and I think that this create for him really personal.
Carlton Reid 4:12
do you know Is he going to be riding this bicycle or is this a bicycle for his wall?
Michael Moure?ek 4:16
Yeah, definitely. No no no, no no definitely definitely will be righted by his house. It’s looks like like temporarily cyclists museum. So, so he has a bike display in his house, but he used them the majority of the bike or what I can see on his social media. He writes so and with that bike, he discussed with us mainly about the the riding specification. So the bike is ready to be used so he has handlebars would you normally use nothing fancy There was there’s a lot of stuff, which tells everyone that this biker should be used in the future.
Carlton Reid 5:08
How did he find you in the first place?
Michael Moure?ek 5:10
This project has one exception because normally we do this directly with the customers, the sky. Talk first with our dealer in Bangkok, so somehow it goes through him. But after that he used our client service. Bangkok it’s a good market for us maybe surprisingly, but Bangkok has a very unique thing that there isn’t one only one route where is it possible to ride a bike like this safely? It’s around the airport, which is open it’s it was a great for the cyclist and it’s open 24 hour per day. So, it’s a big city. So it’s every hour, you can met the cyclists there and you can join them. So and this created a specific market because it’s some kind of the socialising so people need to care what they wear for example like in jersey businesses in Bangkok a little bit different in the rest of the world so because you go to ride the bike and it’s the similar like in the Europe we go to the pub, so we want to be well dressed and show maybe our social status wherever. And in the Bangkok somehow. This works similar with was riding the bike around the airport because you met always the same people and you need to show them new new stuff. So it’s it’s it’s changed Little bit business and we have quite a lot customers there and majority of them owns custom by
Carlton Reid 7:10
the basic is it’s a Spectre it’s a standard kind of a I’m saying standard here it’s it’s your your base model and then people then customise from there.
Michael Moure?ek 7:21
Yeah, yeah, actually it’s not based model It’s a race model. So this is the same bike what for example, check track national team use for for the road races and they have also a version of this frame for for the track so it’s very stiff. So this is another thing will show that the clients really want to use this bike because if not, probably will go for the cheapest frame or maybe for the most expensive frame to make the show off. So and hate to say this Really race oriented frame?
Carlton Reid 8:03
Because I’ve seen his social media. I mean, he rides in Europe. So he comes and does like events in Europe as well, doesn’t he? So you may be right, right. And one of them
Michael Moure?ek 8:12
yeah, maybe maybe we didn’t have a chance to meet him during this process, but hopefully I hope that we will meet here in the Europe or during my travelling to Asia.
Carlton Reid 8:27
So this was basically a $35,000 bicycle.
Michael Moure?ek 8:33
Yeah, it is. It is. It’s Yeah, it’s hard to say like that. Because in this cases,
Unknown Speaker 8:42
the price it’s
Unknown Speaker 8:46
it’s, it’s very hard to set up the price because
Michael Moure?ek 8:50
we did this art bike or a bike together with an artist in the past. So there is I don’t know. Let’s say seven. Bye. Like that already from the past, and we always try to choose the artist which has a good value and there is no can predict that his work will be more expensive in the future. So, so far all the bytes what we did in this art edition keep the price or maybe today price is higher levels on the beginning and very often the price for the artwork it’s a higher than the material cost for the bike and for the components
Carlton Reid 9:42
because it and the components front you took the logos off Didn’t you have the of the components
Michael Moure?ek 9:48
with Yeah, yeah, we took a logo, we redesign the strum group said so because in Georgian over there is like a civil sticker and we changes we change that And there was some people from from a solid and I was impressed at how how this looks so there’s so many small details we ask also the lightweight to use like different buildings and etc so so there is a small tuning also on on the components yeah we remove the logo from the seatpost and etc but this is a some kind of the standard stuff what we do because we try to always think about the bike like complete thing so all the components need to play
Unknown Speaker 10:40
Yeah, so
Michael Moure?ek 10:43
nothing special for for us like to to redesign the groups and it’s quite common for us.
