Student and graduate enterprise
Global sales and cult YouTube status for graduate bike business
Company
Inspired Bicycles
Loughborough graduate
Dave Cleaver
Sports Technology
Graduate Dave Cleaver combined his love of trials riding with his first commercial venture. Trials riding is an extreme test of bike handling skills, over all kinds of obstacles. Bikes need a frame that’s strong yet light and, during his degree in Sports Technology, Dave was able to gain an in-depth technical knowledge of the science and engineering that underpins the bikes he loved to ride.
He teamed up with fellow Sports Technology student Adam Read, to set up Tarty Bikes shortly after graduation in 2004. They developed Tarty Bikes into one of the largest independent trials bike retailer in just two years. As the retail venture grew, Dave began designing bikes for manufacturers and was keen to branch out into trials bike design for himself.
He set up Inspired Bicycles in early 2007 with his own funds and was awarded a Fellowship from the Gatsby Charitable Foundation to accelerate product innovation. After an intense two years of designing and managing production in Taiwan, Dave has doubled his turnover and gained worldwide recognition for his exclusive bikes.
A film of Daves' bikes ridden by Danny MacAskill, a team rider for Inspired Bicycles since its launch, earned cult status by becoming the most watched YouTube sports video of all time and has received over 26 million views to date.