Ed has been consistently putting money aside in to his business start–up fund from his very first pay check. Throughout getting married, buying and renovating a home and having a child, this nest egg has remained sacrosanct; his goal clear but still amorphous. Then, ten years down the line, he moved on to a new challenge which was to prove formative for a whole new set of reasons. Part of a management team brought in to turn around a bike company, he gave his all, worked long hours and ended up miserable. Despite doubling the company’s turnover in two years and restoring its reputation, the return of the itinerant owner triggered Ed’s swift exit and the realisation that he, “never wanted to work for somebody else ever again”.

After a summer of riding bikes, some much needed reflection and loving life again, now was the time; he was ready to try. Ed knew he wanted to start a business but still wasn’t sure which idea to commit to. In his fastidious way he weighed up his options and developed various business plans, but in the end,it was passion and excitement which won over more assured success. However, he’d never started a business before, let alone one which makes bikes on the other side of the world. From the outside he found, “the bike industry is opaque, they hide what they do and who their customers are”. Cold calling every bike manufacturer listed at the Taiwan Bike Show he eventually started talking to some willing factories and, “finding out how bikes come in to existence”. After getting a better idea on the numbers he concluded, “on paper it looked really, really hard, but also not impossible. I became obsessed with finding out if it was actually possible”.

He’s been through a very steep learning curve figuring out how to work with a factory and create a design that they can manufacture that hits all of his criteria, from cost through to radness. He burned several months initially working with a factory that pulled out unexpectedly. However the knowledge he gained in the process was priceless as, second time round, he hit the floor running. His first bike, The Edit, is the result. Taking advantage of the lapsed Horst Link patent, Ed has constructed a lovely looking bike with the kinematics and ride characteristics he wanted. He’d had a penny-dropping moment riding in Finale Ligure a few years previously arriving with a 5” trail bike with an XC heritage to ride the Super Enduro tracks. Having ridden the terrain, both up and down, and had ridden a few people’s bikes he knew what he needed next. He was embracing the now common place enduro revolution, “I never thought I’d find myself riding a bike with that much travel and that sort of geometry. But suddenly I understood what it was all about, they rode like downhill bikes but you could pedal them. Everyday, for a week”.

The bikes are now in production and they will be shipped right about now. Ed’s already had pre-orders including one from Denmark who hasn’t even seen the bike in the flesh let alone ridden one. Is this some evidence perhaps that he’s found his niche and his honest approach is already shining through? His initial hope that if he could, “come up with a descent product and look after his customers, the rest will take care of itself,” will only be borne out with time. Ed would like to see his business grow, the range expand and to gather together, “a group of cool, like minded people, who are really invested in working on something they believe in and just enjoying what we do everyday”. For him it’s not about the money, he’s seen what that can do, this is now his life and he wants to enjoy it by building great bikes.

The Edit is available from £949, frame only, or as a frame kit or complete build, all direct from Ed. We’ll have one on test here at Dirt very soon.

www.airdropbikes.com