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How many members of staff do you have?
We currently have around 50 members of staff.
Who’s your most passionate cyclist?
I’m not sure it’s possible to put this down to one person! We have a number of highly passionate cyclists at Wattbike, from people that ride for fun or fitness and the simple joy of cycling, to people that race at a national level.
Who are the longest standing members of staff?
Ian Wilson, our founder. He originally dreamt up the Wattbike concept in 1996 and has been helping us move forwards ever since.
What are the current team goals?
The team are very motivated to grow the Wattbike brand presence globally. We want to create a global fitness community around our products and continue to innovate both our physical product and our software.
What projects are you working on that the industry should know about?
After the early success of the Wattbike Atom, we started to actively work on a commercial version of the bike for both cycling studios and gyms. In addition to this, we are commissioning our latest research project, which will inform the development of our future products. It will also enable us to create the best training interventions that aid the rider’s performance – more will be announced on this shortly.
What are your greatest strengths as a company?
Our products. This goes back to working with Peter Keen (the then performance director of British Cycling) and the British Cycling team. Even in the early days, our goal was clear – we wanted to create the world’s leading cycling ergometer. I also think our desire to keep pushing the boundaries of performance research and what it takes to continue being the best cycling ergometer/home trainer for improving performance. This is a defining factor when we consider our market.
What sets you apart from other companies in the industry?
The accuracy and the reliability of the data we provide are unrivalled. Our users can ride an Atom at home, a Wattbike Pro in their local gym and a Wattbike Trainer when on holiday. They can be confident they are looking at comparative data. Our performance analysis tools and connectivity make the date easy to track and interpret, and features such as our Polar View and Pedalling Effectiveness Score set the benchmark in performance analysis.
What motivates the team?
We have a very talented team who are extremely self-motivated. There is a desire that runs throughout the team to be the best we can be individually and as a collective. We are just at the start of what is growing into a very successful business. This allows the team to have a real stake in our success, and in doing so provides huge motivation.
What do you do to have fun as a group?
Cycling and triathlon events, group rides, and the occasional party!
Tell us about past and recent successes.
The launch of the Wattbike Atom has been our biggest achievement in the past 12 months. This has transformed Wattbike into a true e-commerce business. As a young business, none of this would have been possible without our initial footings. From the beginning, we became the only cycling ergometer to have been endorsed by British Cycling, and we are the bike of choice for all major nations across Olympic sports – cycling just being one. Others include rowing, athletics, rugby and boxing.
