The five mile ride: Catching up with Synch

Rebecca Bland speaks to Gila Overton from Synch about the brand’s growing range of e-bikes and ambitions to expand its dealer network

This piece first appeared in the latest edition of BikeBiz magazine – get your free subscription here

Based out of a warehouse in Holton Heath in Dorset, e-bike company Synch is steadily making a mark in the UK. Founded in 2019 by friends Chris and Matt, they designed their first electric fat bike out of a need for something that didn’t exist back then. First, for their own riding pleasure, but then, the desire to experience the fun with others – and thus, Synch was born.

Since 2019 the brand has grown from a one-bike stable (the Super Monkey), to now offering five e-bikes, all serving different purposes. Gila Overton, a Sales and Service Specialist has been at the company for three years, spoke to us about the broadening portfolio and how now is the right time to expand their dealer network across the UK.

“What we’re trying to do is take that five mile drive out and replace it with a five mile ride,” Overton commented. “There’s a lot of people all over the country with either the school run, or the office that is within five miles of where they live. And if you can swap out your car for a five mile bike ride, that’s the people that we want.”

Getting more people out of cars and onto bikes is of course an industry-wide aim, but Synch is trying to do things a little differently. There’s a strict ‘no-lycra’ ethos when designing bikes here – four out of five of the e-bikes don’t even come with a saddle, they use a bench seat instead.

“There is a huge bunch of people who don’t want to wear lycra on a bike, and if we can give them an alternative, that’s what our bikes are. They tick all the boxes, but they’re alternatives to your usual e-bikes.”

The range currently consists of three fat bikes, with one made specifically for smaller riders and another a two-seater. Then, there is the longtail step-through and most recently, a cargo bike. According to Overton, the local support in Dorset has been “incredible”, in part because of how hard the brand has worked to keep the manufacturing, building and painting processes nearby.

“We assemble everything in Holton Heath in Dorset. We’ve got two mechanics full-time, but all they have to do is build the bikes. The bikes are 100% UK built, UK designed, and developed. And then obviously we have our offices. So it’s still a small business, but we’ve got about 10 dealers countrywide, so we’re getting there. We’re now in Scotland, which is very cool, and people are starting to know about us.”

Partnering with retailers

Synch is currently looking to expand its dealer network throughout the UK, with a keen eye for expansion into some of the bigger cities. This is where Overton feels the biggest impact will be made with these types of e-bikes.

“London would be a perfect place for us. Big tyres are incredible, because they don’t puncture as much and the potholes are relative – the bigger the wheel and tyre, the smaller the pothole. So if we could expand into Cambridge and Oxford, Birmingham and London, and reach all those people that live five miles from the office. Then instead of catching the tube, catching the train or instead of driving, get on a Synch.”

There’s no denying the Synch bikes give off an alternative vibe to the mainstream looks of urban e-bikes. Instead of sleek lines, they’re chunky, but in a utilitarian sort of way. Overton assures me the bikes aren’t just gimmicks – they’re functional. Or as Synch say, they are ‘fun-tility’ bikes.

“Our bikes work. We’ve got people that commute on our bikes every day and collectively put in thousands of miles. And there’s a whole group of people out there that are looking for an alternative to a traditional bike. I think, essentially, that’s what it boils down to – these bikes offer the same function, same fitness but in a less mainstream way.”

From order to delivery the bikes take about 10 days to arrive with the customer. Synch also offers custom colour spray painting. For an extra £200, customers can choose any colour from the RAL colour chart, and they can do it – with a painter and powder coater less than five miles away from their HQ. Once the bike has been ordered, built and painted, it’s then shipped to the customer ready to ride.

“We use a company called Byways and they deliver the bike anywhere in the country, ready to ride. We make sure it is 100% built, charged, and ready to ride. It comes in this massive sleeping bag, which the delivery company undo, and there’s your bike.”

It’s not just paint though that is customisable. And Overton likens the brand to Brompton in this respect.

“We’re a lot like Brompton in that you go onto the Brompton website and you can choose which style handlebar you want, the tyres, the colour, so it’s very similar to what we’re offering. You can really build your own bike.”

“There’s a lot about us that is unique and different in our little factory and our little workshop. If you come to me and say you want something custom, for example, you’re a surfer and you want a frame to put a surfboard on to take it to the beach, we can build you a frame. We’ve got the machines, and we can adapt. And we have done some crazy designs for people and we can actually make it ourselves, because we’re not being dictated to by a massive corporation.”