a tribute to the bicycle
I’ve always had a deep fascination with analog, mechanical products. The precision of a mechanical watch movement. The sophistication of a combustion engine. Or the delicate yet purposeful function of a turntable. And at the very top for me: the principle of the bicycle. Two wheels, one person, and 100 kilometers of range after a solid breakfast.
Mountain bikes have become incredibly sophisticated. And yet, in the end, they’re still just a few aluminum tubes welded together. Simple, effective — and at the same time incredibly refined through years of development.
In a time where experts say AI will trigger a bigger revolution than the Industrial Revolution of the 20th century, one question will remain: Why? What is the purpose?
My personal “why” is answered through collecting, listening to, and playing vinyl records. Through the act of shifting a manual car. And very clearly: through every single pedal stroke on a bike.
Whether I’m riding to the bakery, pulling my son in a trailer, climbing mountain passes on the road, or riding the best trails out there.
Mountain bikes have evolved tremendously. And this technical progress — together with expanding trail networks, clubs, race series, and the worldwide community — is something that completely fascinates me.
Constantly thinking about how we can make bikes even better. Faster. More playful. More durable. Easier to maintain. That excites me.
At the same time, I’m fully aware that the better bike of tomorrow won’t automatically make you happier. I’m happy when I ride a bike. I was happy when I rode my first mountain bike 25 years ago. I’m happy today. And I’m pretty sure I’ll still feel the same way 25 years from now.
So what is it really about when we make bikes better?
Demands change. Trails, skills, and expectations evolve. That’s why, for example, we created the Jibb LT. The Madonna may do almost everything better than the Jibb LT — but the Jibb LT is different. It’s more playful. And the Madonna? We make that bike as capable as possible. At the same time, we realized we should make it more accessible. That’s where the Madonna R came from.
I firmly believe mountain bikes have become this good precisely because they are built around the simple principle of the bicycle: Two wheels. One rider. Up. Down. Send it.
That’s the essence of the bicycle for me. As simple as possible. As complex as necessary.
But now, let’s jump back a little — back to 2016.
Ten years ago, I started my own company and founded RAAW. Before that, I had many different jobs, but I was never truly satisfied. I always felt like I wasn’t doing the right thing. RAAW was my chance to prove to myself that I could be disciplined and take full responsibility. To this day, I’m still independent from investors, and I consider that a great freedom.
With investors, a company’s goals are usually defined very quickly. But even as the sole owner, RAAW had one clear goal in the early years: to become successful.
I wanted RAAW to become a serious competitor. I wanted us to build a small team of specialists. And I wanted the business to work economically.
After about seven years, we had reached that point. RAAW had definitely earned a place on many Enduro riders’ shortlists. We became a small but exceptional team. And we built a solid business with healthy profits and a stable foundation.
As it slowly became clear that we had achieved that goal, I spent a lot of time thinking about what the next goal actually was — or even what the real purpose is.
For me, creating something together as a team — together with our community — that genuinely brings us joy, is the number one priority. Shared equally with the goal of remaining economically sustainable. Because in the end, that is still the foundation.
But there’s something else too. Or maybe rather an opportunity that RAAW gives me — and gives us.
To me, RAAW is a tribute to the bicycle. A chance to represent the invention of the bicycle in a worthy way — without losing the essence of what cycling really is.
AI and electrification will change the bicycle. It will become more accessible. More capable in many ways. But at the same time, it will move further away from the magic that defines the original principle of the bicycle.
Being offline. No data. No system updates. No analytics.
Just one pedal stroke after another. In the right rhythm climbing the mountain. Corner after corner on the way down. One hundred percent present in the here and now. In Satori.
That, to me, is the meaning of riding a bike. That feeling of presence. Balance. Exhaustion. Satisfaction. You and your bike.
Whether it’s riding A-Line in Whistler with friends, hitting a home trail alone after work, riding to get ice cream with your family, or going bikepacking across long distances — what matters is you, the people you love, and your bikes.
RAAW is a tribute to the bicycle.
It is my vision of what the invention of the bicycle started — and what we still value so deeply about mountain biking today.
Dedicated to making durable & sendable mountain bikes
Bikes are amazing devices in their sophisticated simplicity. They are truly unique products in our digitized modern world.
