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Design guru Mike Burrows is now a free agent again. His contract with Giant has not been renewed.
"It’s true he is no longer under formal contract with Giant," said Giant UK MD Grant Allen. "But we haven’t fallen out with him. From the UK point of view we’ll keep in touch with him. He’s done some tremendous design work for us and is also a good expert to take along to trade and consumer shows. There are one-off projects we’d still like him to be involved with."
His time with the worlds biggest maker of quality cycles was exciting, Burrows told BikeBiz, and was also fruitful. His Compact road bike design – TCR – has been much copied around the world. And his folding bike is also mould-breaking.
However, his greatest potential contribution to bicycle design was never put into production. The mass production of his monocoque, mono-stay commuter bike, the Cambridge, was deemed too difficult and costly to implement.
Working for Giant, especially in the early days, was wonderfully inspiring. Jetting around the world and designing bikes full-time was brilliant.
When he took on the role of Giant Taiwans designer-at-large he sold his successful packaging company. Now, with no retainer to sustain him, he is devoting his time and energies to the production and refinement of his short wheelbase recumbent, the Ratcatcher.
At £1957 a piece he needs to sell 30 or so a year to keep the wolves from the door.
Ive never made a living from making just bicycles before, said Burrows, who also designed the Chris Boardman gold-medal winning Lotus "superbike" and the perenially popular Windcheetah trike recumbent.
It probably means Im going to starve!
Any forward-looking bike companies wishing to put the Burrows brain to good use should contact him on 01603 721700.
