Erba was founded by a 5th grader from Maine who loved the freedom and speed of bikes and building things with his own two hands. At least that’s where it all started. You see when I was 12, the best feeling in the world was having the wind in my face as I pedaled down the big hill to the harbor in my hometown in coastal Maine. I’d ride a 24-mile loop nearly every day after school for no other reason than just the joy of it. And when I was 17, I built my first bike frame for the same reason.
Over the years I kept riding but my career encroached on my love of bikes. Working for a well-known architect, I helped design affordable housing for Native Americans on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula and unaffordable housing for a Saudi prince in Bill Gates’ neighborhood. As an engineer for a huge company, I designed steel structures to transport entire steam generating plants across oceans.

Then one day, I came face-to-face with what was missing in my life. I was looking at a fishing boat in Maine that is as sea-worthy today as the day it was launched in 1905. That’s because it was made by the hands of one craftsman who took pride in shaping timber and planks into something magnificent. That boat pushed me to build a bike again and be closer to the sport I love.
I picked up woodworking gear I hadn’t touched in years, skinned my knuckles, breathed in lungfuls of bamboo dust, fell asleep in a cramped work studio, and enjoyed every minute. I only hope you enjoy riding an Erba bike as much as I do making it.