French startup REF Bikes is looking to revolutionize bicycle design and, perhaps, the entire industry. In place of the fixed, welded tubes that have dominated bicycle design forever, its bikes use a modular tube system that works more like PVC pipes. Each tube secures into place via three hubs, quickly building up into a full frame. Not only does the design allow for faster manufacturing, it makes bicycles that can swap out damaged tubes during repair and adapt as a user grows physically or in terms of cycling level and style. An urban commuter can become a mountain bike can become an ebike can become a cargo bike and more.
The bicycle is already one of the most openly user-customizable products you'll ever buy, loaded with components that can be swapped out for similar items to save weight, boost performance, add color, or otherwise adapt to an owner's needs and preferences. Drivetrain components, wheels and tires, handle bars and grips, brakes, saddles and a multitude of other pieces and parts can be upgraded or changed out. In fact, it's common to just buy a frame and build it up with handpicked components from the get-go.
The one part of the bicycle that isn't user-customizable is the frame, the basic foundational block of any bike build. REF Bikes looks to change that by blowing the frame up into a series of interchangeable components that can be quickly assembled into different configurations. Its patented Plug&Go ecosystem consists of chromoly steel tubes and frame segments and interconnecting aluminum hubs and fittings. The rigid fork is also made from aluminum.
REF Bikes points its modular design at the goal of cutting down on waste. It imagines its bikes lasting longer than the average bicycle by adapting to the evolving owner, offering straightforward frame repairs/tube replacements and providing a way for secondhand owners to better tweak their frames to their own needs. The design should also (hypothetically) save owners money on new and extra bicycles by letting them use the same foundation multiple ways and for longer life cycles.
Along with making the bicycle buying and owning experience cheaper and more adaptable, REF believes its framework will streamline manufacturing. It says that assembling bikes via prebuilt tubes will cut frame building down to minutes, instead of hours. It also helps the company to build its frames locally in France rather than outsourcing the work to Asia, like so many of today's bicycle companies do.
After forming in 2021 and developing its modular vision into a viable product ecosystem, REF has launched its first bikes for preorder. Each bicycle is available in buyer's choice of sport frame, a traditional geometry with high top tube, or comfort frame with a lower, steeper top tube. All three listed models are urban commuters, with the Essential basing in as the simplest and least expensive, available as a single- or seven-speed.
The Essential Boost adds a Zehus all-in-one rear e-drive for flexible, lightweight pedal-assist with an estimated range of 37 miles (60 km) and a full bicycle weight of around 35 lb (16 kg). The Urban Boost steps the Zehus-assist platform up for serious daily commuter types, adding features like fenders, a rear rack, and front and rear lighting.
Listed base prices range between €890 (approx. US$1,000) for a single-speed Essential to €2,690 ($3,000) for the Urban Boost, and common components across the lineup include a Gates Carbon belt drive, Shimano hydraulic disc brakes and Mach 1 wheels. As of publishing, REF is advertising 20-percent discount pricing for the first 100 preorders, bringing that base range down between €712 and €2,152. Deliveries will begin this month, according to the company website.
Personally, we'd be holding off on buying one until REF releases more of the modular packages and components it has in the pipeline – or at least offers some estimated pricing. A modular bicycle is really only as useful as the modules available. So far, REF has mentioned plans for a cargo bike kit, a more powerful electric bicycle kit with battery-integrated down tube, a gravel kit and a fat bike kit, not to mention spare frame tubes, rear frame members, and add-on components.
REF has been touring major bicycle events this summer, including last month's Eurobike show and this month's Paris Bike Show. It is also offering demos in Paris and Lyons, with plans to expand to other French cities in the future.
Source: REF Bikes
