Six Olympic athletes will put their trust in Berd, a Twin Cities manufacturer that makes lightweight polymer bicycle spokes.
The cyclists — Tom Pidcock and Charlie Aldridge (England), Alan Hatherly (South Africa), Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (France), Simon Andreassen (Denmark), and Mona Mitterwallner (Austria) – will compete on Berd's spokes, in the Paris Olympics' mountain biking races July 28 and 29.
"We are beyond excited to have our spokes being used at the highest level of the sport," said Rob Stepaniak, sales director for Berd.
Based in Hopkins, Berd was founded in 2015 by three University of Minnesota engineering graduates, all of them cycling enthusiasts: Charlie Spanjers, Kyle Olson and Brad Guertin.
Their idea: Create a lightweight spoke made of polyethylene fiber called Dyneema, instead of the traditional stainless steel.
"People call our product string spokes or rope spokes," Spanjers said.
When the founders originally invented the spokes, they noticed that they were lightweight — always good for racing — and allowed cyclists to ride faster and farther while expending less energy, Spanjers said.
"The biggest benefit of the spokes is the smoothness of the ride," Spanjers said. "Metal spokes translate the vibrations. … Every vibration you hit comes up through the seat and the handles and makes you tired. The spokes don’t transmit the vibrations the same way."
To build the company, the founders bootstrapped and got small investments from friends and family members. The company then received a National Science Foundation grant of $1 million over four years to develop an innovative manufacturing process for the spokes. Spanjers said they saw revenue grow by 300% during the first few years of the company, and now see about 50% growth per year. The company sells spokes in about 300 retailers nationwide.
Nine years in, the product is making waves in the biking world. Brazillian biker Henrique Avancini won the UCI Mountain Bikerode with Berd spokes last year. Two professional mountain biking teams also started using the spokes — INEOS Grenadiers, who have seven Tour de France victories, and Cannondale. This year, five of 12 World Cup XCO mountain bike champions rode with Berd spokes.
With the growth of the product and the adoption of its usage by other professional athletes, Berd's spokes garnered interest from Olympic athletes, Spanjers said.
"Henrique Avancini is like a Brazillian biking hero," Spanjers said. "He was the first big-name athlete to ride with our spokes, and he won last year. Because of that, these other teams picked up our spokes."
The company, which started in an apartment, has grown to employ 15 people at its manufacturing site in Hopkins.
For 2025, Spanjers said the company will focus on growth.
"The goal is to stay focused and keep growing as a small company and remain focused on our core business," Spanjers said. "We are hoping to get riders from the Tour de France to use our spokes."
