Rider owned since 1972

Meet the men behind Curtis Bikes

Brian Curtis

Founder

Brian Curtis was a prominent 1960s motocross rider, known for his smooth style and pristine white racing shirt. After perfecting his frame-building skills at Rickman Motorcycles, he left to establish Curtis Bikes in 1972.

He initially focused on producing the highly sought-after Curtis Honda 500. His reputation for meticulous craftsmanship grew so quickly that motocross giant Yamaha commissioned him to hand-build two hundred 500cc bikes, a massive achievement for a one-man workshop.

Gary Woodhouse

Master Framebuilder

Beyond racing for the factory team and performing freestyle demonstrations, Gary worked in the workshop alongside Brian, learning the art of brazing and taking on the fun job of chief test pilot for new models. He took over the running of the company in 1996, with Brian continuing to braze every frame by hand until his retirement in 2023.

Gary over the years:

A brief timeline of events

1960s

Brian Curtis was a very famous motocross rider back in the sixties. He started off his frame building with Rickmans – quite a big motocross brand in the day – and worked for various other companies until he started making his own Curtis Honda motocross bikes. They used Honda running gear but his own frame and swinging arm. He got quite well known for that. He even ended-up being commissioned by Yamaha to make 200 500CC Yamahas – that was a big deal for one man who worked in a small workshop and made everything by hand!

1970s

In 1972, Curtis Bikes is officially founded. Brian steps out of the pit and into the workshop, crafting custom frames to the exact standards he demanded as a rider.

1980s

Curtis expands into BMX, setting new standards for strength and performance. Our frames become synonymous with top-tier racing and unbreakable durability.

1990s

Steve (X-Man) Grace, Curtis factory rider at the 1997 X-Games.

2000s

Whilst continuing to build racing bmx and dirt jump frames, Curtis Bikes became involved in the ever growing mountain bike world. Producing 4X Downhill and dirt jump frames

2010s

Embracing modern geometry while keeping the soul of our classic builds. Curtis frames merge the traditional handbuilt approach with cutting-edge ride dynamics.
Curtis Factory Pilot Graham Stanley, rode his Racelite 24 in the UCI World Championships at Baku, Azerbaijan 2018.