As touchpoints, saddles, grips and pedals are key to how a bicycle feels. With OXO-Pro, DDK Group has launched a brand that serves both aftermarket and OE markets, focusing on products that combine comfort, safety and sustainability.
DDK Group is a key player on the OE market for saddles and grips, producing some 20 million saddle units per year, primarily in Vietnam. Its manufacturing footprint also covers Taiwan, China and Romania, with Decathlon being one of its prime OE customers—DDK Group aims to produce parts close to where they are needed, significantly reducing its ecological footprint. In 2021, the company stepped up its game with the OXO-Pro brand, teaming up with experienced industry manager Ronny Höglund as Strategy Manager and combining European design and development with Asian effectiveness and networking.
The launch of the brand at 2022’s Taipei Cycle Show could hardly have been any better as it won a d&i Gold Award for the design of its first grips. Aiming at the comfort and utility market, these grips feature an integrated lockring patented in Taiwan, the EU and the USA that’s easy and safe to use. The lockring turns the complete surface of the grip into a contact patch, adding to the grip’s comfort. In 2023, it followed up with the Performance II grips, expanding OXO-Pro into more sporty applications. Thanks to its concave shape and narrow diameter, the Performance II grips offer comfort while keeping the hands from slipping.
One OXO-Pro standout feature is its aftermarket packaging with clear design and brand identity. But this packaging has also been developed with a hands-on approach so consumers can try the grips in a correct position, and thanks to a selection of vibrant colors, the grips are well visible in bike shops. “OXO-Pro has already seen considerable aftermarket success in countries like Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea and Japan. Thanks to a distribution agreement with the DDK Group we also have a strong partner to grow its aftermarket business in Europe and Northern America,” Höglund explains.
Due to its larger volumes, OXO-Pro is aiming at the OE market as well, offering product managers flexibility in terms of colors and the choice of fully recycled or anti-bacterial materials. Latest additions to the line-up include unique spoke reflectors for increased head-on visibility in traffic and bar ends that add options to grab the handlebar, thus reducing fatigue. Again, the core values of safety and comfort are key. At 2025’s Taipei Cycle Show, OXO-Pro launched paddings with extra-thick foam and reflective accents to be mounted to the carrier cradles of longtail cargo bikes.