Spherik: the Quebec bike brand that bet on the product

You have probably ridden past a Spherik on a bike path or on a snowy trail without knowing much about where the brand came from. Spherik is a Quebec bike brand, in business since 2013: the bikes are designed here, assembled in Canada, and the company is based in the Quebec City area.

What sets Spherik apart has never been an advertising campaign. It is a way of building a bike. The designers come from the industry, they spend a lot of time in the saddle, and from day one the brand has been chasing the same balance: the quality and performance you actually need, without the price premium that usually comes with it. Here is where Spherik comes from, what the brand builds today, and who each model is for.

On its performance models, Spherik works the ratio between weight, stiffness and efficiency.

Where does Spherik come from?

The initial push came from Magma Développement, a Quebec company founded in 2010 by Réjean Gosselin, who was behind the creation of the brand. Spherik took off in 2013, then grew in steps, never in leaps.

At the heart of the project there is above all one man: Dominique Faure, a former racer, designer and co-owner of Spherik — the one Vélo Mag describes as "the father of the Spherik bikes." He is the one who draws the bikes. The business model has not moved since the early days either: one store in Quebec City, and a network of retailers elsewhere in Quebec and Canada.

Designed in Quebec, assembled in Canada: the brand has kept the same model since 2013.

Design expertise, not just a logo

This is probably the least understood part of the brand. Behind Spherik bikes there are nine years of work at Time, the French manufacturer known for its mastery of carbon — so a real familiarity with computer-aided design tools and with every stage of frame development. Add to that thousands of kilometres logged by the designers on every type of bike, and 24 years of racing.

Thousands of kilometres in the saddle and 24 years of racing behind every design decision.

The brand also works with outside consulting firms to validate its designs rather than keeping everything in house. The result is a product philosophy that is easy to sum up, and one that Spherik claims for itself: what you need, and nothing more. No component added to pad a spec sheet, no decorative technology — useful performance, on the parts that genuinely change something once you are riding.

"What you need, and nothing more." — Spherik

The fat bike, the launch pad

Spherik did not start by taking on the road market head-on. The brand did the opposite: it picked a fast-growing category, the fat bike, and built a reputation there before going anywhere else. It was a smart bet. A fat bike is judged on concrete criteria — grip, control, reliability in deep cold — and it does not forgive half measures.

With that reputation earned, Spherik expanded step by step: wheels, then road, mountain, city bikes and electric assist. Today the brand covers just about every kind of riding. If that range interests you, our review of the Spherik SF6 goes into detail on one specific model.

The fat bike is what built the brand's reputation — and it is not only for the trails.

Recognition from the outside

A brand speaking well of itself is not proof of anything. Independent testing is another matter. Protégez-Vous tested 24 electric-assist bikes, including several models from Quebec brands, and Spherik came out with two results: the SES was named "Best Choice" in 2025 and again in 2026, and the SE1 received a value-for-money recognition in 2026.

Both models are electric city bikes built for daily life rather than for performance. In the public Protégez-Vous listing, the SES is measured at 27.1 kg (59.7 lb), with a 500 W Bafang rear hub motor with a cadence sensor, a 720 Wh battery and a measured range of 75 km at an average of 25 km/h. Those are the numbers of an unapologetic city bike: heavy, self-sufficient, built to carry someone and their things every day without a second thought.

Electric city bikes like the SES and the SE1 are aimed at the daily commute before performance.

Today's Spherik: weight as an obsession

The other end of the range tells a completely different story. On its performance models, Spherik has moved to the Maxon Bikedrive Air drive system, a compact unit designed to disappear into the bike. The E-SRD, the brand's electric road bike, comes in at 11.2 kg (24.7 lb) on a Toray T-700 carbon frame, with a 250 Wh battery expandable to 500 Wh — meaning a range of 100 km, or 200 km with the second battery.

For reference: that is the weight of a carbon road bike with no motor at all. And that is exactly the brand's argument.

"We estimate that 80% of people hesitate to buy an electric-assist mountain bike because such a machine is simply too heavy. Our bikes behave like traditional bikes, with a motor on top. And of course you can pedal without any help from the drive system."

