In the shell of an old Clarks Shoes factory, at the very foot of the Duddon Valley - you will find the birthplace of impact protection experts, Rockstop.
Perfectly situated beside the heart of Cumbria’s Lake District, Rockstop is fortunate to be within earshot of the (probably) piss-wet through bikers whom they aim to please. Not only providing the perfect testing ground, but also aiding in a transparent dialogue between those doing the making, and those doing the using. This is clearly what has branded Rockstop onto the consciousness of its many early adopters and champions.
Started in 1988 by chemist mastermind and top dog, Mike Stables, Urofoam initially started cutting its teeth making tennis balls for Dunlop. Since then it’s been a weird ride of stressballs, sports equipment, cinema seating, engine covers, medical chairs, playground areas, earplugs for horses (yes, really) footwear and so much more.
This in-depth understanding of polyurethane foam and some insane optimism, egged on by local riders, Rockstop was born. Dragged along kicking and screaming by Cat Stables (Mike’s daughter), Cat has brought the impact protection specialists to the very forefront of the biking community.
After careful, inebriated discussions with the team over at Grizedale defectors, Lakes Leisure, Cat has spent the last three years, including through a global pandemic (did you not know?), digging Rockstop’s trail.
Developing three staple MTB protection products, Frameguard, Rim Protector, and Chainguard, Cat and Mike have taken Rockstop onto the international market, signing with distributors such as Extra in the UK, to Unsprung in Singapore.
I wanted to catch up with her to see how she was, how she takes her coffee, and what the future holds for the brand:
Perfectly situated beside the heart of Cumbria’s Lake District, Rockstop is fortunate to be within earshot of the (probably) piss-wet through bikers whom they aim to please. Not only providing the perfect testing ground, but also aiding in a transparent dialogue between those doing the making, and those doing the using. This is clearly what has branded Rockstop onto the consciousness of its many early adopters and champions.
Started in 1988 by chemist mastermind and top dog, Mike Stables, Urofoam initially started cutting its teeth making tennis balls for Dunlop. Since then it’s been a weird ride of stressballs, sports equipment, cinema seating, engine covers, medical chairs, playground areas, earplugs for horses (yes, really) footwear and so much more.
This in-depth understanding of polyurethane foam and some insane optimism, egged on by local riders, Rockstop was born. Dragged along kicking and screaming by Cat Stables (Mike’s daughter), Cat has brought the impact protection specialists to the very forefront of the biking community.
After careful, inebriated discussions with the team over at Grizedale defectors, Lakes Leisure, Cat has spent the last three years, including through a global pandemic (did you not know?), digging Rockstop’s trail.
Developing three staple MTB protection products, Frameguard, Rim Protector, and Chainguard, Cat and Mike have taken Rockstop onto the international market, signing with distributors such as Extra in the UK, to Unsprung in Singapore.
I wanted to catch up with her to see how she was, how she takes her coffee, and what the future holds for the brand:
I think there was beer involved! We’re in a great location in the Lake District for some seriously hardy riders with absolute BOS to test our products. We chuck product at them to test and they deliver honest feedback, there’s no point developing products that add no real value to real riders so being able to pop down and see them has been instrumental. Our community of riders and testers is growing all around the world now which opens up more opportunities for product ideas and testing grounds.
When we first looked at developing the Rim Protector, we did a copy of the leading tyre insert at the time because we didn’t really know what the rider wanted or how it was supposed to work, and quite frankly it was utter garbage! It was difficult to fit, it took on sealant, it sliced all over the place, it was heavy, the rolling resistance was hilarious... the list went on.
Oddly, this helped inform us on what we could do differently. So we chose a different material that was tougher but more flexible, then we talked to riders and discovered most of them didn’t want to notice it during a ride, which helped us design the low profile geometric design we have now.
For us as designers and engineers, we have to apply some sensible logic and first principles (which we most definitely didn’t do in our first effort)! Secondly, it’s about riders testing and listening to their feedback, then making adjustments. It’s a challenge because sometimes there’s an easier solution, but a rider will turn round and say “yeah but it makes my bike look shit”, so we have to come up with an alternative - the fastening tabs on Frameguard instead of straps around the frame spring to mind!
In all honesty, the products. We’ve manufactured all sorts of noise reduction/impact absorbing parts for many different applications but they’ve usually been a component part of something else, so it was great to have a go at designing a retail product that involved lots of visits to local Lake District stores for advice, and it sparked an interest.
I live in the Lake District and I’m usually out and about on the fells or paddleboarding so it seemed like a no-brainer to have a go. My general riding position is squint, hold on tight and hope for the best - it’s mostly worked for me so far!
We’ll be at a few including Ardrock and Tweedlove which were both really successful last year. Ardrock had a great vibe and my kids had a blast trading all our merch for everyone else’s merch! We’d run out of our yellow boomerangs by the Saturday though, so they will be on a strict diet of whatever merch we decide on this year!
Our online engagement is 90% male, and at a trade show recently I felt like an endangered species, so there’s no escaping the minority bubble I find myself in. However, it’s the products that really do the talking, I’ve been surrounded by polyurethane foam since I was 10 years old so my explanation of it and its abilities is what people will take away first. But I’ve experienced a really friendly, warm, and supportive welcome into this industry and I’ve also met some amazing women who are doing lots for the promotion of women in the sport.