Twenty Bikes is one of the first rider-owned companies to come out of France and this year will be reaching their 10th birthday. They support the likes of Alex Dropsy and Nicolas Cambon to name a few, and in the time they have been around have gone from a small French set-up to an internationally recognized company. Twenty’s Alex Baret takes some time out to answer a few questions about the company and their future plans.

Past:

When did Twenty Start?
Twenty Bikes really started in February 1999, when the idea was actually on paper. The company started selling the first bikes in December 1999.

What was the incentive behind starting the company?
Before Twenty Bikes we (JeanLuc & myself) worked for a big bicycle company. It was very interesting but sometimes it was impossible to approve decisions or development, so we decided to start Twenty Bikes to be free and continue to work on our life, passion and maybe job, bmx.

How does running a company from France differ from the UK, or the US for example?
The difference maybe comes from the impact the brand will or will not have on the international bmx world. I think the UK and US have more influence on bmx and have done for a long time so everybody is watching the UK and US because they do a lot and that is good for everybody. Being a French brand is maybe not so different than coming from another country. I think the riders watch the image of course but also the quality and originality of the products, so the difference can come from that too.

How do you feel about the current position of the company?
I feel happy. I remember when we started the company we wanted to go slowly to learn and try to do our best. Year after year we did more quality products, we found more distributors and the team is more of a family so yes, i’m happy. We don’t want Twenty Bikes to be too big as we wouldn’t want different responsibilities or stress every day. Actually our passion is our job and that’s enough.

How have things changed since day one?
Since day one of course the responsibility changed, but for me the thing that changed most is all i learn every day. With our passion for the job we learn every day, and after 10 years it’s so interesting to see all the steps between the beginning of the idea, to the stuff in the shops or on some rider’s bike. That’s the big change and that changes everyday so i hope that never stops…

Why the name change?
We changed just a little thing because after developing the distribution we thought it was better to make the name more international.

Where do you feel Twenty ‘fits’ in the current bmx market?
I know we are not the most popular brand but we are here and after 10 years we are selling in the world market. It is just the size of sales that is different for us!

Present:

Are you currently working on anything in particular with regards to products?
It is pretty difficult and expensive to make something new between all the bmx brands and technology, but we are working and developing more and more of our products. Actually the big project is to make high quality, affordable complete bikes. The next frames and parts will see big changes for the new range with new treatments and tubing quality.

Future:

How do you want to develop the brand and what are your future aspirations for Twenty?
At the moment we don’t want the size of the company to change but we work everyday to change the range, quality, shipping, delivery, fabrication, and many other things for the future. We want to develop the brand to produce high quality products every time.