RAAW is driven by engineering and we aim to create timeless products that aren’t just fashionable. Durability is key for us, as trails and riders have become ever more demanding over the years. Dozens of wild bike park days, shuttle rides with mates and endless kilometers of home trails are a common recipe for riders nowadays. And often all on the same bike, that should be capable of long climbs as well as handling the roughest descents. Mountain biking has evolved so heavily over the past ten years that we believe it’s crucial to adapt and shift priorities in bike design towards versatility, durability and sendability.
We believe that mountain bikes should be timeless products that fit like a glove and let you focus on riding. Discovering new places, riding with friends, improving your skills, big days out in the mountains and racing the clock are what mountain biking is all about. The bike is a tool and should have your back when you need it while plastering a long-lasting grin on your face.
Aluminium is the material of choice for our frames, as we believe it’s the best material for mountain bikes. Especially for bikes prioritizing the descents. It’s strong, light, impact resistant and allows for a very durable design. But there certainly isn’t one truth. And if someone enjoys a bike with a different concept, that’s totally cool with us.
We avoid using bullet point USPs and single metric comparisons such as weight. And on the subject of weight, it might well be the number one metric used in the bike sales business. Lighter is always better, right? We don’t think so.
No matter how durable, bikes are still mechanical devices that need a bit of love every now and then, from regular cleaning and chain lubrication, to suspension services and bearing replacements. But proper sized bearings and additional seals are a few of the details that help increase the amount of time riding before you need to head into the workshop.
And when the day comes to take your bike apart and give it some well-deserved love, it’s important to have a bike that is easy to work on. We only use a small amount of unique hardware parts and avoid stacks of spacers and washers that make tool-time a pain. Working on bikes should be reduced to a minimum, but also be a treat when you come to do it.
Sustainability
All of our actions come with a responsibility to our planet and the people involved. We produce and sell physical products that do use resources and require logistics. Our office is heated and we gather more miles with our cars than we would like. But, here at RAAW we do work towards a more sustainable future and are always keen to learn and adjust where needed.
For our frames, we only use aluminium. It not only offers the best set of characteristics for our bikes’ purpose, but compared to carbon fibre, being the most commonly used alternative, aluminium uses less resources during production and can be recycled at the end of its lifetime.
And talking about lifetime, the single best way to reduce the impact of a product is by increasing its lifetime. The longer a bike gets used, with one or more owners, the smaller the need for the production of a new one. Our firm focus on durability and having timeless products helps us work towards a less impactful footprint on the planet. We also emphasize this approach with our extended five-year warranty that also covers second owners of our frames.
The topic of sustainability is complex, but we believe it’s good to start where we can, learn and adjust and offset the activities we can’t avoid. If you want to learn more about our actions towards a more sustainable future, you can read more here.
Direct sales & direct communications
The onset of the internet made it easier for bike brands, small and large, to sell directly to consumers. Selling direct comes with a financial benefit of saving a dealer’s and distributor's cut. But it also comes with a lot of other opportunities and challenges.
Being a relatively small company, we see that our biggest benefit in selling direct is the personal communication with our customers. Being able to talk about our products, right from the source, is hugely valuable. No matter if it’s about frame sizing, component choice, or geeky details in suspension design, we can communicate from the same team that developed the products straight to you, our customer.
And if something goes wrong, you need our help or any spare parts to get your bike back on the trails, that short communication line from us to you simply makes everything much more efficient. And on top of all that German efficiency, it’s also great to be in touch with our customers. It helps us better understand what’s happening out on the trails and eventually make our products and support better.
Seeing our bikes being ridden all over the world is such a positive feeling that can’t really be put into words. Germany is currently our biggest market, with Switzerland, the UK and the US also representing some of our most popular countries. But also seeing our bikes in places like Singapore, Mexico and Japan is simply amazing. The growing community of RAAW Riders and the shared stoke all around the world is something we will never take for granted. We try to give back to you guys with our RAAW Riders Community and love seeing how it’s developing.
Sustainabile Growth
Back in 2016, we started RAAW with the dream of making bikes we love riding and creating a living from that. Growing the business has been a steady process and we’ve always taken one step at a time, never rushing things. Being owner-managed and not having investors or shareholders allows us to shape the company in the most enjoyable way. This also means that we can focus on making our vision of the best products possible and prioritize our long-term strategy instead of satisfying investors with short-term financial goals. The financial success of our company is important to us, but no more than our products, working environment, community and simply, our love for riding bikes.