Carlton Reid 10:50
And how many bicycles are you? customising a year and a how many bicycles are you selling a year so how big is the custom part of your business
Unknown Speaker 10:59
in the past was like
Michael Moure?ek 11:03
when we start like, so we start like a 10 years ago. So then immediately we start to sell our bike. So in real estates took us like a five years to reach the limit to reach the level of where we are today with r&d and production capacity and etc. So it took us, let’s say, five years to develop the product. Then until now It took us another four years to set up the production and all the processes so we wasn’t in a hurry in the past year, so it will change right now. So for example, past two past three years, we keep our production on 200 frames per year. We have a production capacity for 500. So for the next year, we plan to reach higher number on the beginning of the hundred personal fall reframe was for custom,
then
we start to step by step represent something would we call Core Collection, it’s standard design. Then we have some kind of the limited edition of designs. And these full custom today 70% of our customer by the base design, maybe they change the colour too much with the car wherever. And the 30% of our production is the unique things for each writer
Carlton Reid 12:42
set to tell me how you make your frames because it’s not I mean, most carbon frames are in mold. This is not in mold frames.
Michael Moure?ek 12:51
No. There’s two things. So first, it’s a pupil connection. So which is not so unique but What it’s quite unique or not so usually it’s the filament building cubes what we use because 10 years ago when we start thinking to produce the bike, we we have a freedom because we don’t have any past. So, we was looking to to the future so we were searching what I mean try to guess what the the carbon industry can move in 1020 years perspective. So, so and we took the inspiration for the aircraft industry and in these days was a big hype around the Boeing Dreamliner. And for example, Boeing Dreamliner, main tube of displaying some main was the same technology like v2 A tubes. So in the shortcut for us what is very important is that these tubes are made by the machine by the robots. So if you compare the moulds production It’s the hand made the job. So this is the people will make a mistake because they think that we are handmade company, which is not a true the big brands are handmade because they need to take like 500 or 700 pieces of the pre pregs and they need to put them by the hand inside the moles and it’s quite unhealthy. There is a lot of space for some mistakes and etc. So in our case, the robots do our job they are very precise. They are always in the same mood because they don’t have the family issues and wild party. So they every every day, produce the perfect cube for us. And and then we use the human hands to assembly them so thing that we have absolutely freedom to do any size, what we need. So normally we offer 24 sizes like stock sizes, let’s say and plus the custom one We can change the tube if we need it. So I remember that in the past, we did a few frames for very heavy people. So they don’t have the same job like I use. And in our workflow, it’s quite easy to change up just for them. So this is different way how to produce the stuff from the carbon not so common for bicycle industry. It’s a very niche in the bicycle industry. But it’s very common in the different kinds of industries like automotive aircraft industry or the gas bottles today are made from the carbon and it’s very similar technology like that used for the tubes.
Carlton Reid 15:51
and where are you? The robots are somewhere different and then you get them shipped in and then you assemble where do you assemble
Michael Moure?ek 16:00
We, we produce the tube in the souls of the Czech Republic by the coincidences there in a very small city when I was born and I didn’t know it, we have a company like that there. And these guys are amazing. It was the company was a phone by two students in the 1993, if I remember correctly, and there was a one student who studied like aircraft engineering and the composite material. And the other one was the student who studied robotic scientists, and one professor, put them together and say, one, hey, you should design it to the robots for your colleague. And you should, you should try to do something and they try it. And they found the company. And what is amazing for us is that these guys Build Own robots. So and they also make the programme for them. So if today I need something, they completely control. The they they really control their production because very often people buy some machine but they don’t know who make the software for them. So they they have a lot of possibilities what they can do with them, but not unlimited. And these guys are very unique and the carbon words with that with that possibilities. So today we are very connected even our head of r&d as a table in that company and for the next year you will be employed by the company because it’s it’s better, it’s cheaper for us so, so we are very close. So they do so today we have let’s say free spots on the robot so we can even change everything like an hour before. So so they produce that you for us but we do together the r&d because we need to know What how to make the tube or what we want to receive for the final product. So it’s a very close partnership
Carlton Reid 18:09
and they then making that mainly for aerospace normally
Michael Moure?ek 18:16
they do like like the tubes or beams goes to company who produced robots and these robots working in the automotive industry for example, they do like stuff for military, I saw that they do like the car, RPG from the car horn and stuff like that. Any kind of the product and very often a very high end with some sophisticated needs. So the they do been so which are the base of very precise copying machine, for example. So so it’s hard to imagine But it’s very often it’s looks like a very ordinary product like normal aluminium beans made from the carbon, but they are so, so good that they know how to design the layers of the carbon inside that the product absorb some kind of the vibration for example. So, so, I remember that they did one project for some line production line in automotive industry and they replace the aluminium beam with the carbon beings and the lines goes 15 times faster than before. So, this is a huge impact to their business. So, so they do this kind of
very high end engineering.
