About Us

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poqo (/ poco /) is the brainchild of co-founders Nico Whittlesey and Derek Cheng, avid cycling enthusiasts with many years over two wheels. In 2018 Nico, a Marin County mountain biker turned SF urban cyclist with a passion for rolling on 26 inch wheels, started dabbling into a new category. As was vogue at the time (and still is), Nico decided to throw a set of drop bars on his 90s Specialized StumpJumper in an attempt at finding a more aero riding position for long form mixed terrain riding. This eventually led him down a rabbit hole browsing Retrobike and Sheldon Brown learning about the origins of drop bar bikes on dirt––sinking his teeth into the lore around the Bridgestone XO series and the Specialized RockCombo. 

In a search for modern features like carbon fiber and hydraulics, Nico later built-up a couple of modern gravel bikes, but struggled with bike fit. He tried smaller frames and shorter cranks, which helped a bit, but it took a lot of saddle set-back to feel comfortable, making his handlebars feel far away and his lower back ache. Then in a stroke of bad luck Nico’s Outer Richmond garage was broken into, the modern gravel bikes were gone, never to be returned. Weeks later in a lightning strike of good luck, Nico’s brother sent him a Craigslist ad for a 1989 Specialized RockCombo, and drove down to Fremont that night to get it––learning that the owner (Tony) had purchased the bike from a long gone bike shop on Market Street 30 years earlier. 

A full restoration resulted in a fantastic riding machine that made Nico think that the whole industry had lost its way. Months later, a PT bike fit put him (5’7) on a pair of 155mm cranks to accommodate for a hitherto undiagnosed knee injury, cracking open a door of learning about what proportional crank length actually meant in a world where 165mm cranks were considered rare. The RockCombo’s classical 73 degree seat-tube angle meant that the days of having a set-back saddle were in the past. And, although a short Nitto stem was needed to compensate for the long-and-low design (common at the time), the traditional 72 degree headtube angle actually made the bike handle fantastic on tarmac and dirt.

After taking the RockCombo everywhere, Nico decided that it was time to take everything that made him loyal to the “original gravel bike” and bring it into the modern era with a twist––sensing that his experience may be shared by others, and more acutely for even smaller riders, the idea of a bike brand giving classic geometry to riders under 5’9 was born. 

Nico linked up with his friend Derek (5’8), a savant designer, staple of the LA cycling scene, and roadie with a penchant for the high-end charcuterie of road bikes, and track bikes. After sharing that he had been sold short by the bike industry (no pun intended)––that bike design often focuses on the middle size (~56CM), and that related decisions around wheel, fork and crank dimensions cause little harm as bikes get bigger, but actually result in design compromises that can hurt riders at the smaller end of the range––Derek’s creative juices started to flow. 

The result, a company name and logo that tells the world that poqo’s bikes are made proportional for riders under 5’9, because they deserve a bike that is without compromise. Rider’s should choose poqo because proportional = power, proportional = efficiency, proportional = comfort, proportional = longevity, and proportional = fun!