About Zolla
Built by riders who race
A small UK wheel company started by ultra-endurance racers who couldn’t find wheels built for the way they ride.
Why we started
A gap in the market
We’re a UK company and our wheels are hand-built by expert builders with many years’ experience. As bikepackers and ultra racers ourselves, we test every wheel across all surfaces and conditions, and spec it for the riding it’s designed for.
Zolla was set up to address a gap in the market. Most carbon wheels sell on headlines: fractions of a watt of aerodynamic advantage at 45km/h, or a few grams of weight saving. For us, strength and build quality come first, while keeping the vast majority of the weight and aero advantage a carbon rim can offer.
We prioritise high-quality materials and exceptional build strength ahead of chasing margins or funding marketing budgets. We mostly sell directly to riders, which keeps our prices down, and we work with a small number of bike shops and brands that share our ethos.
What we stand for
Four things we won’t compromise on
Strength over headlines
We’d rather you finish than save three grams. Every spec decision starts with “will it still be true after 2,000km of this?”
Handbuilt, start to finish
One experienced builder laces, tensions, trues and checks each wheelset. No production line, no shortcuts.
Direct, not dealer-priced
Selling direct means the money goes into Trailmech hubs and Sapim spokes rather than a distributor’s margin or an ad campaign.
Support for the long haul
A five-year warranty, spares for every wheel we’ve built, and real humans on the end of an email who have fixed a wheel in a lay-by at 3am.
The story so far
From a prototype on Etna to the Transcontinental
- 2019First prototypes raced to second place at the Two Volcano SprintThe 1,100km dash from Vesuvius to Etna became our test bed
- 2021Zolla launchesWins at 1000.si, The Perfidious Albion and Two Volcano Sprint in the first season, plus Donnie Campbell’s Badger Divide FKT
- 2022Every wheelset renamed after a Ukrainian cityIn solidarity with our hub partner Trailmech in Poltava; £100 from each wheelset donated to Ukraine relief. Top-ten finishes at the Transcontinental and Race Through Poland
- 2023Poltava 29er launched, GBDURO wonA Trans Balkan podium on the very first Poltava set, Donnie Campbell’s GBDURO victory on Dnipros, and a Blaenau 600 win and men’s FKT on Odesas
- 2024Zolla Wheels Limited incorporatedSecond place at Classics Story over the bergs and cobbles of the Northern Way; customers finish Transcontinental No10 on Dnipro wheels
- 2025Kyiv wheels across the Three Peaks Bike Race2,200km through Europe’s hardest mountain terrain, a Transcontinental No11 finish for Mark Kowalski, and more Zolla wheels at GranGuanche and the Wild West Country
- 2026A world record and still rollingMark Kowalski rides through 21 countries in seven days, plus Atlas Mountain Race, Kromvojoj, Trans Pyrenees and Transcontinental No12 finishes, all on Zolla wheels
The team
Three people, a lot of miles
Andrew Phillips
After years in the bike industry and tours across several continents, Andrew began ultra-endurance racing in 2019 and immediately set about designing the right wheels for the job, which led to Zolla. He has since won The Perfidious Albion and Two Volcano Sprint and raced the Transcontinental, Trans Balkan and Atlas Mountain Race on his own wheels. He is also a race director for Lost Dot.
@thenight_train
Rob Gardiner
Former world record holder for the fastest crossing of Europe from south to north, Rob races on all surfaces, with a Blaenau 600 win and FKT and a Classics Story podium on Zolla wheels. When he’s not working on the website or testing the latest build, he’s out recceing routes for The Perfidious Albion events or tracking riders with Follow My Challenge.
@robgardinercyclist
Tristan Brown
With a background in aerospace engineering and stress testing, Tristan is exactly who you want building wheels that have to last. An experienced builder and a natural perfectionist, he builds every wheelset to the same exacting standard, and measures it to prove it.
@lintosaurus_rex
How we work
Direct to you, built to order
Buy from the shop and your wheels are built for you, not pulled from a shelf. Choose your freehub, axle standard and rotor mount at checkout, or email us for anything out of the ordinary: dynamo hubs, odd spacings, a single replacement wheel.
We also supply a handful of shops, framebuilders and events that share our outlook. If that’s you, see who we work with and get in touch.