Nick Bayliss: Origins

Since day one Royal Racing has been about the rider. In the early days it was making something nobody offered. Now, it’s pursuing the advancements which make great kit even better for the way you ride. Creator, designer and rider Nick Bayliss founded Royal alongside his friend and racer Steve Peat.

Here is Nick on how Royal came about.

Nick Bayliss:

“The reason Royal came together in the first place was the lack of ‘true’ mountain bike riding gear. Not just MX gear or XC lycra. Garments that were what we were about. Riding gear that works on a bike and reflected our lifestyle. I was working out in California staying with Steve [Peat], riding and selling pages out of my sketch pad to survive. I would mock up riding gear for Steve, myself and mates to try out. Take onboard the negatives and improve it.

This has stayed the same the whole way through the Royal journey. Taking input from the up-and-coming flow of talent, Rat Boy, Gwin, Mullay, Brendog, Slugger, Weir, Vouilloz, the list became endless. Being part of some of the sport’s most timeless iconic rider moments, images and podiums is truly humbling.

Most riders can’t tell you what they do want, their focus is firmly on the riding, but they can tell you what they don’t like. My job is to make it work. Custom fitting the pro’s gear is how you get the new fits, see new trends taking hold and be
part of the evolution of the sport from the coal face.

It is our racing roots that drives us, the passion of the underdog to take on the big guys and beat them from the bike seat, not the board room. Royal has always, and always will be, by riders for riders. The development is constant. Fabrics improve, racing takes on new shapes, bikes evolve, demands keep changing, new extremes are pushed.

I’ll be here making new gear, listening to our riders, tweaking and changing and creating products that improve our lives spent on bikes.”