Achielle began in 1946 with none other than a man named Achiel, who started a bicycle shop in the small town of Zwevezele, near the historic town of Brugge.
From the very start in 1946, Achiel made many of his own bikes himself, including welding the frames! He got so good at this that he began producing frames for local bicycle shops, to the point where he decided to close his shop and make bicycles full time.
In 1963, having established a reputation for quality frame production and one of Europe's finest paint shops, Achiel began producing bikes on contract for many Dutch companies. Chances are good that if you see an old bike still operating in Amsterdam, it was made by Achielle.
In the late 90's, something big started happening in the Dutch bike industry. Small companies were swallowed by bigger companies, and these bigger companies, motivated by profits over local jobs (and quality), moved their frame production to China.
Achielle soldiered on. They refused offers from big companies and continued to mitre raw steel tubes, turning them into finely crafted frames; and finishing these frames with famously durable finishes. With over seventy years making bikes, Achielle continues to be a family business, producing bikes under their grandfathers name.
