About us
Spirit of the Bear
Otso is the spirit of the bear in Finnish mythology, the most important, revered, and respected animal of all. Otso is the noble king of the forest and a symbol of strength and courage. The bear spirit is also a relative, an ethereal forest cousin or brother. He can be seen in the freezing snow and blowing leaves or the bright sunshine and moonlit skies of the wilderness. On forest trails, gravel roads, or city streets, an Otso bike will inspire you to achieve your best in whatever way you ride.
Company Genesis
There are so many bike companies already; why start another one? The short answer is because we wanted bikes that did not exist. Most people would just keep dreaming and hoping somebody would make their ideal bike someday. But if you are the (slightly) crazy mechanical engineers and innovators from Wolf Tooth, you start a new bike company and spend every free minute making those bikes a reality.
It sounded easy when we were first brainstorming over a couple of beers. Then we quickly learned that it takes a ton of work to do it right. We had to become experts in many areas including: carbon molding, stainless steel tube welding, investment casting, and ISO fatigue testing, just to name a few. Along the way, we developed a new patent-pending adjustable dropout system and frame design.
The results of our efforts were two groundbreaking new bikes: a fat-capable narrow Q factor bike that feels like a nimble trail bike and is equally fun to ride in snow and dirt, and a drop-bar bike that transcends all the usual labels and is a joy to ride everywhere from gravel to CX to your favorite urban singletrack.
That was 2016. We've since launched a suspension-corrected steel gravel bike in the Waheela S, a carbon version that can clear 700c x 53mm tires in the Waheela C, and a titanium version of the Warakin that is now the Warakin Ti. There is also the Fenrir Ti and Fenrir Stainless bikepacking/touring machines, and the Arctodus fat bike in steel and titanium that was designed for winter exploration. More bikes are on the way.
Otso is focused on bringing new and innovative ideas to the bike industry and so far we’re pretty damn proud of the results. All of our test riders are amazed by these bikes, and you will be too from the very first ride to the last mile of an epic race. Enjoy the adventure!
Who is Otso Cycles?
Mike Pfeiffer – Mechanical Engineer, product development
Brendan Moore – Mechanical Engineer, operations manager
Dan Dittmer – Mechanical Engineer, creative director
Chris Fisher – Inside sales, assembly, shipping
Rebecca Rosemeier – Graphic design
Kurt Stafki – Marketing Director
Mike Pederson – Sales Director
Kyle Alviani – Mechanical Engineer, product development
Chelsea Strate – Brand Manager
Zac Heinen – Operations, shipping
Matt Gagnon – Assembly, shipping
Trevor Clayton – Sales, customer service
Theo Halvorson – Assembly, shipping
Andrew Nepsund – Marketing Manager
Zane Miller – Inventory, sales, customer service, events
Contact Us
Address:
Otso Cycles
3100 West Park Dr
Burnsville, MN, USA, 55306
Email: sales@otsocycles.com
Dealer Inquires: sales@otsocycles.com
Media: media@otsocycles.com
Phone: 855-965-3284