Ridley bikes are developed in the heart of cycling: Belgium. Cycling plays an immensely important role in Belgium’s heritage and culture. Walk down any Belgian street on a Sunday afternoon, peek through a window, and you’ll likely see a cycling race on TV. It’s no coincidence that Belgium hosts many of the world’s most famous cycling races, such as the Tour of Flanders and Liège-Bastogne-Liège. Every cycling fan knows the Tour of Flanders with its cobblestones and short, steep climbs. A race with 25,000 corners and a hundred times as many spectators. We are a family with a deep passion for cycling, right up to our CEO who grew up in the cycling world. New bike development still takes place at our headquarters in Flanders. The most beautiful bikes are painted and assembled daily in our Belgian factory. Every month, we send our pros and testers over Belgium’s toughest cobblestones and steepest climbs. Small country roads, braking, accelerating, avoiding potholes, and going full gas on that unexpected perfect strip of asphalt. Rain, wind, cold, and sometimes a bit of sun. There is no better testing ground than the roads of Belgium. Our Belgium.
To this day, Ridley remains a 100% family-run company with more than 180 employees worldwide. Almost every step of the production process takes place at our Belgian headquarters. In Beringen, you’ll find our offices (Sales, Marketing, Finance, IT, and R&D), the factory (with its own paint shop and assembly line), the Performance Center, and the Experience Center. Our bikes are now sold in more than 60 countries.
Own paint shop
The highlight of the Beringen factory is our in-house paint shop. Here, riders can have their bikes fully customized in the colors of their dreams. The COVID crisis accelerated the modernization of the paint shop and assembly line. The result is improved production: we can now build up to 400 custom bikes per day, or 88,000 per year. Moreover, the renewed factory is also an improvement in terms of sustainability. Ridley also operates a second paint shop in Moldova.
Aero Performance Lab
Next to the factory is our Aero Performance Lab. Here, we have our own wind tunnel, climate chamber, bike fit, and body scan. This enables us to continuously improve our bikes and riders on the road to ultimate performance. In our quest for innovation and aerodynamic efficiency, the wind tunnel is a crucial tool.
Born a cycling enthusiast
Our founder and CEO Jochim Aerts grew up in the small town of Balen, at the top of Flanders. In this region, cycling is part of the culture and there is a big race somewhere nearby almost all year round. So, like many children in cycling-mad country, Aerts fell in love with cycling at an early age. He dreamed of becoming the new Eddy Merckx, drawing inspiration from his older brother who developed as a talented promising rider. At fourteen, Aerts rode his first race, but when he turned nineteen, he realised that he needed to fulfil his dream of making a name for himself in cycling in a different way.
Aerts founded Race Productions and started his work in his parents' garage. He gains experience in frame construction and painting Bioracer bikes.
Establishment of Ridley
The Ridley brand sees the light of day. The name refers to film director Ridley Scott, who had made a blockbuster with ‘Alien’. Meanwhile, the garage became too small and the Ridley company moved to a factory building next to the E313 in the province of Limburg. From the outset, Ridley made substantial investments in research and development, playing a pivotal role in pioneering innovations in cycling, including the increasing significance of aerodynamics and the adoption of carbon bikes.
Step by step, Ridley is gaining prominence and the brand is also reaching the pro peloton. In 2002, Mario De Clercq is the first of many cyclo-cross world champions to start riding the brand. The Telenet-Fidea partnership follows in 2004. Ridley becomes world champion with Bart Wellens, Erwin Vervecken and Zdenek Stybar.
Green jersey in the Tour de France
After conquering cyclocross, Ridley is also growing into a well-known brand on the road. In 2005, it becomes bike sponsor of the Lotto team. The riders ride the ‘Noah’, a bike Jochim named after his first son. A year later, Robbie McEwen shines in the green jersey on the Champs-Elysées at the end of the Tour de France and Ridley is known from America to Australia.
The collaboration with the late Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal is off to a start and is the beginning of an impressive collection of titles. Furthermore, Ridley is bike supplier to Team Katusha, Vacansoleil-DCM and WM3 Energie, among others.
Belgian Cycling Factory
The company is moving to a larger plant across the E313 in Beringen. A few years later, the Bike Valley Experience Centre opens there. In 2017, Aerts acquires bike brand Eddy Merckx Bike and Race Productions changes its name to Belgian Cycling Factory (BCF).
The collaboration between BikeValley's wind tunnel, the Lotto team and Ridley is paying off. Victor Campenaerts achieves the world hour record thanks to the innovative tools. This way, BikeValley becomes a place where top riders from all over the world come in search of marginal gains.
Ridley offers bikes for road cycling, gravel, mountain biking, cyclocross, time trials, triathlons, track cycling, and e-bikes. Bikes are assembled and packaged at the Beringen site or a factory in Moldova. BCF has over 1000 sales points in Europe. Belgian Cycling Factory now employs over 180 people globally, producing up to 400 custom bikes daily, distributed in 60 countries. Yet, the ambition is not satisfied; like the most ambitious cyclists, Belgian Cycling Factory aims to improve every day.