Made by cyclists for cyclists

The crew at Off The Bike hails from numerous cycling backgrounds. With decades of experience, including local bike shop wrenching, triathlons, enduro racing, gravel riding, bike commuting, and everything in-between, we're passionate about all things cycling.

How did our passion for cycling begin?

In the Summer of 2015, OTB’s founder, Rob Sulzer, was weight training and slightly over did it to put it mildly. After feeling a pop in the back of his neck, several hours later he began experiencing the worst headache of his life.

When the headache was even worse the next day, Rob reached out to a lifelong friend and now OTB partner, Tom, a neuro-surgery PA. After listening to the situation, Tom asked some questions about the symptoms and then told Rob to get to the ER immediately—he potentially had a brain bleed—which wound up being the case.

While recovering on bed rest in the ICU for a almost a month, all Rob could do all day was watch TV. Fortunately, it was July, so at least he could catch the beautiful scenery of every stage of the Tour de France. He thought, “What I would give to ride a bike in beautiful places like that.”

After recovering, Rob’s doctor said to take up less demanding, low-impact cardio like swimming or biking and lift a lot less weight. So Tom, an avid cyclist, suggested Rob get a gravel bike as his first “real” bike. The versatility empowered him to ride both on and off-road, and he quickly fell in love with the sport.

Why Off The Bike was created

As avid cyclists, we train hard both on and off the bike. But when we aren’t riding, it can be tough identifying others who share our passion for cycling. There just isn’t a go-to brand that signifies membership in the cycling family.

While many surf and California coastal lifestyle brands like O'Neil, Billabong, Rip Curl, and Hurley make superior products that identify their customers as surfers, Rob noticed there was no "lifestyle" brand that identifies cyclists when they're off the bike.

Off The Bike is here to help cycling enthusiasts more easily connect and interact with each other over their shared passion.