A Nottingham company that designs and builds indoor training bikes that measure power, used by Olympic cyclists, rugby teams and gyms.
Wattbike makes indoor training bikes that measure how much power a rider produces. Its bikes copy the feel of riding outdoors, using air resistance or magnetic resistance, and they give detailed information on power, technique and performance. Its signature feature is a six-second test that measures a rider's raw power. The range includes commercial bikes for gyms and performance centres, such as the Air-Pro and AtomX, the home bike Atom, and the Wattbike Hub apps for training and analysis. Its bikes are designed and built in the UK.
Wattbike's story began in 1996, when the founders worked with Peter Keen, then performance director of British Cycling, who set out the data that sports scientists wanted from a bike. Ian Wilson, a former rowing world champion who ran Concept2's European business for 35 years, led the project with business partner John Wilson. Development took around eight years, because the team kept refining accuracy, and the first production model launched in 2008. The company's aim, in the words of its chief executive Richard Baker, is to "help improve the health and performance of every athlete in the world". An earlier description of the team's goal was to build the world's most accurate indoor training bike.
Wattbike is based in Nottingham, and Companies House shows its registered office on an industrial estate in the south of the city (Wattbike Limited, company number 05554245). Its bikes were used as a training tool at the London 2012 Olympics, and the company says 28 of the 31 Olympic track cycling medals won in 2012 went to athletes who trained on one. It says it supplies over 1,000 elite sports teams, and its bikes have been used by the All Blacks, England football and Premier League clubs. Those are the company's own figures.
Mr Baker joined in late 2011 to set up the business-to-business side, and became chief executive in March 2018 after working in sales, commercial and marketing roles, which shows that people there can move across jobs. The company's own pages stress precision engineering, reliability under heavy use and being a quiet contributor behind athletes' success. Beyond that, we found little about daily working life, so that part of the picture is incomplete.
Making an exercise bike that is accurate enough for Olympic testing needs many skills. Mechanical, electronics and software engineers design the hardware and apps. Sports scientists and performance specialists help check the results. Production and quality staff build and test the bikes in the UK. Sales, marketing and customer-support teams work with gyms, teams and home riders. Engineering, sport science, design and business subjects are typical starting points. The company's website is the place to check what it currently lists.
Website: wattbike.com
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