Carlton Reid 19:49
So you get the tubes, this very high end engineering tubes and and you then have a factory or workshop where you then put these things together.
Michael Moure?ek 20:00
Yes, yes, yes. So we have we, yeah, so we do own r&d. So it’s, we always need to tell them what we want. So then we receive the tubes from them very often two times per week. And we need to mentor them and put them to the Jake made the lamination around the joints. You know, we need to prepare the carbon for the paint job. We have our own paint job. So we paint them and we do assembly and etc.
Carlton Reid 20:33
And how many people have you got working there and they go
Michael Moure?ek 20:37
to today it’s working for us 18 people. So in the past was a more of as close to 30 when we was really working on the r&d stuff. Now all the team has 18 members,
Carlton Reid 20:52
and tell me about the company. You said before that you were you’ve been you’ve been going for 10 years. Was it was 2010 when you you were founded Yes, yes. And how you say it was you and a business partner
Michael Moure?ek 21:08
It was a me and my friend Ond?ej Novotný it happened that
Unknown Speaker 21:12
was a
Michael Moure?ek 21:15
the real beginning was in the same day when I have a birthday so I was on the bar and Ond?ej was the first guy who came and my parents called me and they asked me to buy a bike so they want to give me the birthday gift the bike and was a funny situation for me because it was the first time in my life in my life when I was in a position to buy to buy because previously I receive always the bike from the team so people pay me for it and I never have a freedom to choose the group said which is the brand the colour and etc. So so I was 30 years old the guy was quite a lot experience with with the bikes and will never bought the bike for himself. So, it was a unique situation for me and it was a very you know Andre in the days was a very curious what brand are will choose and etc and I I told him that I will not going in that way that I will first study little bit worries the the steel tubes right now what is in the offer and then I will select some frame builder who will put the tubes together for me and etc. And he was very impressed with that possibility because he didn’t know it. So he was immediately on the board and actually we didn’t need this bike so so we take a time and we want to make it a nice project for us. So we started travelling we visited a lot of frame builders here in the Czech Republic was in the past it was a nice scene of the frame building. But no one fits to our needs. So we went to the delay. I know the language. I have a lot of connection there so we were the data layer and during the struggling we realised that almost no one has under control all the skills would you need to have if you want to build the perfect bike so it was a guys who doesn’t understand my writers needs they don’t know how to how to transfer them to the geometry if there is one someone who understand what I won, the craftsmanship wasn’t on the good level. If these both things works, they frozen with the designs are in the 80s so so we can’t find the perfect frame of the for us who owns all these so we went back and do the Republic and we want to do this like a project. And so we start to searching for some commitments guys, and we want to build our perfect by just like a project and me falling in love with that would be so different. stabilities and the chariot public is a perfect industry country whereas a lot of like a basic research and basic industry and we saw like the possibilities of high end industry would we we can transfer to, to the simplest things like the bike frame is it So, this is how all these start
Carlton Reid 24:25
and then you Andre and yourself, you you you created a business and then it could you have backing from a billionaire was was that from the start or was that later on?
