“Motorsport is the perfect environment to improve your products” says Yogesh Mahansaria, founder and managing director, Reise Moto

Reise Moto, the manufacturer of premium motorcycle tyres, accessories and apparel recently unveiled its TraceRad range of premium steel radial tyres in India. On the sidelines of the unveil, we also had a conversation with Yogesh Mahansaria, founder and managing director, Reise Moto.

When asked about the company’s performance in 2024, Mahansaria said, “I think it was a very interesting year. You have seen that Reise Moto is still a very young brand. On November 28, 2024, we celebrated two years of operation. So we are still very much in the journey of filling the foundation stones for the business. So I think 2022 and 2023 was really very much about, beginning to market tyres, and really emerging as the preferred tyre of the enthusiast, rider community and the motorsport community in India.” Mahansaria went on to add that, “In the middle of the year, we also started our first retail experience zone in Mumbai. And then you know in the last quarter, we launched our Reise brand and Reise x Spide brand apparel and also our radial tyres. So, I'd say 2024 was a very interesting year. I think we've taken good steps towards building the Reise program beyond just tyres, whilst continuing to build and strengthen our tyre portfolio.”

Reise has also continued to place a focus on its motorsport activities. Mahansaria said, “We had a team participate in the Indian Supercross league, which was very successful, for us and, you know, glad we could continue to support motorsport, not just through ISRL, but through a bunch of other activities throughout the year. You know, we continue with our training programs, under the Reise Academy. We also were able to build on the community aspect. We all work with Amit Sadh on a very interesting project.” Mahansaria adds, “I should not forget about IBW (India Bike Week), where we were one of the partners. And, I think we had a very, very successful show, you know, and what I liked very much about IBW was it was great to bring all of these products together on one platform for the engineers to see, engage, and interact with us. And, you know, not just not just the display of the products, but I think we were able to do many things that were very interesting for the community. You know, you could bring your jacket and get it personalized, with your name at a stand and so on and so forth. So I think all in all, we continue to be very excited by the love we are getting from the community, by all of the things that we are doing. I think it's very gratifying when the community recognizes us as a group partner who helps them, in their goals, right, enables their goals.”

The entire riding gear space in India is growing, thanks to greater awareness among people, and when we asked Mahansaria about his takeaway from the trend, he said, “One of our key takeaways in this game as we started without barriers in the market way back in 2022. And finally, that was the core driver for us to expand beyond track tyres. But the fact that the community was, was really hungry for good performance alternatives, at sensible price points. Look, quality always costs money, right? So I think if you are looking at the lowest price point, it is very hard to deliver, really international quality. But I think what the community has appreciated about us and what encourages us is the fact that we've been able to bring international quality at Indian pocket friendly prices, at sensible prices. And within that space, the community has been very hungry for alternatives.” Mahansaria also said that Reise is going to significantly expand its retail footprint. “In the first quarter, we are going to go from just one store in Mumbai, which has been very much appreciated because it's an international level of experience. We are expanding that. We have stores opening in Gurgaon, Bangalore, Chennai, Pune, and maybe some more in the latter half of the year, but we'll go from one store to five stores in the first quarter of 2025.”

Reise also announced its helmet program at IBW and Mahansaria said, “In the first quarter, we'll be starting, marketing the first service software helmet. And then through the first half, we'll be bringing more helmets both from the service as well as, our other international, brand partner, Nexx. We'll be bringing those products to India, certain high end models. Of course we will import from their manufacturing facilities in Europe. But others, we will have it manufactured in India under the technical supervision of our partners to ensure that, and these will all be ECE certified as well. So again, that whole theme, so we're very excited about the movement to the helmet space, which just like you said for tyre and gear, helmet is also a very critical component of safety.” The launch of the helmet program will take place in the first half of this year, as per Mahansaria. On the tyre side, he explained while Reise Moto currently has one tyre which meant for high speed driving, the radial program will be expanded to cover both on and off road tyres along with sports touring tyres.

