Tell us about yourself!
Barry Dunn, 48 years old and slightly obsessed with not getting old. Love to drag people out of their comfort zone for various challenges. First you’ll know we’ve entered something is when you get the confirmation email.
Role
Well I guess I’m the MD and the guy who bought it although everyone involved now has a share in the business, skin in the game as they say.
One of your favourite rides?
Funnily enough my favourite ride recently was one Tom planned for me on Strava. A proper gravel ride around the peak district with very little tarmac. Felt like a proper adventure. I can’t not mention Moneyscalp and Tollymore in Northern Ireland just for all the amazing memories with amazing people, you all know who you are.
How long have you been cycling/and or in the industry?
It all started when Halfords relocated myself and young family to Northern Ireland maybe 18 years ago. Northern Ireland had a great downhill scene with some great little local riding spots in the Mourne mountains. I fell in love with the sport along with my eldest Kyle who was 12 years old at the time.
We rode or raced every weekend all over NI and Ireland, I even represented Ireland at the world champs in France. Not sure how a Geordie ends up with tri colours on his helmet but I asked and they said yes. I’d ran into the guys from Chain Reaction Cycles at the race many times and eventually accepted an invitation to visit them, I turned down the job offer initially but eventually joined them as Operations manager when they were turning over £17m when I left for Planet X we had grown to £155m, their best ever year before their sad demise.
During my time at CRC which are still to this day the most challenging and enjoyable, I had a year of awful injuries from DH and bought a road bike to keep fit. The rest is history as they say, just me against me with no rocks or trees trying to injure me.
First it was sportives, a bit of racing, a sprint triathlon, Olympic triathlon, multi 70.3’s and then multiple Ironman races. This year especially I’ve fallen back in love with just riding bikes with the addition of an MTB and gravel bike to the shed. I’ve made a real effort to be more mindful just enjoying the beauty and freedom of riding a bike rather than a training session.
All in including my time at Go Outdoors creating the Calibre brand I’ve 16 years in the industry.
Big adventures coming up?
I’ve 3x 70.3 triathlons planned, Etape loch ness in April (everyone will get their email soon) and The Tor Divide which is on our door step.
Current bikes
Road
My baby that I love almost as much as my wife is my Tarmac SL8 (I said almost).
Gravel
I’ve a Trek Checkpoint SL6 which is the first gravel bike that rides how I’d imagined gravel bikes should ride.
MTB
I’ve a Cannondale Scalpel SE which is the 120mm travel version.
TT
A very fast Canyon Speedmax CF for race days.
How does NEW Polaris differ from old Polaris?
I don’t think it will differ from old old Polaris. Polaris 30 years ago was all about adventure and freedom, making incredible kit that would last for years. Polaris of the last decade got in bed with the devil (Halfords) and totally lost their way with very little proper R&D, poor sizing and some terrible colour choice. They ended up standing for nothing. New Polaris is a passion project me and the team, our other business pays the wages of our incredible team and even our warehouse is paid for. We have no pressure so we’ll take our time and only launch product when we’re 100% happy. If that’s not until 2026 so be it.
What about relaunching excites you the most?
I’m excited about being disruptive. Bringing incredible product to market at the price it should be with none of the marketing bullshit the industry has created. We did it with Calibre at Go Outdoors and will do it again with Polaris. An amazing range of clothing that becomes everyone’s favourite go to piece of clothing. We don’t plan to have categories like gravel or MTB as our clothing will be designed simply for cyclists.
What new Polaris product are you currently testing?
I have 2 pieces I currently love but looking forward to the 3rd version samples to see the further improvements. I love our long sleeve grid fleece jersey, up until now it’s all I’ve need and is surprisingly breathable. I run pretty hot so can’t see me needing anything more than a gilet once the colder weather comes. Our cargo bib shorts are excellent as they are but continue to be tweaked. Storage is amazing, I’ve never had cargo bibs but now it’s probably all I’ll buy. The stuff pocket in the rear is incredible and the chamois puts to shame some of the far more expensive shorts I own.
