OUR MISSION
The goal at Lal is make the most durable and high performance derailleur drivetrain for mountain bikes. We strive to make broken derailleurs a thing of the past and to give mountain bikers the best possible ride experience.
We manufacture the Supre Drive in BC, Canada. Manufacturing is hard, but we do it so that we can innovative quickly, create local jobs, and provide better long-term support. We aim to scale our manufacturing operation to make the Supre Drive as affordable as possible.
We’re open to collaborating with all bike companies in the development of bikes equipped with the Supre Drive. We’re also open to licensing our drivetrain technology to other drivetrain companies. We want there to be as many options out there as possible.
In honor of the spirit of invention, Lal is named after Pierre Lallement, who is considered by some to have invented the pedal bicycle.
OUR STORY
Lal Bikes was founded by Cedric Eveleigh. Cedric grew up in the town of Chelsea, Quebec, where he learned how to mountain bike at a young age on gnarly east coast terrain. He has been thinking about technical problems with mountain bikes since his days as a teenager wrenching in bike shops.
After completing engineering studies, Cedric spent some time thinking about the problem of derailleurs on mountain bikes. While taking a break during a ride, he had a light-bulb moment. He then built a benchtop prototype drivetrain which proved the idea to work. That was in March of 2019, and it was followed by three years of developing the drivetrain and building test bikes out of his parents’ basement in Chelsea.
The Supre Drive was revealed in November 2021. Then, in April 2022, Cedric moved Lal Bikes to the Sunshine Coast in British Columbia. The Sunshine Coast is one of the few places in Canada where one can mountain bike year round, while at the same time being in the mountain bike mecca that is Coastal BC.
We’re currently developing our own production mountain bike frame that’s equipped with the Supre Drive.
TEAM
Lal Bikes is currently a team of three working full time.
Cedric Eveleigh
Cedric invented the Supre Drive and founded Lal Bikes. He does all kinds of things including designing, fabrication, marketing and sales, finances, and floor sweeping. Cedric is keen about all bicycles and volunteers for a local cycling advocacy group. When not working or riding, you'll find Cedric trail building in our local woods.
Alex Ham
Alex is a skilled engineer and mountain biker. He moved from South Africa to join Lal Bikes at the beginning of 2023. Alex has a background in sailing and composites, and he does all kinds of things at Lal including fabricating carbon fiber parts, improving our drivetrain parts, and designing and machining equipment. Alex loves to ride and is a great test rider.
Jacob Burggraf
Jacob is a recent engineering graduate and a skilled fabricator. He grew up mountain biking on the North Shore and is keen about both riding and the tech behind mountain bikes. He lays down mighty fine welds and does a variety of fabrication and engineering work at Lal. He joined us early in 2024.
ADVISORS
There’s a lot of business skill needed in building a company like Lal Bikes. We are fortunate to have great business advisors.
Graham Truax
Graham advises us through BC's Venture Acceleration Program. Graham's full time work is to help startups from launch all the way to large scale funding rounds. Graham lives on Vancouver Island where he mountain bikes, skis, and sails.
Jonathan Theriault
Based on the other side of Canada, Jonathan is a cycling enthusiast and an experienced manufacturing engineer. He currently runs a manufacturing operation in Canada.
Diranne Lee-Renwick
Diranne is a gung ho entrepreneur and mountain biker from Australia. He's experienced in technology and business development. Also, Diranne knows about high pivot magic, with his current bike being a Forbidden.
FOLLOW OUR JOURNEY
We share regular updates on social media (primarily Instagram), and more occasionally with our email list. If you’d like to visit us on the Sunshine Coast, feel free to contact us through the link below, and we’d be more than happy to show you some Supre bikes and our workspace, and to go for a ride.