Talking about the response to their physical retail outlet, Mahansaria said, “The response has been fantastic. You know, I mean, you know, my favorite story is about somebody actually flying in from Bangalore to come and shop at the store. I mean, you know, I think that to me was very gratifying because it showed that, you know, people recognize that this was truly international quality retailing. Otherwise, Bangalore had no shortage of retail stores for these sorts of products. So the feeling that they can get genuine and high quality products, motivating somebody to come from Bangalore and, you know, stop was very gratifying. I feel that in India, across all product lines, physical retail is very important. I think we are still very much used to going and seeing and comparing and feeling and trying before we buy. Right? And also in a high involvement category, like motorcycle gear, helmets, accessories. You know, these are very high involvement categories. Somebody buying the jacket is going to wear it and possibly go on a, you know, long ride. They need to make sure that, you know, they feel comfortable in it and so on and so forth. You know, and these are not low ticket purchases. Right? You know, a good jacket can cost you 5,000 to 10,000 rupees. A good helmet, you know, similarly can cost you that amount of money. So we also feel it's important that, you know, people can come and see the different alternatives and try. You know, we also offer a variety of customization options in our store where, again, we can put your name or logo or whatever you want, you know, store to give that greater sense of attachment to what you've just bought. So I'm personally a big believer in, in the need of physical retail in a country like India And more so in high involvement categories, you know, like this.”

Reise Moto had announced international partnerships with brands like such as Spidi, Ixon, Acerbis, Tucano Urbano, and while talking about their collaborative gear and the learnings from it, Mahansaria said, “When it comes to the international brands, the price points are different, and there is a finite market for that. So I think we've got good traction in that market segment. We believe the larger market in India always is going to be for Reise and the collaborated brands, which are offering that same level of design of knowhow of materials, but at a more pocket friendly price. Because what happens with the European brands is, you know, then they have their own overheads and cost structures, which pushes up the cost, as compared to when, we apply those learnings and get the gears directly to India. So I think that we've seen very good response to the international brands.”

When asked about the response to their tyres, the TraceRad in particular, Mahansaria said, “It's got very favorable reviews from all the people who have ridden it, who have used it so far. You know, in our mind, we never had any doubt that the tyre is gonna be very high quality because, you know, Mitas has been making radial tyres for a long period. We had all those learnings, and then we developed that tyre. We did extensive testing in India, in Europe, before we actually launched it. So the performance of the tyre is well appreciated. I think the sales had been stronger than I had anticipated, given that at this time, we have two sizes. The 110/70R17and 150/60R17. So the sales have been very good.” Mahansaria went on to add that the company goal for 2025 is to bring out a sports touring tyre. Speaking about the Dakar tyres, Mahansaria said, “Our partners, Mitas, have had riders racing in Dakar over the years. So we have a lot of the knowledge that was available to us from making those tires. Many of the tyres that the Mitas riders are racing are made in India. But what we thought is that, as we develop our own technical knowledge, you know, to build and see. All the Mitas knowledge is a great starting point for us. You know, India is a very specific country. The road conditions, vehicles, riding habits in India are very different from Europe. So we have our own research and development team here in India, which uses the Mitas knowledge as a starting point and then adopts those products for the Indian conditions.” Mahansaria went on to explain, “Motorsport is the perfect environment to improve your products all the time. If a product can meet that performance level, then you can be sure that you'll do great in real world conditions. So we took that as a challenge.”

Summarising Reise Moto’s plans for 2025, Mahansaria said, “On the tyre side, it's very much about building our radial program, with more patterns, more sizes so that we can meet all the needs of the market. As I said, again, on the tyre side, you'll see the first OE fitments in 2025. On the accessories side, we have the helmet program coming up, and we continue to build on the gear side of things. Retail is a big push this year, which we are going to do. And for the rest, we are gonna continue supporting the community. We are going to continue supporting motorsports, you know, and keep doing it. As I said, we are in our early stages, but again, all the love we are getting from the community just motivates us to work as hard as we can.”