Former Namibian Olympian cyclist Dan Craven last week broke new ground by launching the first 32-inch bicycle in Africa.
Craven who launched Onguza Bicycles, which operates out of Omaruru four years ago, introduced his new range of bicycles at a function in Windhoek last Thursday.
His range includes the new oversize wheel standard emerging in the mountain bike and gravel cycling markets.
“I believe the 32-inch bicycles are the future in Namibia. It’s brand new on the cycling scene, and it’s taking off in the world. It’s still early days but because we are small, we can adapt quickly, and we can bring this out before the big companies can and in essence, a bigger wheel means that you don’t sink into corrugation or holes so much. So a rough road will become smoother on a bigger wheel and for anyone doing the Desert Dash, a 32-inch bicycle just makes so much sense,” he told The Namibian Sport.
The bike was built in collaboration with King Price Insurance, who’s CEO Braam Vermeulen said Craven was making a name for Namibia in the international arena.
“When we started out 10 years ago people said you are crazy, but building bikes from your own backyard is another level of craziness. But that is where our values align – our credo is in Namibia for Namibians and so we really push the Namibian agenda and we are supporting someone who really raises Namibia’s flag at an international level,” he said.
At Thursday’s launch, Craven paid respect to three master builders Sakeus Mufenge, Petrus Mufenge and Sackaria Nkolo who design Onguza’s bicycles.
“These bikes have been built by hand by Sakeus, Petrus and Sakaria. They use tubes that come from Milan, Italy and take a hacksaw and a file and cut them so long until they fit perfectly together. They then use an oxygen acetylene torch in 900 degrees Celsius and melt brass – metal and heat are not friends, but if you know what you are doing, if the preparation work is good and the attention to detail with the heat is good, you’re going to get a product that is straight at the end of the day, and with a bicycle, you want our wheels to be straight. And this all happened because I grew up with Sakeus and Petrus working for my family and I know with every cell in my body how amazing these gentlemen are,” he said.
“I’ve raced at two Olympic Games for Namibia; I’ve raced professionally in about 44 countries and at one time I was a professional cyclist who had raced in the most countries around the world, and the more I travelled, the more it irritated me that nothing comes from Namibia. So I had this crazy idea to start Onguza and these guys have now been with me since then, building bicycles with my family. So I think if we can build bicycles in Omaruru what else can we not do in this country,” he added.
Onguza recently received international acclaim when it won the best bicycle award at the prestigious Monocle Magazine Design Awards when their custom-built ‘Bliksem’ model was recognised for its functional elegance and bespoke finishes.
“Meticulously constructed and with every model custom finished for its rider, this bike proves that keeping people at the centre of a process can put you ahead of the peloton,” Monocle said in its May edition.
Craven said it was a great honour.
“Monocle is basically the top design magazine globally and it’s sold all over the world. They recently had their best 2026 design awards and we won the award for the best bicycle design. We didn’t even know it was happening, it came out of the blue, and it’s just so amazing to be recognised globally like that,” he said.
Since launching Onguza four years ago Craven said the company had made big inroads.
“The company still needs to grow more but it is growing and it is improving, and we’re getting the name and the word out there. We have bicycle shops in London, New York and Amsterdam and we have customers in Beijing, Copenhagen, London, New York, Berlin, Munich and Switzerland,” he said. “So we have global customers desiring a product made by hand in Namibia. and I really believe that if we can build bicycles in Omaruru that are sold in New York City, what can we not do in Namibia – the sky is the limit,” he added.
