Quella Bicycles

Quella recently spent a day shooting with our friends at AMP Creative to give you guys an insight into how our Quella One is built, and the demonstrate the care and attention that go in to each and every order - with our Founder, Mark Langley, getting his hands on every single bike that is dispatched from our workshop.

Quella is the product of a longing to build something, and a love of cycling. This love of building bikes has turned into a fully fledged business in the blink of an eye. Formed only a year ago, the brand is now churning out hundreds of hand-built bicycles that not only look beautiful, but function at the top end of the fixed gear bike market.

AMP Creative spent a day following Founder Mark Langley, and his partner and Co-Founder, Jordan Emery, as the freshly welded frames get powder coated and coloured, then cut down to size before over 20 components are lovingly pieced together to become the Quella One.

IMPORTANT UPDATE!

As of Monday 11th March Quella Bicycle will be VAT registered and unfortunately that means we are having to raise our prices slightly to ensure we can continue making beautiful bikes!

We will be taking a hit on our already very democratic margins in the process to ensure that you are still getting unbelievable value for money on the Quella One.

The price of a standard colour combination Quella One will be £449 and the price of a limited edition will be £459. (Prices effective 11th March 2013)

To prove that these prices are still so reasonable, Quella will be featuring on the Halfords website and on in-store order in 480 stores nationwide from the end of March!

If you have had your eyes on the One for a while, I'd make the most of the extremely low prices over the weekend.

Any problems/questions please don't hesitate to get in touch at - sales@quellabicycle.com and we will do our best to help.

We all ride single-speed / fixed gear because of their simplicity, clean lines and low maintenance, but the Quella One offers so much more.

We have ridden the bike in so many situations and it's weight and simplicity have helped with the pure joy of riding. At the track, the Quella One is fast and comfortable with bull bars that give you a comfortable sprint position and a 48 / 16 gear that pushes you along once up to speed. With a BB height appropriate for track riding the Quella One is stable at high and low speeds, whether track standing or head down "giving it beans". This carefully thought out geometry and balance between comfort and speed is a real benefit while commuting in traffic. Agile yet robust for urban roads...with a ratio that helps you get ahead of the eponymous white van driver.

Out on the open road, the bike is fast and comfortable on all day rides in the hills, yes the 48 / 16 gear is an effort V reward set up, but that's with us, work hard on the hills and you are up them twice as fast. We have ridden on tow paths, pave, tarmac and rolling 60 milers and the Quella One has kept pace with the "chain gang" with ease- performance with style. The bull bars offer a variety of hand positions (more than you might think), ranging from leaning in on the curve to resting on the top.

In town is where the bike comes alive, understated and simple to lock with bolt through axles, it's a point and go bike for urban riding.

The steel frame is rigid and responsive yet compliant on unforgiving cobbles and when the road gets rough. There is a reassurance that the frame and deep section wheels can take whatever you throw at them.

My British Racing Green bike with black components and deep section wheels is understated which keeps it under the bike thief's radar yet still turns heads, for those who like bikes or are looking for a simple urban (do it all bike) for a very reasonable price, look no further than the Quella One!

Keith Jepson Max Bikes

One thing about riding SS or a fixed bike over the winter (and all year for that matter) is the lack of maintenance required to keep it running. There is simply little to go wrong, just brake pads to change periodically and a thick and strong chain to lube and this is why we love them. The constant power transfer of fixed gives you excellent and consistent torque in snow and ice. All you need do is fix mud guards (if you don't mind potentially spoiling clean lines} and a light bracket; then roll out the door safe in the knowledge that your bike is going to take all the hammering the worst of the UK conditions can throw at it.

We have been riding in the city, on country lanes and along the pavé of the towpath...and the Quella One has eaten the miles. The bull bars are really comfortable and offer a great variety of hand positions. Ride the track, leaning into the rise or cruise the city on the top of the bar, the Quella One feels like a bike that can do it all. Yes, hill climbing may be tough with no gears and the 16 tooth freewheel hub...but it's effort V reward. The harder you pedal, the faster you climb!

The Quella One is great in the city, direct, light and agile in traffic, both at high speeds or the low speeds of "white van" dodging and track standing.

We are aware that there are no professional reviews of the Quella One online at the moment, however keep your eyes peeled over the next 2 weeks and you'll start to see them pop up over all the major cycling sites.

Go explore your roads.

Keith, Quella

“You can always add something to a bike, but you come to a point where you can’t take anything away and that's a fixed gear bike” - Graeme Obree (Edwards and Leonard, 2009:6)

At Quella we are often asked, why ride fixed gear? Surely it seems counterintuitive to ignore gears and go back to basics?