Michael Moure?ek 24:42
It was later on because
we was we will start we start with a steel. And we on the beginning we can’t imagine that we will jump to the car bonus so soon, but somehow it happened and we we did cover some possibilities in the carbon and titanium as well. And, and we and we, we burn all our money, what we put to the business together as the Andre. So first finance think of our company was through the fund raising so in 2012 we made like own private fundraising project call it 200 and we promised people to deliver 200 carbon frames which we did actually wasn’t 235 remember correctly we produce around the seven day because the production cost was the higher than the price what we promise So, but but it helped us to develop our first carbon frame together with a comeback and Later on with a chicken University and etc. And basically this was the really base of our future. Today, I hope I can say hi in production. And so we show something with that. And we need the money to to fund the company to fund the production. We know that we are on the some direction what we feel that can bring something what is not on the market right now. And yeah, so we need the money for it. So we make this connection with that billionaire guy.
Carlton Reid 26:47
So how do i mean that? That’s fascinating. How do you make a connection with a billionaire guy because that’s not an everyday occurrence with Is he a cyclist? What Where’s interest?
Michael Moure?ek 26:57
No, no A good question
Unknown Speaker 27:03
is happened that
Michael Moure?ek 27:07
one, so so we will searching for it. So it wasn’t like there was no secret that we was searching for the partner. And we was talking with Mr. Zdenek Bakala, which is his owner of the Quickstep team. So it’s a Czech guy who owns the team. And, and we had a meeting with him and he was very happy to when he imagined that he can own something like that, but the we don’t like the people around him. So basically, we say no. And this was a funny because then the Forbes magazine made the interview with us and Mr. Bakala confirm that we say no. In that negotiation So this thing’s maybe go public that we searching for someone and the big guys are interesting to invest to our company. And then one my friend knows these guy and this guy, and he called me if we if I want to set up a meeting with him, so he set up the meeting. We have a one lunch, he asked us about the business. He set up the next day, the lunch again, and he asked us for some question, and we was impressed how good homework he did overnight. So he started the business. He, I don’t know, he asked us for the 15 questions and the 10 questions was perfectly on point. So yeah, so we made a deal with him. Michal Korecký.
Carlton Reid 28:53
Because people do get into the bike industry. Often, often they’re they’re very much into Yes. And they assume they’re going to make lots of money and then they get into the bicycle industry and discover it’s actually a cottage industry in many respects that you don’t make much money in this industry so so is your billionaire mean this is this is Michal? Yes. That this is he’s still happy with with the bicycle industry and with you.
Michael Moure?ek 29:27
Far hard to say. So I think that we have, we have a maybe different vision about about the future because you name it so these guys want to push the business always to the big numbers. And we feel more our potential in this niche, let’s say luxury business, because this was the original idea behind the first car to Create the very high end bike which are perfect in every point of view. So there need to be perfect components. Perfect material. Perfect frame, very nice design and everything you need to be perfect. And this was our revision. Yeah, and we want to keep this so yeah. So so in that we have a different direction. And as I mentioned before, they will be changed in our own struction soon, which will reflect exactly what I name it right now.
Carlton Reid 30:42
So let’s go backwards a bit because you mentioned there your your when your birthday, the bicycle that you could choose and the fact that you were a bicycle racer, and you got bikes given by him so tell me about your bicycle racing career, Michael
Michael Moure?ek 31:00
I remember that when was the Olympic Games in Seoul which was 1986 if I remember correctly I was sick and I saw it I it’s like a flashback when I call to my brother to see the TV and there was a team pursuit race on it and I was so fascinated with the guys on this bike with the full disk wheels and Aero helmet and this skinsuit and this was something but I was like a tour guy living somewhere in the mountains. So I can’t imagine how can happen that someone do this sports, so I forgot it on it. And during the high school, I started there was some discussion and the people asked me what will be my dream job and I say the Pro Cycling and they smile me say I could be Pro racer. So I start to take this stuff seriously. And I become to be one of the best like a junior racer. I get them Medal from the world championship team pursuit. So somehow my dream come true. And I have like a very big results. When I was Junior then I moved from the junior category directly to to the Italy I was racing for small teams and Italy was in these days the small teams was very often the good this team was a connected with the pro team. So first year I was in team was connected with the Mercatona-Uno you know, and then I was on the farm of Mapei. And it was a very interesting experience for me the I need to return back to the Czech Republic to make a military service so I can ride a bike also during the military service but I need to stay here in the Czech Republic and then I stay with that pro continental military team in the end of my career in year 2006 so during that time I was a 10 time champion on the on the road on the on the track so like nothing special
Carlton Reid 33:30
I think it’s quite special so 2006 you retire you’ve been lately you’re the age of 26 so there’s four years but what the gap be so 2006 to 2010 when you found it fast go What were you doing in those four years?
