The call of the descent, the rocky trails, the wind and mud in your hair: “ love the ride ”. That’s Rocky Mountain ’s slogan. While the team’s cyclists have been winning medals in the World Series and Olympic Games for thirty years, the management is constantly innovating to ensure they stay on top. Rocky Mountain was a pioneer in free riding and it still is today with its first high-performance electric mountain bike, the motor of which it designed itself. Research and development is Raymond Dutil’s spearhead.

Choose your niche and bet everything on it

“Choosing Rocky Mountain was my hardest and biggest decision,” Mr. Dutil confides with a happy sigh. The current owner bought the legendary Vancouver company in 1997 to make it a division of his own, ProCycle, which he had owned since 1977 with his father and other partners. “We manufactured more than eight million bikes in our factory in Saint-Georges de Beauce,” he recalls. “Until 2008, it was crazy, we also imported some, we wanted to offer the widest possible selection and we sold several other brands like Miele, Vélosport and Oryx, both in specialized store networks and large chains. It was a price war. Then, I took the plunge and abandoned all the brands to focus solely on the legendary high-end that is Rocky Mountain.”

The brand's bikes are designed, built and tested on the slopes and rough terrain of the North Shore , "seen worldwide as the Mecca of cycling," assures Mr. Dutil. Their name has been known for nothing in Europe since the 1980s: first Germany, then enthusiasts crisscrossing the Alps in Switzerland, Italy and France were won over, even before Quebec. More and more medals have been won with this team from the West Coast. The first World Cup for Canada was won on a Rocky Mountain, and several others followed internationally.

Rocky Mountain has always been concerned with quality and performance since the beginning. Its reputation has contributed to its success. It is also the only one to have remained independent and authentic: "The other brands had all been bought out, the Gary Fischers and others of this world," recalls Mr. Dutil. The decision to abandon chain stores and choose a single racehorse was not easy, however.

“Redirecting the company was hard in the short term and costly,” admits Mr. Dutil. “We were losing money, but I refused to cut the research and development budget. That’s what saved us and allowed us to design the most efficient bikes. We can be proud of that, it was the right decision.” Today, there are as many sales in Canada as internationally, 37% in equal parts, and a quarter to the United States.

Innovation at the heart of Rocky Mountain's success

The CEO was keen to keep the research and development (R&D) office in Vancouver, where prototypes and frame designs are also made. “It’s like the automotive industry, there are annual ranges, depending on cosmetics and fashions,” reveals Mr. Dutil. “We have already sold the 2022 models, even if they have not yet been delivered. We are in the process of selling the 2023s and designing the 2024s. The pandemic has accelerated demand.”

Logistical stress is currently at its peak in terms of supply management. In Canada, there are no more manufacturers; the bicycle industry cluster is in Asia and quality control is done remotely. "We send our robot called RM-B2 to the Taiwan factory. We control it from here, we see what's happening, we can talk to the assemblers." The difference lies in the design and geometry of the bicycle frame which, a bit like a body, is revisited every three years. "It's demanding in terms of the product cycle, because it's very technical," says the man who studied mechanical engineering. "The intelligence is in choosing the components carefully."

The Beauce headquarters now does R&D for everything electric, because Rocky Mountain now creates its own electric motors, a key strategic element. “15 years ago, we were ahead of our time with our electric city bike project,” admits Mr. Dutil, before adding proudly: “Today, we are with Tesla in the race to purchase cells for high-performance, lightweight batteries.” In 2017, Rocky Mountain launched its first electric mountain bike in Europe, an advanced market in terms of product penetration. The DyanMe 3.0 was recognized as the best in France. “Developing the motor cost ten million dollars and took ten years of research,” says the entrepreneur, satisfied with having believed in his avant-garde project. “We are proud to be able to say that we have complete control over the software programming, and to be the only one to do so.”

A success of which the owner is proud, and which he dedicates above all to his team of engineers and researchers, but also to the woman at the head of his company, Katy Bond, a passionate rider , "soon to be the only female director of the largest bicycle company in Quebec", according to Mr. Dutil...