A fixed-gear bike is a thoroughbred racing machine, the cycle messengers workhorse (Edwards and Leonard, 2009:1) and, for many an aesthetic choice. The fixed gear bike, commonly known as a ‘fixie’, is the bicycle stripped to its absolute basics, the purest expression of the ‘diamond-framed form’, of what some cite, as humanities most important invention (Edwards and Leonard, 2009:6).

The difference between a fixie bike and a generic geared road bike is of course the rear fixed cog, meaning when the rear wheel is in motion, so are the pedals, therefore the rider cannot free-wheel.

The diamond-frame fixed-gear bikes ridden today are fundamentally the same as those built in the nineteenth century. They are a tangible link to cycling roots; our point of contact with the formidable cyclists, the Olympic athletes and the Keirin races of today. (Edwards and Leonard, 2009:6). They are also an aesthetic reference point shared with the designers and artists who have helped shape fashion and street culture.

• Fun

It is an unquestionable truth that riding fixed gear is one of the most enjoyable ways to cycle. Despite it taking a week or two of practice to unlearn the impulse to coast, once mastered, you will likely find a reinvigorated passion for cycling. Some suggest a so called ‘closer communion’ between the cyclist and the bike on a when riding fixed gear, the inability to coast gives better control and manoeuvrability of the machine, with the rider being in constant motion with the drivetrain. Forget the need to shift gears which largely unnecessary in most cities and focus purely on enjoying the ride, it is an extremely seductive form of riding. (www.sheldonbrown.com)

• Beauty

The fixed gear bike, stripped of all unnecessary components for road riding in relatively flat urban environments, is minimalist and aesthetically pleasing, without the need for trailing wires and complicated gearing mechanisms. This purity and simplicity has modelled the fixed gear bike into a mainstream fashion accessory in the United States, and is being closely followed by the UK and Europe. (www.pats605cyclery.com)

• Fitness and Technique

When tackling hills you are forced to ride at an intensity you wouldn’t otherwise choose on a geared bike, this means, the hills you do climb, you will climb much faster than on a geared bike whereby you would naturally shift down gears for ease. When descending, you are forced to pedal at a faster cadence, improving the suppleness of the legs. High RPM’s when descending force the rider to pedal in a smooth manner to avoid hopping up and down in the saddle! This is what makes fixed gear bikes so popular amongst serious road cyclists when training off-season, the improved training of aerobic fitness and riding technique. (www.sheldonbrown.com) (www.bikeradar.com/fitness/article/training-get-your-fitness-fixed--18458/)

• Efficiency and Lack of Maintenance

Fixed gear bikes are generally lighter than their geared counterparts, despite the steel frame, due to absence of rear brake, derailleurs, shift levers and extra sprockets. When properly setup, a fixed gear bike will have a perfectly straight chain-line, with a shorter chain than on a comparative geared bike. This, along with absence of derailleur pulleys, drives massive improvements in drive-train efficiency with the reduction in friction. Taking off in high gear and low rpm’s on non-fixed bike can exert serious torque on the drivetrain, this is too much to handle for a lot of bikes, especially if you are on the heavier side, fixed gear bikes are designed to withstand this. The bottom line is there are only tires, a chain, and generally one brake to keep in order. Making the Quella One perfect for any commuter who needs a reliable city bike. (http://www.bikeradar.com/fitness/article/training-get-your-fitness-fixed--18458/)

Conclusion

Why have ‘fixies’ become so popular? “A fixed gear is the most efficient way a person can travel around a track or through the city streets. Fixed-gear bikes have long been used by club riders looking as a shortcut to maintaining form through the dark, wet winter months. Now, in cities around the world, thousands are following the example of bike messengers and are using track bikes and road conversions as a means of transport, escape and release... simply riding because a fixed-gear is so fun. The bike is a blank canvas upon which riders express individuality, or a community. It's simplicity and purity are expressed both in the clean lines of its design and its ride.” (Edwards and Leonard, 2009:6)

Quotes

"The bicycle is the perfect transducer to match man's metabolic energy to the impedance of locomotion. Equipped with this tool, man outstrips the efficiency of not only all machines but all other animals as well. Bicycles let people move with greater speed without taking up significant amounts of scarce space, energy, or time. They can spend fewer hours on each mile and still travel more miles in a year. They can get the benefit of technological breakthroughs without putting undue claims on the schedules, energy, or space of others. They become masters of their own movements without blocking those of their fellows. Their new tool creates only those demands which it can also satisfy. Every increase in motorized speed creates new demands on space and time. The use of the bicycle is self-limiting. It allows people to create a new relationship between their life-space and their life-time, between their territory and the pulse of their being, without destroying their inherited balance. The advantages of modern self-powered traffic are obvious, and ignored. That better traffic runs faster is asserted, but never proved. Before they ask people to pay for it, those who propose acceleration should try to display the evidence for their claim." (Illich, 1978)