— Dominique Faure, designer and co-owner of Spherik, in an interview with Vélo Mag (translated from French)

That is where the brand's current work sits: the ratio between weight, stiffness and efficiency, with high-end materials and a philosophy built around low weight.

On the road, the brand is after one sensation: a bike you stop noticing underneath you.

What hasn't changed

The brand image has evolved, the range has widened, the drive systems have been refined. The through line has stayed the same since 2013: designing relevant, well-thought-out bikes suited to the reality of riders here — long winters, frozen trails, country roads and city commutes in the November rain.

That through line is written into the name itself. Spherik comes from "sphere": rotation, momentum, continuity — movement that does not stop. A simple image, and really the only thing a bike asks of you: keep going. Go a little further, discover something, move in your own way.

Which leaves the question that actually matters: for whom? Here too, the answer has not moved since the beginning — making innovation and quality accessible to as many people as possible. A great bike should not be reserved for one category of cyclists, or for those with the biggest budget. The same design standards run through the entire range, from the bike for a first adventure to the one built to push your limits. What changes from one model to the next is the level of equipment — never the care that went into the bike.

Movement made accessible to everyone: the phrase mostly describes bikes you actually want to take out.

That is what Spherik sums up in one line: movement made accessible to everyone. Or put another way: no matter your budget, you have every right to be riding a Spherik.

The Spherik range at a glance

Model	Type of bike	Who it is for
SF4+	Fat bike	Riding through winter, soft trails and difficult terrain with maximum traction
SMH2	Hardtail mountain bike	Getting into trail riding simply, on a first mountain bike
SEU 3000 Step-Through	Electric city bike	Daily commuting, low step-through frame, claimed range of up to 95 km
SE1	Electric city bike	Comfort first: suspension fork, full accessory package, 500 W hub motor
SES	Electric city bike	The model tested by Protégez-Vous — big battery, heavy use
E-SRD	Electric road bike	Keeping the feel of a carbon road bike, with assistance held in reserve

Frequently asked questions

Are Spherik bikes made in Quebec?

Spherik is a Quebec brand: design, industrial design and product development happen here, and the bikes are assembled in Canada. As with the vast majority of bike brands worldwide, frames and components come from international suppliers. What is genuinely local is the ownership of the brand, the engineering and the spec choices.

How does a Spherik compare to a big brand?

That is the question everyone asks, and the answer comes down to positioning. Spherik spends little on international sponsorships and pro teams, and reinvests that margin into components. At an equal budget, you generally get a drivetrain, brakes or a fork one notch above what a big brand would give you. In exchange, you give up the resale value of a globally recognized name. If you keep your bikes a long time and ride more than you resell, the trade-off clearly favours Spherik.

Which Spherik should you choose for winter riding?

The fat bike, without hesitation — it is the category that made the brand. The SF4+ runs 27.5-inch Terrene tires and an 11-speed Shimano Deore drivetrain, with a dropper post for technical descents. For hard-packed and groomed trails, a hardtail mountain bike like the Spherik SMH2 also does the job, as long as you accept less float in fresh snow.

Does a Spherik electric bike need special maintenance?

Yes, but nothing exotic. An assisted bike weighs more and puts down more torque than a regular bike: the chain, the cassette and especially the brake pads wear faster. The battery should be kept indoors over the winter, charged between 40 and 80% if you are not riding. Our mechanics take care of electric bike servicing at all six of our stores.

Where can you see a Spherik bike in Quebec?

Bicycles Quilicot carries Spherik bikes in store and online. Availability varies by model and size — the simplest thing is to browse the range online, or write to us to find out what is in store right now.

In short

Spherik is one of the few Quebec bike brands to have gone the distance, and it did so by taking the slowest route: one product at a time, one category at a time, never promising more than the bike could deliver. Thirteen years later, the range runs from the winter fat bike to an 11 kg electric road bike, and the original reasoning has not moved an inch.

If you are looking for a bike that gives you a lot for what it costs, and the resale value of a big name matters less to you than what is actually bolted onto it, the brand is worth a real look.