A New Brunswick startup is hoping to put Atlantic Canada on the map in the global bike industry, which has been booming since the start of the pandemic.

Founded in 2018, Quest Carbon Cycles imports its bike frames from Japan and assembles the bikes at its Hillsborough headquarters, where the company relocated to from PEI earlier this year. The frames Quest uses for its bikes are made from high-performance Toray carbon fiber, which sets them apart from other high-end bikes on the market, co-founder Zach Dallaire explained.

“We wanted to make sure we had light bikes that could withstand some tough conditions,” he said. “So, that’s why Toray carbon fiber was huge for us,” Dallaire said.

Quest originally made only winter bikes, Dallaire said, but the company has expanded its product line to include road, gravel and mountain bikes. He added that Quest’s winter bikes are well-positioned for success in the category.

“The winter bike community is growing at a rapid pace,” he said. “So, looking across the map at all other winter climate countries, we think we can jump into those and really anchor ourselves.”

This year, Quest has sold 30 bikes to customers across North America, including Wyoming, Arkansas, Quebec City, Ottawa and Halifax and the company has also struck a distribution deal with Mike’s Bike Shop in Dieppe, which sold its entire stock of Quest bikes in about six weeks.

At its Hillsborough location, which is located at the base of the popular White Rock mountain bike trails, Quest hopes to embed itself into the local community.

“Being an outdoors-based company, we wanted to make sure that we had our pin on the map as somewhere that was showing the world one of the best parts of Atlantic Canada,” Dallaire said. “And the Fundy coast is certainly one of those.” •