Velduro expands into 24 countries within 10 months

Velduro has expanded into 24 countries within 10 months of launching its first bikes, making the Papamoa-founded e-bike company one of New Zealand's fastest-growing cycling technology exporters.

The business launched its first bikes in New Zealand in November 2025 and now distributes across two dozen markets. It manufactures at a factory in Kunshan, China, and uses DJI's Avinox M2 drive system as it competes with larger international brands.

Founder Dan Wallace set up the company in 2024 after concluding that New Zealand riders were often left with older stock and delayed model releases from overseas manufacturers. An avid mountain biker, he said that experience led him to build a company around local riding conditions and rider input.

Velduro's model differs from much of the bike industry in two main ways. It sells bare frames alongside complete bikes, allowing riders to choose their own specification, and it tests unfinished prototypes with riders before a model reaches the market.

That approach underpins a product line that includes the Rogue electric mountain bike range and the Phantom electric gravel range. Both were developed through rider testing and direct feedback, according to Velduro.

Trust and testing

Wallace said the company's early growth depended on proving itself with riders rather than trying to build credibility through advertising alone.

"As a new brand, we know trust has to be earned," said Dan Wallace, founder, Velduro.

"You don't earn it with marketing; you earn it by building bikes that perform when it matters most."

He linked the export expansion to demand for bikes designed for difficult conditions, saying New Zealand's terrain had shaped the company's engineering approach from the outset.

"New Zealand's terrain is some of the toughest in the world, so if our bikes can stand up to that, we know they'll give riders here, and around the world, the confidence that every Velduro is built to last," Wallace said.

The company has also widened its range with the Bulldog, its first analogue downhill bike. The move takes Velduro beyond electric models and into a discipline where brand credibility often depends heavily on racer and rider endorsement.

Former junior world champion and UCI Downhill World Cup winner Brook Macdonald has joined the development team for that model. He is contributing testing and rider feedback for the Bulldog and future releases.

Macdonald, from Hawke's Bay and now based in Rotorua, won gold at the 2009 Junior World Championships in Canberra and the Val d'Isere downhill World Cup in 2012. After a spinal injury in 2019, he returned to win Crankworx Rotorua in 2021.

New discipline

His involvement gives the young company a rider with an established reputation in downhill racing as it develops a bike category it has not previously built for. Velduro said the relationship goes beyond ambassador duties, with Macdonald feeding back into current and future models.

"Being a company from New Zealand is a huge step for mountain biking in NZ, as you don't see many, if any, bike companies come out of here," said Brook Macdonald, development team member, Velduro.

"I love the design and the way they have built the bikes."

Wallace said Macdonald's record and riding style made him a strong fit for the company's testing-led development process.

"His approach to riding has never been about taking the easy line, it's about pushing harder, riding faster, and defying the limits. That's exactly the kind of rider we want testing our bikes," Wallace said.

The expansion reflects a broader trend among younger specialist bike brands, which increasingly use direct rider feedback and flexible manufacturing to move quickly into overseas markets. In Velduro's case, that has meant pairing New Zealand-based design and market positioning with manufacturing in China and a technology link with DJI.

For New Zealand, the company's growth also stands out because internationally recognised bike brands rarely emerge from the country at scale. Wallace argues that local terrain and rider expectations can be turned into a commercial advantage in export markets, especially in mountain biking and mixed-terrain riding, where durability and handling carry particular weight with buyers.

Velduro now has electric mountain, electric gravel and analogue downhill bikes in its line-up, all tied to the same development process of prototype testing before full release. Its bikes are now available in 24 countries.