Industry Bicycle manufacturer Founded 2010 | Website www.solebicycles.com Headquarters California | |
Founders Jonathan Ross Shriftman and Jacob Medwell Profiles | ||
Sole bicycles with olga kay joe nation jess lizama steve zaragoza and jason horton
Solé Bicycles was founded in 2010, by University of Southern California students, Jonathan Ross Shriftman and Jacob Medwell. Solé is a manufacturer and dealer of fixed gear/single speed bicycles. Within the first year, Solé and its founders received recognition as Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top Five College Entrepreneurs" and a grant from Alibaba Group as the "Third Ranked Newpreneur of the Year". The bikes are sold online and to stores in the United States. The company provides two styles of cycles, one with a focus on tricks, the other with a focus on commuting. The bikes are semi-customizable and offer brand name components from Oury, WellGo, and others.
Contents
History
While Jonathan grew up mostly riding on beach cruisers in his hometown of Miami, and Jake rode mountain bikes in Seattle, the two became infatuated with the fixed gear bikes that they saw in Los Angeles where they attended college together at the University of Southern California. Enthused by the fixie street culture and frustrated by the high prices of these typically custom made bikes, Jonathan and Jake decided to make an affordable bike for themselves and others. After researching online and reaching out to factories in the US, Brazil, China, Thailand and more, they ordered many samples of what they were looking for. Within two weeks of receiving the first 200 bicycles, all sold out simply by word of mouth.