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The forests in the Upper Palatinate are a dark realm. It used to be. Today, MTBers and gravelers power through the forest with lights like everywhere else and turn the trail into a catwalk in the spotlight. One of the reasons for this is someone who didn't want to come to terms with the darkness:
Winter 1989: we see dark Bavarian forests. No snow has fallen yet, the undergrowth is black and grey. Somewhere a wolf is prowling around, you can hear it howling. In the rare clearings, you can recognise tracks in the boggy ground. But mostly it is
simply too dark. From a distance, you can quickly hear excited voices approaching, the rattling of bicycle chains, then a curse.
Imagine the scenario before mountain bikers had access to lights that allowed them to really go for it in the deserted forests. And out of this situation, one mountain biker actually developed a light that completely silenced the swearing and turned the ride more and more into a flow - the wolf in the story, of all people. His surname is Koch, he is a trained stonemason and is therefore used to getting stuck in.
Lupine - wolf-like
When it comes to light for bikes, it's not about providing the brightest possible light, but rather the brightest possible light on the most homogeneous surface. "The lights on offer at the time had torch characteristics! A uniform, bright light surface? No way!" says Wolf Koch, one of the forest bikers. Just for the sake of completeness: even in those dark times, there was already a supplier from the USA who could deliver a product with better performance than the German standards - "but very expensive!" says Koch. The only hope: create something yourself! In an early lamp for video shoots, they finally found the right basis for this. Back then, the high-end light source was halogen. Koch and his mates set about developing a housing for this halogen bulb. It had to be turned from a single piece of aluminium. Boom, the costs hit: it wasn't feasible to make just a few for the MTB pack. It had to be at least 300 pieces for someone to start producing it and for it to be paid for somehow, albeit with a pained face. So a company had to be made out of it. Its name was obvious - at least for Wolf Koch: Lupine. Wolf-like, that's the translation.
The first prototypes showed that the thing was good! Now it was time to market it, because the money spent on it had to come in again! The resulting first model went under the name Pasubio - a tribute to the Italian mountain range with its 52 long, dark tunnels.
Bike lights from Lupine: Lots of lux - no luxury
Bicycle dealers had to be convinced to include such a lamp in their range. "400 marks for a lamp? They couldn't believe it," recalls Koch with a laugh. But the wolf can wait: In hindsight, he himself is amazed at his stamina. "Seven years of constant stress with the wife, seven years of the tax consultant saying over and over again: 'Your hobby is too expensive'!"
Why did he stick with it? "The career prospects as a stonemason were rather unpleasant. I thought: things can only get better! And of course you just keep at it because you believe in yourself." Finally, a momentous thought: perhaps it would be easier to start in Switzerland - the money is looser there, isn't it? And it worked: Koch eventually found his own importer for Switzerland. This was followed by one in England - "the best country for lamps anyway, always foggy, always twilight...". From then on, things went uphill, and one or two specialist retailers were also added in his own country.
Difference fanbase
Towards the end of the nineties, retailers in Germany were also convinced: OK, this is something. Long before that, however, the first representatives of the group that has helped to shape the company's image to this day had already emerged: the fans - who at the time were probably really only men. How do you get to them? "It was the focus on what was technically feasible," says Koch. And the company continues to focus on this in terms of performance, but also in terms of quality. The company is proud of its "300,000 happy regular customers! The customer has to be enthusiastic in the long term. That's the only way it works for us," says Wolf.
With their wide light cone and defined range, the lamps are perfectly designed for the intended use and do without small, extremely bright light points in the centre. "This actually makes our lamps rather difficult to market," says Koch. "You can't score points with pure numbers in this area." But with practice, and fans love that. They ensure that he, as Chief Developer, and his colleagues can keep pushing forward and always come up with something completely new. Pressure of expectation creates top performance. In 2019/20, for example, the Alpha - "the most powerful lamp in its class, 8,600 lumens!"; this is not without pride in his voice.
For comparison: a standard car headlight delivers around 2,000 lumens. Sheer power is not everything for Lupine, but in this case it is very effective advertising. Cost point? Around 1,100 euros. It's worth it for the fans, and less would not necessarily be more for the company's price calculation. After all, a lamp like this is also a status symbol. "If your mate says 'my lamp cost over 1,000 euros', that's better for his image than 'just under 1,000 euros'. Right?" asks Wolf. The company, which has been based in the new, elegantly purist headquarters in Neumarkt since 2018, can also "afford" an unusual costing concept.
This means something like: "We'll develop something new, and when we're finished, we'll see what it costs." This is otherwise only familiar from the luxury sector. But somehow the power lamp also belongs here. In an earlier product catalogue, the "Rotlicht" tail light is advertised as "the most expensive tail light in the world". On the other hand, "Made in Germany" with the corresponding customer expectations in terms of quality is not a low-price concept. In addition, the product must include a portion of the costs that cover possible services. Service that is not available elsewhere.
