Discover the history of AddBike, our values and meet the team!

Discover the history of AddBike, our values and meet the team!

AddBike’s story begins in 2015… with a crazy idea:

To put a stroller on a bike!

Qui sommes nous : histoire

In 2015, the facts are simple: there is no practical, modular and affordable solution for transporting two children by bike. Families have to choose solutions that are expensive, cumbersome, and require the purchase of a complete bicycle. It’s in this context that AddBike was born with an innovative concept: to offer the AddBike+, an accessory that allows you to keep your bike, by adapting it to your needs. The concept of the “augmented bike” was born!
Since then, we’ve come a long way. Building on our technical expertise and always attentive to our customers’ needs, we have expanded our range of cargo bikes:

  • The B-Back: an accessory for turning a bike into a tricycle to make it stable,
  • The U-Cargo: an electric longtail perfect for transporting 2 children and suitable for beginner cyclists.

The AddBike adventure took a new turn in 2024 when it became a SCOP!

AddBike becomes a SCOP in 2024

The year 2023 has been a particularly challenging one for the cycle sector, and for AddBike too. We took the opportunity of this tumultuous period to think about our values, our aspirations and our products, to see where we wanted to go in the coming years. And one word kept coming up: cooperation. Cooperation means, firstly, co-creating cargo bikes with you, the end-users, as we have done with the U-Cargo versions (mixed, for animals, etc.). But it also means reviewing the way our company is governed.

🙌 That’s why, in January 2024, we became a SCOP!

  • A SCOP is a Société Coopérative de Production (cooperative production company) where each employee can become a shareholder and thus participate in the company’s strategic decisions. At the moment, 3 employees manage the company.
  • A SCOP also means that the wealth created is distributed differently, since it is the employees who benefit.
  • A SCOP is more than ever about SHARING!

We are very happy and proud of this change. Rest assured, it changes nothing for you, our customers, suppliers and partners: the team remains (almost) the same, the products are identical, still designed on our premises and assembled by the Usine à Vélo near Lyon.

Our 3 core values

Devenir revendeur : contact dédié

Cooperation

Picto Become a dealer: tips and training

Proximity

Safety

U-Cargo adapté pour les chiens

Our customised cargo solutions

When we became a SCOP, we also took the opportunity to review our areas of development and identify what we like doing best: helping people find THE right cargo bike for their needs. And we’re doing this in two ways:

  • Customisation: thanks to our great internal design office, we have the freedom to create customised cargo bikes! Beyond simply sticking on our U-Cargo, we can totally adapt them to the loads you want to transport! Cleaning equipment with long broom handles, no problem, we’ll add sleeves! More bulky equipment that won’t fit in the rear box? We can create a tray especially for you! And this also works with our family U-Cargo, since we’ve adapted it to carry dogs, for example! So if you have a specific need, please don’t hesitate to contact us and tell us about your project. We’ll be delighted to develop a cargo box just for you!
Balade en Easy Rider Compact
  • Adapted bicycles: Cycling offers a real freedom to which everyone should be entitled, and we are committed to promoting mobility for PRMs. So if you’d like to get (back) in the saddle despite problems with your balance, motor skills or coordination, it’s perfectly possible! If you already have a bike (electric or otherwise), we can convert it into a stable tricycle. And if you’d rather buy a complete adapted bike, we’re a distributor of Van Raam bikes: 22 adapted bikes are waiting for you, from bikes with lowered frames and saddles to tricycles (3-wheeled bikes), tandems, walking aids, etc. To find out more, don’t hesitate to leave us your contact details.

The bicycle, a alternative means of transport for the future

It is becoming the obvious solution for the journeys of many city dwellers: a driver of social ties, economy, ecology, well-being… Many families and professionals are now turning to the cargo alternative to travel together on a daily basis. Our aim: to make everyday cycling easier and safer, with products designed for you, by you, and adapted to the needs of experienced cyclists, families and businesses alike. Our ambition: to lift the brakes that stop the daily use of the bicycle.

Indeed, AddBike is positioned as a designer and manufacturer of:

  • Innovative and modular accessories for both beginners and experienced cyclists,
  • Components for bicycle manufacturers wishing to offer a cargo solution.

We are evolving with a wider aim: to re-industrialise the bicycle industry in Europe.

Qui sommes nous : un technicien qui travaille dans les ateliers AddBike

Bikes made in Europe

Our products are designed and assembled in France, in our premises in Villeurbanne!

We are determined to contribute to a more inclusive future, where cooperation and the sharing of knowledge and successes shape a better world for everyone. This involvement in the cooperative ecosystem has always been anchored in our DNA: we have a strong desire to invest in bringing together the cycling and active mobility sector, where new players (bicycle promotion associations, school biking, research centres, etc.) join the traditional players (assemblers, manufacturers, bike shops, etc.). That’s why, in 2020, Renaud Colin, the founder of AddBike, along with Anne Sophie Caistiker, set up the Active and Sustainable Mobility Cluster, now known as CARA Active Mobility (Cluster Mobilité Active et Durable). But why the MAD cluster? To help soft mobility in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region (in France) evolve together and enable companies to become a real player in change. It aims to bring together as many players as possible who want to work for a sustainable city to work together on projects, innovations, subsidies and profound changes in the development of the bicycle industry and its entire ecosystem within the Auvergne-Rhône Alpes region. We have now relocated our production to the Usine à Vélo, a bicycle assembly cooperative supported by the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Region. The “Usine à Vélo” assembles the products of numerous companies in the field of active and sustainable mobility, active in CARA Active Mobility. It is present in our premises: the “Grand Plateau”, a third-party production site, supported by the Lyon metropolis and the ANCT.

A passionate team 

AddBike is above all a team united around the same project, around the same passion: cycling. This project is a transport solution in which we all believe and for which our team is involved on a large scale. We, AddBike, make sure that we have solid technical skills in product development related to the cargo market: mechanical design, kinematics and textile knowledge. And also great bike mechanics skills for the assembly of our bikes.

Our aim is to develop cycling mobility in France and in Europe. Specialising in solutions for urban mobility, we have now registered two patents for innovation on our AddBike pendular system. This is what has led us to have great cargo expertise and to be well established in France and in Europe thanks to a great team.

We are ready to take up our new mobility challenges: don’t worry, we’re on the move!

 

Equipe AddBike
Qui sommes nous : cinematique AddBike+

Kinematics

We have advanced knowledge in kinematics. The tilting movement of the AddBike’s wheels in relation to the rest of the chassis has been the subject of a specific, unique and patented development.

Qui sommes-nous : imprimantes 3D

3D printing

We have 2 3D printers for prototyping new components, enabling us to carry out tests and manufacture templates and series of parts.

Qui sommes-nous : soudure

Welding

To ensure that our design and assembly processes are as local as possible, our team has been trained in welding. Many parts and sub-assemblies of our cargo bikes are welded directly in our workshop.

Our press 

Qui sommes nous : marques qui parlent de nous

They support us

Qui sommes nous : marques qui supportent AddBike