#bikeschool: WyndyMilla

As LovingTheBike’s designated UK dude I’m really excited about today’s article and the news we are spreading. Although WyndyMilla is a UK based company, their influence is spreading across the globe quicker than Magnus Backstedt can crack a bottom bracket and they are doing some great things in the Pro Peloton as well as women’s cycling.

Bespoke Passion

For many people around the globe WyndyMilla will be a new name on the bike-brand-block that you won’t have heard of but they are doing all the right things to make sure that will soon be changing. I became aware of WyndyMilla and their Test Team around a

year ago and was instantly struck by… well the pink bikes and kit! I am a self-confessed kit pervert and enjoy looking at gorgeous bikes and clothing and woah do these guys know sexy bikes! But more of that later. The wonderfully named brand is the brain child of Henry Wynd(y)ham Furniss and Nassima CaMilla Siddiqui and began as a part time hobby “born of a raw passion for cycling”. Since the companies inception in 2007 they have come a long way and now offer a huge range of services at their workshop/fitting studio including; complete bike-fit and tailoring for new machines, lifestyle assessment looking at time management, diet and training, personal training and bio-mechanical assessment including VO2 max testing via the University of Surrey’s Human Performance Institute as used by the Test Team and of course they have a couple of top class mechanics too! These guys aren’t just into cycling… they are innovating and changing the sport for everyone that is connecting with them in a positive and darn good looking way!

Doing it in Pink

With a great team around them, Henry and Nassima (affectionately known as ‘Tiny’) have evolved WyndyMilla into a world-class hub for male and female cycling performance and have a thriving team and club wing which operate from their WyndyMilla HQ in the Surrey hills just south of London.

The 2011 season has seen a lot of success and positive progression for women’s cycling in the Pro Peloton and also for the weekend cyclist (although there is still a long way to go) and the way WyndyMilla tackle this issue head on is something that I personally think is one of their strongest attributes. Given that 50% of the brains behind the company is female flavoured it stands to reason that they would want to make a positive impact on women’s cycling and I can only commend them and Nassima for the work they put in. In a traditionally male dominated arena WyndyMilla has set out to level the playing field where the statistics speak for themselves, only 15% of UK club cyclists are female!

I’m sure we’ve all had the same conversations with partners over the years… “Yes dear, I’ll do the dishes, mow the lawn and put up that shelf when I get back this afternoon…” Only to zonk out on the couch for some quality ‘recovery’ the moment you get home! So what better way to share that time with your other half (or a potential new one *wink wink*) than getting more girls riding? I know that the ‘female only’ ride is not a new thing but these guys and gals are going one, two and three steps further. The services they offer to the girls are unique to them as a shop and bike builder and should be commended, as described by ‘Tiny’ these include:

• All the bikes in the WyndyMilla range are full custom therefore can be built to exacting female geometry. At WM there is no hefty price premium normally associated with custom builds No compromises throughout the range – a total rarity! No more shrink & pink.
• Women have a very different distribution of height to men; it is very rare to find bikes across ranges that cater for this. Commonly only the cheapest heavy steel option is female specific. Girls need shorter top tubes. Short stems, (found on almost all women’s bikes), make your bike ‘jittery’ it’s dangerous & scary, it is not the solution.
• We have contoured kit & clothing, designed by girls, made just for girls. We have even conducted anatomical studies to establish the right width for chamois for female sit bones!
• At WyndyMilla you can be bike fitted by a girl, who understands the trials & tribulations of the female cyclist. That’s not even a rarity, it’s unique!
• WyndyMilla girls can offer the full 3rd degree at WM HQ, fitting, training, nutrition & kit advice. With one 2 one introductory rides on offer WyndyMilla girls can set you on the right track right from the start. No worries – No fear.
• We will be encouraging girl only club rides, events & training sessions. No more dealing with testosterone driven club rides.

Team UK Youth

WyndyMilla has already seen success in the US with Enrico Cacciorni at the Crescent Moon Sprint Tri and with their sponsored triathlete Darren Milne at the Triathlon World Championshps in Beijing, with all results quite rightly being attributed to the wonderfully titled Saw Doctor Evo TT bike and having nothing to do with the fleshy organic bit on top doing all the work! Not content with partial domination, exciting news broke last week that the WyndyMilla team will be the new bike and clothing sponsor of the UK Youth team in 2012. Team UK Youth (@TeamUKYouth) is backed by former Swedish road and TT national champion and Paris-Roubaix winning pro Magnus Backstedt (@MagnusBackstedt) and the 1992 Formula 1 World Championship winner Nigel Mansell (@Mansell_Nigel)… so it’s fair to say they know a thing or two about what is needed to produce a winning formula!

The UK Youth team have been a strong force in British cycling in 2011 and are set to compete as a UCI Continental team in 2012 which will increase the exposure of the WyndyMilla brand backed by some serious talent across the board. As well as the above mentioned Goliath’s of international sport, UK Youth has some fine home grown cyclists who are getting the best possible start in the sport and in 2012 they will also be joined by one of my favourite British riders Yanto Barker (@YBLECOL). It’d be safe to say I am very excited about what will be happening in 2012 for WyndyMilla and Team UK Youth.

Bike Porn

I was lucky enough to drop in to the WyndyMilla shop on Saturday (unfortunately a little too late to catch Magnus relaxing with a ‘recovery’ coffee) and had to be dragged out eventually by Mrs Dexter, but not before I got my grubby little paws on my new favourite t-shirt! I’ve added some photos below of the WyndyMilla machines so that you can feast your eyes on some truly lovely machines and kit. I hope you will forgive me for any over-exuberance, but it’s guys like Henry, Nassima and the rest of the WyndyMilla gang that remind me how beautiful our sport is and get me fired up for the road. My only hope is that one day I can afford one of their beautiful machines with some matching kit (I’m always open for some independent testing/reviewing Henry!)

Best of luck to the whole WyndyMilla gang & Team UK Youth in 2012.

Stevie

Tags: bespoke cycling, magnus backstedt, milla, nigel manseel, uk, uk youth, ukyouth, wyndy, wyndymilla, yanto barker