That's also our advantage: because we've been around for so long, we've been able to make a lot of mistakes and learn a lot from them. - Wolf Koch, Founder and Managing Director
15 basic models
Sustainability is already embedded in the product concept of robustness: the Betty light is a well-known classic that has been in the range for ages. The Lupine Piko is also now in its third generation. It works as a bicycle lamp, but also, when switched to diffuse light, as a reading lamp when camping. In general, most lamps are available with minor modifications as helmet, head and handlebar versions. There are currently 15 basic models in the catalogue. For years, many models have also had app control via Bluetooth. Various basic modes, such as for running and cycling, can be set and the power levels defined via mobile phone.
Of course, the Upper Palatinate was also affected by the supply chain problems of the coronavirus pandemic, albeit less than others. However, the reverse factor counted more: the bicycle boom of those years took sales of StVZO lamps, among other things, to a new level. Bike and e-bike manufacturers are buying more and more from Lupine. Lupine doesn't have it easy: "The lights are so complex and difficult that you need a lot of experience, even in production. But that's also our advantage: because we've been around for so long, we've been able to make a lot of mistakes and learn a lot from them," says the chief developer with a grin.
Finding suppliers is no longer difficult
In the centre of the large hall, the fitters stand at huge tables and build elegant lamps in sections. "Only the housings for the 'simpler' products come from China, otherwise most of them are made in Germany," says Koch. Except for a few fine details, which the chief developer attaches particular importance to. The small screws for the lamp covers, for example - they come from Japan, "from the supplier to Leica", he enthuses. Why these? "They also have the sockets for the Torx key coloured deep black!" Finding suppliers is no longer difficult for the Upper Palatinate company. But they are picky.
The LEDs themselves have always come from the American cult manufacturer Cree. They manage to get over 100 lumens from 1 watt of power, which is quite unique. Selected and particularly high-quality Osram LEDs from the automotive sector are used for the StVZO lamps. Lenses and reflectors are designed for the respective lamp together with the lens suppliers. This requires a technical simulation, which itself costs tens of thousands of euros. However, this is far better than scrapping finished products if the technical concept is not right. A new model takes one to two years to develop. But then it is often in the programme for decades, remember: sustainability is a must, and therefore longevity.
SL Grano with up to 900 lumens low beam
The last few years have also been quite eventful in terms of new luminaires. SL MonoThe first Lupine light with an integrated rechargeable battery was launched on the market with the introduction of the Lupine . It emits up to 700 lumens or 90 lux. It is charged via USB after a maximum of nine hours of lighting time.
In contrast, the Lichtwumme was developed completely from scratch Minimax AF with a full 2,400 lumens of high beam - more than many car headlights. The "entire width of the road" is illuminated from the front wheel onwards, says Wolf. This light engine can be conveniently controlled via Bluetooth remote control.
And the SL Grano with up to 900 lumens dipped beam has just been launched. It is based on the tried-and-tested SL Nano, specially adapted for gravel and road use. This means that the small headlight has an integrated battery and a GoPro mount milled into the aluminium housing for mounting under the bike computer. The Grano is aerodynamically optimised - which is very much the trend these days - and also has "smart functions", explains Wolf proudly, such as light control by sensor. The battery provides a full twelve hours of illumination in daytime running light mode.
Fast service
Nobody is treated as well by the people in the cool building in Neumarkt as the enthusiastic end customers. They know what they have in them. The willingness to provide service is great, and according to Koch - and also many entries in bike forums - the goodwill in the event of damage is enormous. "90 per cent of deliveries are sent out again on the same day," says the boss. A good 50,000 lights are sold each year, half of which are lights for cycling. Lupine is also popular with organisations such as mountain rescue services and the police. "That's also one of the reasons for our beautiful headquarters here," celebrates Wolf. "Customers like them expect a solid appearance. One that shows that you earn money with your product. Otherwise they get nervous." The barn in which Lupine produced for many years was probably much less image-boosting. And it would hardly have offered enough space on the roof for the enormous number of solar panels that Lupine has been using to charge all its batteries before shipping since 2021.
The lamp manufacturer has now reached a turnover of eleven to twelve million euros per year, with growth of at least ten per cent in each of the last few years. There are currently 35 employees scurrying through the halls, which are blessed with plenty of open space.
Today, the integration of products is also increasingly in demand from bike manufacturers. Example: Canyon Grizl:On. Two rear lights integrated into the rear triangle of the impressive Wolfsbau light up the e-gravel bike.
Facts and figures: Where are Lupine lamps manufactured?
- Foundation: 1989
- Headquarters: Neumarkt/Upper Palatinate
- Number of employees: 35, 18 of whom currently work in production
- Sales: approx. 60,000 lamps per year, of which around 48,000 are for bikes
- Floor space: approx. 2,200 square metres
- E-bike products: since 2017
- Turnover: approx. 11-12 million p.a.
