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The Five minutes with series presents a company with five short, sharp and to-the-point questions about who they are and what they do. This week, we’re joined by Peaty’s director Tom Makin.
Can you tell us the history of the company?
After struggling with other sealants, and seeing firsthand what damage some of them did to bikes and the environment, we produced a sealant that would give us an advantage over other competitors, was easy to wash off yet completely biodegradable and kind to the environment. We then tested it for months with some of the most badass tyre shredding riders in the world before making it available to all.
Things just exploded when we launched and we soon couldn’t keep up with demand from across the world, meaning we had to quickly upscale our production capabilities and distributor network. Shortly after, we launched Peaty’s LoamFoam, a professional grade bike wash that is biodegradable, yet tackles even dried-on dirt with no problems at all. With added organic gelling agents the wash clings better to the bike rather than dripping straight off onto the floor like other cleaners. This enables it to munch into the dirt for longer and give an all round better clean.
What are you ultimately trying to achieve?
We want to cut out all the bullsh*t and just make essential world-class products that bikers need to keep their steeds running smoothly so they can have fun on their bikes and win races. High performing, environmentally friendly and no-nonsense (apart from the unicorn thing!) are three values we are using to underpin the products we develop. We design, test and manufacture all our products here in the UK so we are not just rebranding imported goods and can vouch for their efficacy.
What gives you an edge over other brands in the industry?
Peaty’s is Peaty! The guy is a legend and his whole life has evolved around making bikes faster and better. Peaty and a huge number of other pro racers are very closely involved in the testing and development of all Peaty’s Products. We have close relationships with some of the best mechanics in the game who are constantly testing our stuff and giving us feedback, this way we get to know know most of the trends before they hit the forums and why the pro riders want and need. We also keep our ear to the ground and are always listening to feedback from local bike shops. We then use this feedback to make our products better where possible. For example, we recently added a flexible applicator tube to our 1L sealant bottles (at no extra cost) following customer feedback.
All our products are all made to be as environmentally friendly as possible, effective enough to be used by choice by the guys and girls winning World Cups but also competitively priced to make it available to the weekend warriors and amateurs.
What innovations in the industry are exciting you at the moment?
Sorry to be self promoting on this one but we have spent the best part of eight months completely rethinking rim tape and how we can improve it. We are on the cusp of releasing ‘Peaty’s RimJob’! It’s no typical imported and rebranded tape this one, we’ve developed it with a specialist UK tape manufacturer from the ground up to our exact spec. We’ve flipped the manufacturing process on it’s head and ended up with something pretty special where the adhesive is super strong yet is easy to remove and doesn’t leave a load of sticky stuff all over your rim. The tape is super light yet as tough as old boots and has a few other features that solve some of the annoyances commonly experienced with other tapes out there on the market at the moment. Keep an eye on our social for more on that one!
What does the future hold for the company?
Well definitely loads of beer and riding/ racing bikes but we also have our sights set on making the best lubricant in the bike market and have products already in advanced testing with professional Wold Cup Downhill, Road cycling, Enduro and Cyclocross teams across the world. Initial feedback and race results are looking very promising! We have big plans for expansion with plenty of other products in the pipeline and are in talks about some exciting future collaborations. We can’t say any more about these just yet but keep an eye on our social pages for updates @Peatysproducts