Michael Moure?ek 33:47
Yeah, first I maybe I I quit but I still have a contract. When I quit my I realised that my I will be never like the winner of the Tour de France and etc. was also the complicated situation because I was very often so close to sign the contract, but it was a in these days the the Germany like a very strong economic doesn’t have a pro component to the team. So it was quite complicated situation. So it was a pragmatic decision. So I I say my saved cell that I’m not too old to try something new and one of my friend
Unknown Speaker 34:36
searching for someone who can
Michael Moure?ek 34:40
be ahead of his political campaign because he wants to become to be the major of the proximity. So and I say this is interesting, so maybe this could be like a good restart for for myself. So I say I can I can quit riding the bike in immediately. And I can start to working for you. So and this happened. So the next four years I was working in the marketing. And mainly I did the political campaigns. So something and then I realised that it’s not so good for my karma. So I was looking to, to go back to the site.
Carlton Reid 35:25
And then you found it faster with Ondreh. And now Festka. You told me before means fixie, in effect in Czech.
Michael Moure?ek 35:35
It is but it’s a little bit complicated. The first car it’s it’s a very old check. name for the fixed bike. Perfect See, but it means of the trek bike not the fixie, what become to be popular in over the year 2000 wherever. So and I know this word Because since my trek career my coach or the old writer always call the track bike Festka so and I have this background and there was a free com domain and I never want to put my name on on on the frame because I since the beginning I want to create the project the people will be working together on the frame so it’s doesn’t make sense to put my name on it because it’s not only my work, so yeah, so I just take this again, there was a pragmatic decision so people can there was no connection between this name and anything else. So if you put to the Google it’s works for us and etc. So, so again, nothing special just a pragmatic decision, and I like this word and deed. Make
Carlton Reid 37:00
fixies as well I mean it was that goal was got a good
Michael Moure?ek 37:05
we yeah this is this is all the people think that we started as a fixie, actually it’s a true so on the beginning we made the fixie bike but in reality we made like maybe 10 bikes, like a fixed gear bikes because we give ourself first two years for the studying the business, the cycling market because we don’t have this experience. So we must open to do everything what the clients wants from us. So from this early ages of the first car, we made it full suspension bikes, for example, mountain bikes, the travelling bikes and etc. So and we’ll learn from our mistakes in that so and everything somehow influence us for the future. So the fixie was amazing school for us because there was a client who doesn’t have any experiences of cycling so they asked us for for the things what the experience cyclists never asked for like to like paint spokes. The I don’t know the the they want to have a different letter on the on the settle and it’s a draw so and we wants to fulfil their wishes and and from these days comes this our experience today that we can make gold leaves on the subtle and etc. And we have experienced that this works so it was a good school for us but no business and yeah, there’s maybe 10 people owns the
fixie bike. Right okay.
Carlton Reid 39:00
Now tell me about the Doppler because the Doppler is it’s half its carbon and a half, it’s titanium. So what were the were the different tubes there.
