Quella Bicycle: The UK’s favourite single-speed bike brand

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving” – Albert Einstein

Quella is a bicycle brand that does the simple things well. A British single-speed bike brand that started life in a converted chicken shed in Cambridge back in 2012, they now operate out of a warehouse in Gloucestershire, England and lay claim to the title of the UK’s favourite single-speed bike brand. For those not technical when it comes to bicycles, a ‘single speed’ bicycle is one that only has a single gear ratio, i.e. it doesn’t have any gears.

The benefit of this means they are very low maintenance, extremely reliable and are also lightweight. As a result, they make excellent commuter bicycles compared to the more complex road bikes with multiple gears and components. All Quella bikes come with what is known as a ‘flip-flop’ rear hub.  One side is a fixed sprocket, the other side is a freewheel. This means that any Quella can be ridden fixed or as a single-speed so you can try both styles of riding and pick your favourite.

So what makes Quella so popular?

In short, it’s the brand’s versatility and quality of product. Much like when buying a car where you’re able to choose colour, components and engine size, buying a Quella bike follows a similar principle. In short, the options available to you when looking to purchase one of these bikes are endless. From its entry range ‘Nero’ collection through to its fully customisable bikes the consumer can have complete control over exactly what they would or would not like on their bike.

The Collection

Quella has five bike ranges in its collection – Nero, Varsity, Stealth, E-bikes and Custom. Nero is the entry-level, no-nonsense bike and the brand’s most popular. Offering great value for money, starting at £399, all models are built around a stylish Hi-tensile steel frame in matt black and are available with a variety of different wheel colours for those who want to personalise their ride.

Varsity is the brand’s flagship range. Starting at £499, they have a premium 4130 chromoly steel frame finished in 3 paint colours and an all-chrome frame, complete with sealed bearing hubs and headsets for a sophisticated and stylish bike. Stealth, which as the name suggests is a more edgy collection of bikes is guaranteed to separate you from the rest of the commuter crowd. Starting at £499, they feature Quella’s three-spoke ‘mag wheels’ and ‘Ride or Die’ headcap.

Whilst the cycling purists would argue this next collection is not a true bicycle, Quella’s E- bikes offer a more leisurely approach to bicycle riding. Powered by the brand’s all-in-one e-hub neatly contained in the rear wheel, pedal power gets a boost with some electronic cycle action. The Quella E-bikes start at £1,995. The final collection is the Custom range. In short, anything goes. Each bike is designed to the customer’s specifications with unique paint finishes that can be matched with your choice of wheel colours, bar tape and saddle.

Custom Process Gives You a Bike That’s Tailored to You

If you’re looking for something completely unique and representative of your personal preferences, then this collection is tailored to you. The custom process typically takes about four weeks, with the bulk of the time driven by the powder coating of the bike frame and waiting for the paint to dry. Customers can choose from 250 RAL colours with a combination across the bike, for example, you can have the forks a different colour to the frame.

The custom offering sets Quella apart from its competitors. It’s an interactive process whereby the team undertake one-to-one consultations to capture the options available to you with ongoing discussions thereafter. For those who require more technical guidance and advice, the Quella team is on hand to provide this. Previous collaborations on their custom bikes have included Ted Baker, Buffalo Foundation, & Sons and many more.

So with cycling’s continuing popularity, in the UK alone the UK’s average mileage per year has been gradually increasing since 1993, with 2020 this increased dramatically to 5.03 billion as a result of the changes to many lifestyles due to the Covid-19 restrictions (source: Cycling UK), it might be time to turn to Quella to tailor your cycling dreams into pedalling reality.