"Isn't it better to triumph by the strength of your muscles than by the artifice of a derailleu? We are getting soft... as for me, get me a fixed gear!" (Desgrange, 1902)

References

Books

Edwards, A and Leonard, M. (2009) 'Fixed Global Fixed-Gear Bike Culture' Laurence King Publishing Ltd.
Illich, I (1978) 'Energy and Equity: Toward a History of Needs' New York: Pantheon

Websites

http://sheldonbrown.com/fixeda.html
http://www.pats605cyclery.com/fixed-track-bikes/
http://bicycles.stackexchange.com/questions/1980/why-ride-a-fixed-gear-bikehttp://www.bikeradar.com/fitness/article/training-get-your-fitness-fixed--18458/http://www.triathlonplace.com/art_other_quotes.php

Articles

Henri Desgrange, L'Équipe article of 1902

For those that haven't experienced our brand new super slick website jump on www.quellabicycle.com to find the full Quella ONE range and a few added extras! ALSO AVAILABLE due to popular demand are the already distinctive 50mm Matte Black or Gloss White Quella Wheelsets at just £119 Click here to see them up close. We can arrange for various branding colours so get in touch if you would like any colour combinations not offered as standard.



More parts and accessories are to come so watch this space. As ever keep in touch with your suggestions/queries we love to hear from you! sales@quellabicycle.com

We are working with Max Bikes PR Ltd, a specialist Cycling PR Guru for the launch of the Quella one. It's great to be working
with Keith Jepson and his team, we are really excited about seeing our bikes in the cycling and wider press.
Exciting times, already we have seen the One on Bike Biz and www.road.cc...check out what they had to say @

http://road.cc/content/news/71848-tech-roundup-bling-michaux-club-and-quella-bikes-candy-coloured-paul-smith
&
http://www.bikebiz.com/news/read/max-bike-pr-working-with-quella-bicycles/014047

"New British-designed label links with industry PR guru and launches 'The One' single speed bike

Max Bikes PR has linked with newly-launched British designed and manufactured bike label Quella." - Bike Biz

"If you like all things fixed or singlespeed, you'll probably love Quella's new signature 2013 model in... gold" - road.cc

"Any colour or finish you can imagine can be arranged - although we're quite taken with the blinging gold handpainted finish -
ooh and for extra piece of mind if you don't like your choice of colour option when you get your bike you can swap it for
another for no extra charge… although that doesn't apply to the gold version. Quella plan to launch a Custom bike builder
option on their website soon too".

"The price is pretty tasty too - from £399 delivered for the gold version and from £369 for other colours. Bikes will be available in
the first week of January". - road.cc

Watch this space for more news as we get our bikes tested by the leading cycling press!

- Quella PR.

So here it is! After the much anticipated wait you can now feast your eyes on The Quella One. We've taken our time to systematically hand pick every component of The Quella One, and what we've come up with we feel is simply stunning both in terms of aesthetics and even more importantly to us, performance.

How do I get my hands on one I hear you cry? Pre Orders will be available on our brand new super slick website from the middle of next week, keep and eye on the Facebook and Twitter (@Quellabicycle) for regular updates over the next few days. Check out www.Facebook.com/QuellaBicycle for the full photoshoot and see The Quella One in all its glory on the streets of Cambridge.

Any questions, suggestions, opinions get in touch with Mark on 07950 041417 or mark@quellabicycle.com.

Not long now folks. We've had a great day today shooting the one and only Quella One on the streets of Cambridge and we are really happy with the outcome of both the quality of the photos and how well she rides. We certainly turned a few heads! Just as a little teaser we have decided to post this picture of the dropouts and I'm sure you will be able to see the sort of quality that will very soon be coming your way. As always, please do keep in touch and feel free to give us a call (07950041417) or drop us an email at anytime

Right, Friday is the day! The one and only Quella One is being built as we speak, photos will be taken Wednesday and the launch will be this coming Friday 9th November. We will be taking discounted pre-orders at £369 all the way until the first week of December with guaranteed delivery before Christmas. Don't delay, THEY WILL SELL OUT. Once you see her - you'll see why! Taking inspiration from our Trinity range, the One will be available in all the classic colour combinations but you will also have the added bonus of choosing almost any other custom paint job from our colour chart. If you have any queries, please feel free to give us a bell (07950041417) or drop us an email (mark@quellabicycle.com).