Michael Moure?ek 39:12
This become, actually, this was one of the few things what the billionaire on the board influenced us because he he asked us if he can make the titanium frame I say, again, based on my experience from the racing, I say, okay, it’s not a big deal to do world titanium frame, but to make the perfect titanium by frame, it’s a different kind of thing. So, but luckily in the past was in the Czech Republic, the company named Moratti and it was it’s a company today they produce the, the part for the engine and maybe somebody And for the US military. So again, very high end industry focusing on welding the titanium and in the 90s they don’t have a work. So, they started doing somehow the bicycle parts and they use all the experience and they transfer this to the bike. So, they have a very unique technology. And in 2004, this company bought Honeywell, so they immediately quit the bike production and, and I come back the CEO of this company and he helped us to develop our titanium programme. So we started doing the titanium frame, and then I did a lot of people call me holidays before the Christmas time like now and they they want to have something like a combination of the carbon and titanium something like this. flights do or Enigma, or this titanium blocks and the carbon to plain sight. And I always say that hey, it doesn’t make sense to me because this is the solution what was here a long time ago and it’s always felt like Allen frames, look frames and energised as a matter of the one the glue will be old enough. And there was so many reason don’t don’t do this because one of them rules will be at Invesco that we never do anything without the purpose. And in that kind I need to see the purpose but the people push me and I say okay, I don’t remember it was 2016 during the Christmas and I say I will be thinking about each tube separately. So I saw with the head you and I realised that the to make the carbon head you it’s the much more easier and much more better for the frame than To use the titanium one. So then I thinking about the main joobs top tube and the downtube. And I think that these guys are who by this by our people who wants to have the modern version of the titanium Pike, so they still wants to feel and see the titanium. So the main cubes are from titanium, the bottom bracket, it’s somehow just the holder for the bearings. So, perfect the things to save the way to with a carbon chainstays are responsible for the the power transmission so definitely the carbon is better for that application the titanium as a lot of troubles with the diameter of the capacitor acid carbonic was the perfect solution. Seats days are responsible for the conforte titanium can afford for the perfect come forth and the last things was a seat post and Our solution with an integrated seatpost it’s the weight it’s a 185 grammes wherever all the seatpost with the with the lock for the settled, so we can save a lot of weight on it. So and if you put this together, I think that somehow it’s works and it’s a good frame still you feel the titanium and the weight of this bike. It’s 1100 grammes. So it’s lighter than the luck solution. So yeah, so this is it. So and we, we know how to how to work with identity and how do works with a carbon. So the joints what works looks like Lux. Actually, this is not the luxus the special way how we do this elimination and one of the magic things it’s and so we need to do, the very complicated stuff was How to prefer the titanium for for for that.
Carlton Reid 44:05
And what’s the light? What? What’s the lightest bike that you can do with with a road disc brake
Unknown Speaker 44:11
bike?
Michael Moure?ek 44:13
This is always the question of the people asked me for and I my answer is easily 500 grammes, but you need to ask me if this bike will be good or not so, so it’s a it’s always a combination of the stiffeners. The the riding for the bike need to be stable and the high speed which is the weakness of the ultra light frame, etc. So today, I think that the 750 grammes, let’s say, it’s the border and I don’t feel the reason to go below. Low that way
Carlton Reid 45:01
so for full bike you can get that to like 5.8 kilos
Unknown Speaker 45:07
for the full
Michael Moure?ek 45:10
in the you asked me for the disc version so a few months ago we made it to the disco version of the bike and the weight was a 5.6 kilos and still the and the target wasn’t to make the lightest disc bike on the world The reason the target was to make the perfect bike with no
issues so is
all the gears would you need
no light component, the DVD blue
and this crazy things what to do to wait we need to do to to reach the limit. So all the components on it are let’s say stop. One so it’s a 5.6 with a very light tires It was 5.5 But after I decided to use the normal tires for it so I’m so it could be less and in with the with the same bike with the rim brake so it will be close to five I guess.
Carlton Reid 46:19
Now when you mentioned before about when you’re in your your pro career that you couldn’t choose your bag you are given your bike. So pros given bikes, and they can’t choose so they couldn’t, no pro could choose your bike and say I want to ride on that bike because that’s the best bike. They’ve got a ride on on spec bikes, that sounds kind of unfair, that they can’t ride on the best bikes in the world.
