Born to be wild – Early Rider founder Andy Loveland on adventures in life and business

It’s easy to see how having a child changes your life forever, but for some, this is truer than others — take Andy Loveland, for instance. After his first son was born, he went into his shed and built a wooden balance bike. Soon after that early foray, he quit hissafe office job and founded Early Rider in a remarkable move from the guy who never aspired to start a bike brand.

Andy Loveland had a pretty regular life up until a point. He was happily married, the sort of guy who’d regularly go for a kick-around with his mates, then got into cycling after a knee surgery. He worked in sales, selling software solutions to banks. But then his son Freddy was born and everything changed. Despite all the unknowns, the new Dad was convinced of one thing: his son wouldn’t end up in an unfulfilling job, as he felt he had done.

A night in front of the TV or an adventure?’ One of the founding convictions of Early Rider stems from Andy’s frustration at seeing how children grow up addicted to screen time and knowing he wanted to do things differently.

Easy Rider as inspiration

America has long been considered the land of opportunity, and surely little else represents freedom quite like a group of bikers cruising across the States on their Harleys. For Andy, the classic Easy Rider film was inspirational in so many ways. He was big into his road riding at this point, and knew he wanted to instill the same passion for two wheels into his son. Seeing children glued to television screens instead of having adventures was the source of massive frustration for Andy, and he committed to passing on different — some say, better — values to his son. This involved making sure his son could be independently mobile as early as possible and spending as much time as possible outdoors exploring. The question was how… the family didn’t live by the coast so that put surfing off the cards, same with snowboarding due to an absence of mountains in the vicinity, so instead the idea that started to shape in Andy’s mind was cycling — something that he himself was hooked on.

The problem was that back then, the only bike models available for children were too heavy and complex. We’re talking 2004, back when 26ers ruled the roost and 150 mm of travel was shouted about on the World Cup circuit as the cutting edge of the sport. So, you can imagine the situation for kids’ bikes… Balance bikes were largely still in sketch form, and stabilizers were all the rage. Andy set about building a mini balance bike out of wood — with high, shaped bars and a flame motif, it channelled some edgy Easy Rider vibes. The decision to go pedal-free, gear-free and brake-free simplified things greatly, meaning that Freddy was rapidly able to get out and about, widen his adventure-radius bit by bit and develop the fundamental motor and cognitive skills needed for riding a bike. At the same time, by doing away with all these components, Andy had created something novel and niche for the bike industry, proving that you didn’t need to be an out-and-out bike geek to build a great balance bike. This is how it became possible for Andy to turn his tinkering into something more tangible.

Off to Asia with £15,000 capital from his sister

The self-built balance bike was well received amongst Andy’s friends, so much so that suddenly everyone wanted one for their child. There was enough demand to encourage Andy to quit his job and create his own company. His sister was the first to back the plan, putting in £15,000 as capital. That sum went towards Andy’s ticket for a 6-week trip to Asia, where large-scale production could be possible, as proven by almost all of the bike industry. ‘If the first bike had been aluminium, I’d never have dared do this – let alone actually go through with it,’ admits Andy as we chat. ‘But I reasoned that making it from wood just couldn’t be that difficult.’ He found himself knocking on the door of a skateboard manufacturer, who had a press to produce the frames. The brand Early Rider – taking cues on how to be wild from the Easy Rider film – was now taking shape.

As the kids grow, so does the product line-up

The balance bike was all about connecting his son to the world around him and instilling the love for movement. And while Andy admits with a rueful smile that his next bike took so long to design and produce that it came out too late to be his Freddy’s first push bike, but he was proud to make sure that his second son – 2.5 years younger than the first – got the right kids’ bike. The aim of this one was all about widening a child’s radius to explore, opening up a bigger adventure playground. Key priorities were keeping a low weight and improving efficiency, which meant a belt drive design instead of a chain. The result is lower levels of wear and tear, allowing Andy to design the drivetrain out of aluminium instead of steel. It was originally equipped with narrower tyres with a low rolling resistance, but as his two boys explored further and further into the woods and developed a love for mountain biking, it was time for Andy to expand the Early Rider line-up once more and, in the process, become a devout trail rider.

Let‘s start a movement!

Andy’s always been driven by one aspiration and that is to bring more adventure into his family’s life. As a foursome, it’s always been bikes that enable them to head out into the woods together and let the children experience the beauty of nature first-hand. There’s no doubt in Andy’s mind that their conscious decision to allow adventures has left a lasting impression on his kids. The notion that kids who spend their childhood behind handlebars rather than a computer screen will be the generation who grow up with the desire to actively protect the environment, shape a better world, and even pass on their attitude to their parents is one that crops up regularly in Andy’s head. His vision for Early Rider, he explains, goes beyond just encouraging children to be active and fall in love with cycling, and encompasses bringing up a generation who can make the world a better place.

The earlier, the better

With the brand’s line-up growing almost as fast as his own kids, things have certainly changed and there are no signs of slowing down. The boys, now aged 16 and 18, are still keen mountain bikers but have long graduated onto full-size rigs. The beliefs behind Early Rider are just as strong as they were: Andy and his team are committed to infecting as many children as possible with a love for movement and opening the door to adventures, which, in turn, boosts their sense of self and helps their personality to develop. With fun being such a central element to bike riding, Andy sees it as the most effective way to increase a child’s confidence, improve their coordination, and hone their cognitive skills (part of what he’s dubbed the 3-Co system: confidence, cognition, coordination). Reluctance on the part of the parents can be one hurdle towards getting more kids on bikes, and sure, a child must reach a certain age (or size) before they are ready to get on a balance bike, but Andy is convincing. ‘Children pick up new things and skills without any fear between the age of 10–24 months,’ explains Andy, gesturing enthusiastically. ‘It’s the period when their senses are beginning to connect and they’re beginning to form and train their motor skills. Up until now, there’s still no particular tool to support them in this development.’ Early Rider’s research into child development has led them to the Speedster – a new take on a balance bike, capable of self-stabilizing and therefore allowing an earlier introduction for children onto two wheels as a way to develop. The Speedster is still in the process of being tested, but Andy hints that we could be seeing this emerge on the market at the start of 2022.

Even more adventure for more children

As we round off our chat, Andy brings up the topic of adventure when it concerns children. It’s clearly something that gets under his skin. Alongside sharing the beauty of nature with more people, he’s driven by the desire to help kids awaken their own sense of curiosity and grow up with confidence. And he’s achieved this within the bike world by producing a tool that’s not only appropriate for children’s own development, but one that incites whoops of excitement. With the Speedster, budding bike riders will be able to discover the sport at an even earlier age.

He reminds us of one more thing before we say goodbye: ‘Our goal was never to build a bike brand – if there was any motive behind Early Rider, it was to be the company that enables children to have more adventure in their lives.’ Here at ENDURO, we can only applaud his spirit of adventure, and we’re excited to see the innovative products that are likely to emerge from Early Rider in the coming years.

For infos on Early Rider, just head to earlyrider.com

Interview: Christoph Bayer, Robin Schmitt | Words: Christoph Bayer/Tanne 9 | Photos: Early Rider