The brand Silverback was founded by, Deon Retief, entrepreneur, visionary and leader in the cycling industry. He has been enveloped in the bicycle industry since the early 90’s working for well-known bicycle manufacturers and has conducted extensive brand studies worldwide...
Deon Retief who has visited over 500 independent bicycle dealers and sports retailers around the world, decided that he would start the Silverback Brand. Despite all odds he would enter the German market in Stuttgart, breeding ground for great brands like Mercedes and Porsche. Entering the world’s toughest market was a part of his vision to ensure his brand would evolve into 'the world’s most admired bike brand'.
The road was filled with trials and tribulations for Deon, for the first 3 months he ran the company on his own, offloading 40ft containers by himself. Once in Germany, the embassy refused him a working permit, the local authorities held his vat refunds for over 2 years and he was refused to purchase land. The final insult was when local dealers chucked his catalog in the bin right in front of him and he was laughed at by his competitors, telling him he would never make it in the industry.
Silverback is known as the brand where innovation takes prime spot, we have focused on innovative proprietary molds, investing over 5 million Euros a year in frame molds. The fruits of our labor has been acknowledged by a global audience, and Silverback is now a main competitor among other top bicycle brands.
In 2012 Silverback had its first breakthrough in the global market when winning a Eurobike Award for the Scalera road bike.
In 2014 Silverback received another Eurobike award for the BURST Suspension on our Sesta.
In 2016 we won both a German Design award for Sesta Concept 1.0 as well as a German Brand award.
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Adding to our list of awards, in 2018 we won an iF Design Award for Excellence in design for our Superspeed.
Our innovative designs such as our BUSRT, IDS, ESS technologies has allowed us to create award winning products placing us on the same playing field as all the other top bicycle brands in the world.
Our two racing teams Silverback OMX Pro Team and Silverback Volvo consistently place on the podium.
In 2017 Silverback OMX Pro rider Annie Last, made history by being the first elite British woman to win a medal at an UCI World Cup XCO event, when she placed 2nd in Cairns, Australia. Later in the year she won the UCI World Cup event in Lenzerheide, Switserland.
The world renowned international ABSA CAPE EPIC was a testing environment for our teams, but the ladies dominated in 2017 and 2018 by placing 2nd and 3rd overall. With Silverback OMX Pro Team athlete, Mariske Strauss showing her fighting spirit by racing through ailment and still finishing on the podium. Mariske truly embodies the Silverback brand and we relate her ‘never give up’ attitude that which Deon displayed through his years hardship.
We live according to our true mark of excellence, our Silverback arrow is a symbol of quality and design distinction. We believe in innovation and fostering a culture of Forward Thinking, Progressive Design, exemplified by developing faster, better, lighter bicycles.
We didn't want to just be another bike brand. We realized that there was a much bigger conversation, and we were interested in that conversation. Being in the cycling industry brought up a few new challenges heading into the millennial era and a digital age. Technology and online identities play a big role in competing with industry leaders and gaining recognition. Our approach was simple.
Silverback decided to move in-house with their external communications plan. In 2017 a reformation took place, a whole new division was established and new structures were implemented. It was this decision that pushed the company further on to its current world-renowned platform, with worldwide engagement from Europian, South-Pacific, African and Western unions.
Since the reformation we have extended the Silverback career platform, our business partner platform, and the way we sell and promote our products. We focus on interpersonal engagements and by doing this we have a current track record that is unmatched with our competitors. Leading the Brand identity via a digital channel and employing skilled experts who understand the digital criteria, but work within the brand, is the recipe to our current success story.
We have maximized our exposure rate, encouraged new ways to communicate with cyclists and “bike fanatics” and found comfort in our engagement strategies with the public. We continue winning each and every day. We make bikes that people love and enjoy, with the added benefit of having a personal connection with Silverback the brand.
