behind
the bikes

.a devotion to a better riding experience

.Riders .designers .innovators .Friends

Proudly founded in New Zealand, Zerode has grown out of a devotion to a better riding experience. It is a combination of many years experimenting with bike designs and years aboard them testing, developing and refining - all on the world renowned trails in Rotorua, New Zealand. But at the heart of Zerode, we're a group of riding friends dedicated to making riding better for mountain bikers.

rob metz - founder

"Engineering isn’t so much a career as a calling for me. Growing up I spent my time designing and building everything from radio control gliders, yachts, and surfboards to telescopes. While studying Mechanical Engineering at the University of Auckland I was introduced to mountain biking, and with a background in BMX it wasn’t long before I was representing New Zealand in downhill, exploring our back country, and questioning the latest thinking in mountain bike design."

ali quinn - director

"After a chance meeting with Rob in the forest in early 2015, and a five minute ride on his Zerode bike, I knew the future of mountain biking. I can still close my eyes and remember that first run - along Under Billy across the road into Sesame Street and down to the shuttle - the bike was silent, it floated and for five minutes I was a faster and smoother rider. The addiction of suddenly being better at something I love doing was real and it was the hardest thing to give Rob back his prototype."

Hugo Wals - Europe

Based in the Netherlands, Hugo is responsible for Zerode's activities in Europe. Mountain biking has been Hugo's passion since the early nineties. "A lot of great things come together in our sport: physical exercise, riding technique, being together with friends, beautiful nature, cool equipment and adrenaline. The difference between mountain bikes of today and those of the nineties is huge and the developments have contributed enormously to what you can do with a bike and how much fun you have on it."

Jorrit Wijsen - workshop, jack of all trades

We once approached Jorrit because he has such a great riding style. Less than a week after he received his bike, things turned out to be brewing and an employment contract was signed. Jorrit is jack of all trades in the European team, mainly active in creating cool builds.

Louis Diomede - Dealer sales France

Louis is your point of contact if you run a bicycle shop in France.

Louis has been riding bikes forever: Road, touring, gravel, whatever it is, he is a fan! His main focus has been Mountain bikes for more than half his life now.

"Since I got my Katipo more than three years ago, I've been blown away by the durability of not just the drivetrain but the whole package! It's been my race weapon and daily driver all around Europe and hasn't let me down."

Pascal van Montfort - Wheel building

Pascal, team member of the European team, is a biker from the very beginning of mountain biking for whom the sport plays an important role in life too. Not only has he been riding for so long, he also has many years of experience as a mechanic. Always aware of the latest developments and driven to understand every technical detail. No wonder. He's an engineer.

Lewis parkinson - workshop, jack of all trades

Lewis hails from Wellington, where there's a super cool mix of urban space and steep techy trails all set in a small area. This cool mix had a big influence on Lewis and his outlook on riding, work and being able tio take up any challenge put in front of him. He's an absolute shredder, incredible mechanic/photographer/problem solver and all-round integral part of our team.

phil boorman - marketing

Living just up the road from Rotorua, Phil bought a Taniwha a few years ago, and was so stoked on how it transformed his riding, he made it his mission to harrass the Zerode team to let him work for the company. They gave in eventually and he's now a happy man. Phil came to us from the mountain bike tourism industry, having founded and operated New Zealand's premier multi-day tour operator - New Zealand Mountain Biking.