20 Years of Tarty Bikes

Brewing in the minds of Adam Read, and Dave Cleaver, already deeply involved in the fast developing sport of trials, an idea was realised in 2004 to the day. 'Why don't we create a retailer where you can buy all the trials parts and accessories you need in one place?' Tarty Bikes was born, and would become a household name for trials riders world wide.

For 20 years, Tarty Bikes has been ever present as a source for all your trials parts and accessories needs, but more than that, the company has been deeply involved in trials culture, running renowned events like Tarty Days, nurturing the careers of professional athletes, supporting local riders, and events, creating and supporting trials videos to add to the cultural canon, and even helping to develop some of the most popular and enduring products of the sport.

Tarty Bikes is a name every trials rider knows, such is the reach and influence of a company that started in a small bedroom in Loughborough, to become one of the biggest names in the sport. Adam Read, who went on to run the company after Dave Cleaver departed to form Inspired, has been ever present since day one, and a name synonymous with the brand. Here's a few words from Adam on the founding of Tarty Bikes, and it's origins:

"TartyBikes started out after two university trials riding friends got a holiday job at Supercycles in Nottingham. Being responsible for the Onza brand and needing bikes built up ready to be shipped out, Dave (Cleaver - now of Inspired Bikes) and Adam teamed up to assemble Vees, Birds and Pros in their hundreds, earning enough cash to help with living expenses.

At this time Onza and trials were both quite mainstream, so the minimum buy-in to stock the brand was somewhere in the region of 10 bikes, but Mike (Poyzer - owner of Supercycles / Onza / DDG etc) agreed to let us buy a couple of sets of grips, pedals, the odd sprocket, chain, stem, handlebars, and so on.

The main source of parts in the early 2000s was via phone call; calling up to see what was available, then sending a cheque in the post and waiting eagerly to see if what turned up would actually fit your bike! The internet and e-commerce boom certainly helped in the longer term, but initially having good connections within the community via forums (no social media back then) and group rides (often arranged by text message or MSN messenger, or simply 'same time and place every week'), these parts sold quickly and we were soon ready to buy more.

The proceeds were continually re-invested and soon our bedrooms became too small to house the stock, so a small unit in Dave's home town of Hull was rented - and as they say, the rest is history! From such humble and innocent beginnings, TartyBikes grew organically to end up being the leading resource for trials product information and with customers in 85 countries. Quite a wild ride.

Dave & Adam would like to thank everybody who has trusted, supported, recommended, been a customer of, or had contact with TartyBikes over the years. You are also part of the story and we are eternally grateful for that. Cheers!"

Tarty Bikes has been owned and run by riders from the start, and is currently owned by Ben and Charlie, who started their carreer with Tarty Bikes in 2020, then took the reigns in 2022, with owner Adam taking a step back, and passing on the torch:

" What a journey. Although we've only been a part of Tarty Bikes for a few short years, we've experienced the breadth, and reach of the company, and become immersed in the culture of the sport from day one. We know many of our customers personally, and we've shared good times riding with many of you.

The high standard to which all our customers hold Tarty Bikes is a reflection of the work and dedication Adam and his team applied in building the company to what it is today, and we hope we have been able to continue that legacy, and to be everything Tarty Bikes customers expect, and need us to be, so we can continue to serve the sport, and the community for many years to come.

Without you all, we wouldn't exist, and we want to extend our gratitude for your continued support. As the retail world has evolved, our customers have stood by us in an ever increasingly competitive market, and supported us throughout. Thank you to you all. Here's to another 20 years of trials and beyond."

Ben and Charlie

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