It’s a business behind that. So it’s it’s a it’s a change
Michael Moure?ek 46:50
over the year 2000. So in the 90s if you will be the team director and so maybe You will be we will visit me and say Hey Michael, I believe that the with your friend we can win the Tour de France I say okay I believe in your skills and in your writers and what do you want and probably will be asked me for I don’t know 60 maybe 80 frames I will say okay well let’s make a deal today if you are by producer you will never ask me for the quality of the bike you always asked me how much money I can give you. So if you are a good manager, I believe that you are so you’re you’re conditioned condition will be like 300 bikes, not frames but full build bikes, and I know something from 500,000 euros or even close to a million euros per year, like like like the minimum. So this is the this is the condition so What the protein can have right now. So So today on Tour de France, you can see the people who can afford it to pay the rider. It doesn’t mean that these products are the best. It’s nothing against to this product. But this was a one of the best bigger surprise for myself. When I was racer, I lived in the bubble of the Pro Cycling. So I know a lot of brands, but all these brands can afford it to pay the rider. Then I discover a lot of niche brands, good brands, like I don’t know, like a Chris King had said, I always fight with a headset on my race bike. So when I quit, and I discovered there is some guy named named Chris king who made this amazing headset. I never have an issue with that right now. So I’m thirsty. So many nice, nice components, and this company can survive without support to the big race.
Carlton Reid 49:10
So, are you making electric bikes for people? You know, like, where they can fit the battery?
Unknown Speaker 49:17
Is that a great? No
Michael Moure?ek 49:22
definitely it’s a big market for a must production by we the people pushing us to do this as well. So during the Christmas I will maybe it’s happened in the future, we are in we we will be tested the very specific engine in the beginning of the next year. Which is unique because it spreads to every our current frame. So So this seems to be interesting to me that I can Be sure that nothing change with behaviour of the bike or with the feeling with the rider has. And it’s just the option if you if you select any our bike and you just ask us for the engine, like like an upsell or something what is there it will be maybe possible the funnel, what I like on that solution is that it’s just the one and a half kilo which means that the battery has a one kilo so if you want to enjoy the bike without the help from the engine, you just need to keep the battery at home. So in the relative your bike will have just the 500 grammes on the top and when we talk about our 5.6 kilos dispersion bike, so it will be 6.1 still you will have lighter frame We like to bike then the majority of the population. So So this seems to be interesting. Yeah, so there’s a few things that need to be solved. Like the the temperature of the engine inside you, etc. So but it’s looks promising so I think that is 80% change that we will offer this auction in the future. Nothing What it’s my personal taste if you asked me for it, but I understand the clients who lives somewhere in the Alps for example, so there is no where to go. So this support makes sense for them.
Carlton Reid 51:50
So the bicycles you are making, as you said before, they are luxury product. So the people who are buying them Bye bye absolute definition have to be rich. So no, no Go on then.
Michael Moure?ek 52:08
No, no, this is
this is an interesting because if your dream will be to own to the Ferrari, for example or authors car and I don’t know you are you working behind the desk or in the supermarket? Probably you can never afford a car like that. Even if you win the money in the lottery, you will have no money for the maintenance. So for many people, this dream, it’s closed forever, but to have a dream bike from from flashcard say it’s okay so our bike starts at, I don’t know seven 6000 euros if you don’t want to do the compromise You need to be ready to pay somewhere around 10,000 euros. But still, the value of this bike you can enjoy for next 20 years. So basically, it’s just your decision or the priorities. So we have I’m surprised with how many let’s say ordinary people are definitely not Richard people we have in our fiscal family, so it’s not a matter of the money. It’s a matter of preference.
Carlton Reid 53:40
Thanks to Michael Moure?ek there. Links to Festka and my Forbes articles about the company can be found on the show notes at the hyphen spokesmen com On the last episode I had promised I’d be talking with academic John Steylin but this bonus episode bumped that show into 2020. Meanwhile, get out there and ride
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