Robert has a wealth of cycling knowledge gathered from over 50 years’ involvement in the sport.
He began cycling in Hawke’s Bay in the 1960s and reached elite level on the road and track during the amateur era, winning national titles and representing New Zealand at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games. He also competed in tours around Australia and New Caledonia as a member of the New Zealand Road Team.
In 1982, after living in Wellington for several years, Robert returned to Hawke’s Bay and decided to combine his passion for cycling with his professional skills as a mechanic and purchased The Hub Cycle Centre with his wife Brenda.
Robert and Brenda focused their attention on developing cycling in Hawke’s Bay by running the Ramblers club during the 1980s and 1990s. With the support of a great team of people, the club grew to become the biggest cycling club in New Zealand. Robert was also part of the visionary group that set up the inaugural Tour of The Bay, now in its 22nd year.
Robert has also competed in triathlon, duathlon, cross-country running, marathons and mountain biking events over the years. Today Robert is a veteran of the sport and is still an avid cyclist. When not at the shop he can be found clocking up the kilometres on the road.
In recent years, Robert has ridden from Spain into Switzerland over the Swiss Alps and has completed many other major climbs in the Pyrenees. He is also lucky enough to have visited the headquarters of Specialized in the USA to see first-hand the research and development behind its bikes and products.
‘Ollie’ as he is affectionately known, has always had one goal in mind and that’s to introduce people to cycling so they can get as much out of the sport as he has since he was young.
Tony
Tony began working for The Hub in 1987, first after school, then fulltime until Design School in Wellington beckoned, where he studied Interior and Industrial Design for six years. Tony worked for eight years as a Commercial Furniture Designer / Project Manager and since he rejoined us in 2005, these design skills shine through when building and restoring bikes in our workshop.
Tony began racing with Ramblers at age 13 and has participated in road and mountain biking, duathlon, triathlon and cyclocross since then.
Tony also has an amazing collection of vintage road bikes, some of which have featured in magazines in both New Zealand and Australia.
Dean
Dean, Ollie’s son, grew up surrounded by bikes and racing and competed throughout his youth. He worked Summers at The Hub while studying Economics and Finance at University. After a season snowboarding in Wanaka where he gained his instructors licence he spent the next 10 years living abroad. Making the pilgrimage to the famed cobbled classic Paris - Roubaix and watching the World Cup Downhill at Fort William were top cycling highlights.
Dean established a career in media as an editor, photo researcher and in licensing at two top editorial and creative photo agencies in London, Dublin and Sydney. Then in 2011 Dean settled back in Hawke’s Bay to become part of the family business. He rides mountain, gravel and the pathways.