BMX Brand
WeThePeople
WeThePeople is a German BMX brand founded in Cologne in the late 1990s, known for complete bikes, frames and parts, and for its sister parts brand Eclat.
Updated 2 min read504 words
WeThePeople is a BMX brand from Cologne, Germany, founded in the late 1990s. It was one of the first European brands to compete with American companies on equal terms, and it is best known for complete bikes, frames and parts, and for its parts-only sister brand Eclat.
History
WeThePeople was started in Cologne around 1997 by Harry Schmidt and partners. At the time nearly every BMX brand with any weight was based in the United States, and European riders mostly rode imported American frames. WeThePeople set out to design frames and parts for the European scene, which in the late 1990s was growing fast around street and park riding.
The brand grew through the 2000s on the strength of its complete bikes. Where many completes of the era used cheap parts to hit a price, WeThePeople's were specified closely to the frames and parts its team rode, and they developed a reputation for being worth the money. That reputation carried the brand into shops across Europe, Australia and North America.
In the late 2000s the company launched Eclat as a separate parts brand, so that aftermarket parts could have their own identity rather than sitting under a frame and complete brand. WeThePeople continues to operate from Cologne with a team drawn from Europe, the United States and elsewhere, and it remains one of the largest BMX brands in the world.
Products
WeThePeople sells frames, parts and a wide range of completes.
| Product | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Trust | Frame and complete | Long running model name used across generations |
| Battleship | Frame | Street frame |
| Buck | Frame | Signature street frame |
| Audio and Paradox | Frames | Street frames of the 2010s |
| Doomsayer and Message | Frames | Signature frames for team riders |
| Supreme | Cassette hub | Long serving hub |
| Logic and Royal | Cranks | Chromoly cranks |
| Crysis, Envy, Justice, Reason, Arcade, Nova | Complete bikes | Range from entry level to top of the line |
The completes are the core of the business. The Envy sits at the top with near aftermarket parts, while models such as the Arcade and Nova serve riders buying a first bike. That spread is a useful example in cheap vs expensive BMX bikes.
Team and riders
WeThePeople's team has mixed European and American riders. Riders associated with the brand have included:
- Ed Zunda
- Dan Kruk
- Mike Curley
- Max Gaertig
- Felix Prangenberg
- Jordan Godwin
- Dillon Lloyd
Many of these riders have also ridden Eclat parts, since the two brands share a team structure.
Influence
WeThePeople proved that a BMX brand did not have to be American to matter. It gave the European scene its own major company and raised expectations for what a complete bike should include. Its approach to completes, specifying real frame geometry and parts close to what the team rides, pushed rivals such as Kink and Fit to do the same. Through Eclat it also showed how a frame brand and a parts brand could be run side by side without one diluting the other.
Related
Frequently asked questions about WeThePeople
Where is WeThePeople from?
WeThePeople is based in Cologne, Germany, and was founded there in the late 1990s. It is one of the few major BMX brands based outside the United States.
Is Eclat part of WeThePeople?
Eclat is a parts-only sister brand run by the same company. WeThePeople completes are often built with Eclat parts.
Are WeThePeople complete bikes good?
They are widely regarded as some of the better specified completes at each price point, which is a large part of why the brand grew.
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