We chat with Colin from FLi about the early days and Reverse Components

For many years FLI Distribution has been part of the MTB scene in the UK. Not only by making sure the best components got distributed in the U.K. but also by sponsoring riders, promoting the scene and pushing races. We sat down with Colin from FLI to talk about the past, present and future. 

Colin, Reverse components has been on the market for a long time now. Can you tell us how it all started and how FLi distribution got involved?

Back in 2004 FLi Distribution was in its infancy, evolving slowly out of FLi Race Team Management and we were looking for brands to represent here in the UK, looking after the distribution whilst using our races teams to promote.  It always made more sense to promote our own brands.  Reverse and their in-house bike brand Solid Bikes, advertised in Dirt Magazine that they were looking for a UK distributor.  The timing and relationship worked well for both brands and we grew things successfully here until 2010/11 when we parted ways on good terms. 

We helped them develop the brand and it was the FLi XXL bar that helped establish their global brand pushing the products the racers wanted. Bear in mind that XXL back in those days meant 760mm. Can you imagine... a 760 bar, being cutting edge no one was making one. Sam Dale and Micky Boswell were both juniors racing for us and were putting extensions in their bars to make them wider. We pushed Reverse to make wider and wider bars, so much so they named it after our company, we were the first to do this, and it's something I'm still proud of.

So even in the early years of mountain biking, FLi was one of the driving forces behind the race scene and supported a wide range of riders. Tell us a little about the early days! 

I've personally been racing MTB in the UK since the very early days of the sport here in the UK, I think it was '89 that I did my first one.  I've been able to race at a decent level, but realised pretty quickly that I'd be able to get a career out of the sport if I set up the teams that I could race for, rather than try to get picked for someone else's team.

What was a group of 5 friends, racing for Leisure Lakes Cycle Shop back in the late 90s evolved into FLi Race Team Management, and I very quickly found myself riding, racing and managing the team for Yeti Europe on the UCI World Cup circuit in the early 2000s. As the racing moved into distribution we ran UCI DH teams with a variety of partners to help promote either Solid, if they were on the bikes, or Reverse in partnership with brands like Yeti and SantaCruz.  

We were very much a development team, but we worked with many many riders who are now making a living out of the sport.  I'm super proud when I see the progress they've made and I know we helped them with their first steps in the sport. Anyone who was racing back in the 2000s will remember Reverse and Solid and our impact on the sport back then.

As a proper German brand, engineering and testing is a big part of the brand identity. Besides using pro riders like Nico Vink for feedback, how does Reverse work when it comes to testing and product design?

The development process always starts with an initial idea, often brought together from a mixture of rider feedback and our own experiences on the trail. Peter (the founder and owner of Reverse) then works with our engineers to go from sketches to CAD to 3D printing the first prototypes, then producing working prototypes to evaluate feel and function, along with FE analysis. For all load bearing parts, they send them to the EFBE Independent test lab in Germany to ensure that all the products meet the highest possible test standards in fatigue testing. 

Once the products have cleared the testing, they then give the Pro riders a chance to test the products to evaluate the function, feel and durability under real riding conditions. In this part of the process they make the final changes if needed. Once this process is done, graphics and finish are finalised and they go to production. 

Reverse has also come up with quite a few interesting and unique products. Sag and Travel measurement tools, beer can holders, single speed conversion kits are just a few of the innovative solutions Reverse pioneered to the market. How do they come up with these?

We come up with these products in response to what we see as the needs of the riders out there. We spend a lot of time in bikeparks around Europe and we learn alot from being on the trails and talking to riders and seeing the issues they have. Our team riders are also doing the same, providing feedback on products they want to see and how they would change certain things. We always try to create products that work around industry standards, to provide more options, to increase reliability and performance of the bike.

For example the D-2 Stem was created exactly in this way, to provide a stem option that had the ability to cater for both Ø31.8mm and Ø35m diameter handlebars. This makes it easier for riders to use their current bars and still have the option to change to a Ø35mm if they want to, it's also a lot easier for shops too. We're now working on a D-2 Direct Mount stem which will be available in early 2023, to provide this option for DH/freeriders with Dual Crown forks.

Besides the signature series and Youth series, you also have a full line up for E-MTB's. What makes these products E-specific?

The E Series was first created in response to German regulations for aftermarket components fitted to an e-bike - bike shops were not allowed to fit a different handlebar to an E-bike they had just sold, unless it met a specific E-Bike standard. We wanted to give people more options for customising their e-bike - so they could swap out a handlebar for another with a different rise for example. 

Now the scope of E Bikes has grown massively, the fact is that with an Enduro Bike you might do one lap of a big loop, but with an E-Bike you could do three, so there's definitely increased loads and fatigue compared to normal riding. Now we’re basically using e-bikes as shuttles for DH laps, so we’re asking a lot from them in terms of the punishment they go through. 

Our E-Series products are tested to EFBE Tri Test, which is the highest possible test level, meeting DH standards. The E-Series range is essentially an overbuilt series of products to put up with the abuse heavier e-bikes take when putting in lap after lap on tough terrain, with a wide range of options for customisation - e.g a big range of rise and back sweep options (up to 12°) in the handlebar range. 

With supply times coming down slowly after Covid, can we expect to see some new products on the horizon?

Yes we do have some exciting new products in the pipeline for 2023. We have a Direct Mount D-2 Stem on the way, some new disc rotors, new grips for Enduro/Gravity use and the Black One JR pedal, the bigger brother pedal in our Youngster pedal line, which is available now. 

We're also engineering a product which is new for us, to solve one of the most frustrating problems riders get when going away for extended trips, relating to reliability and serviceability of a really essential element of your bike. We can't say much more than that at the moment, but next year it will be out there ! Follow us on social media and our website http://www.reverse-components.com to keep up with our new releases.

 

By IMB

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