Before Ride Manila Was a Store, It Was a Group of Riders
RideManila did not begin with a formal business plan or a carefully mapped retail strategy. It began with motorcycles, a group of friends who enjoyed riding, and a familiar problem that comes with getting serious about a hobby: finding good gear and finding a way to afford more of it.
For Vince, motorcycles were not an obvious interest at first. Around 2014, he still considered them dangerous. That changed after seeing a friend riding a Vespa around the city and thinking it looked like a practical—and enjoyable—way to get around.
He bought a Vespa LX despite barely knowing how to ride one.
The learning curve came quickly. Even making a U-turn felt intimidating at first, but the hesitation did not last long. Another scooter followed, then a manual-shift Vespa PX150, and eventually a bigger motorcycle.
Around the same period, Ale was also getting deeper into riding. He had spent time around small scooters when he was younger, then returned to motorcycles through friends who were riding Vespas and KTMs. He and Vince eventually met during a night ride and became part of a group that regularly rode together around the city and farther out.
Those rides became an important part of the RideManila story. Long before there was a store, the people behind it were already riders themselves—buying motorcycles, testing gear, looking for accessories, and encountering the same product gaps as other Filipino riders.
Becoming RideManila
For Vince, finding a way to make an expensive hobby more sustainable was not entirely new. As his interest in motorcycles grew, he began noticing that local options for certain gear and accessories were limited.
The founders started small, selling practical items such as phone mounts, chargers, and other motorcycle accessories through Facebook. The response showed that other riders were looking for many of the same products.
While researching further, Vince found a motorcycle gear store in Thailand, prompting the group to travel there and pool money for inventory. Among the products they brought back were Kriega gear and NEXX helmets, brands that were still relatively unfamiliar to many riders in the Philippines at the time.
They began selling the products from home, and as demand grew, what had started as a sideline began to look like something worth building properly.
By late 2015 and early 2016, the venture was moving beyond casual online selling. The name RideManila was simple, memorable, and broad enough to grow beyond a single product or type of motorcycle.
Founded by Vince Tagle, Fel Neri, Nikki Confiado, and Ale Cruz, Ride Manila was formally incorporated in 2016, with its first store opening in Makati. The company later expanded with a second branch in Alabang.
As RideManila began working with more international brands, Cardo became one of its early milestones. The team started with a modest order of the Packtalk Bold and, true to how the business had begun, first tested the product within their own riding group. From there, interest grew through actual use and word of mouth within the riding community.
That approach reflected the same instinct that had shaped RideManila from the beginning: find gear they believed in as riders, use it themselves, and make it more accessible to others.
RideManila Today
What began with online selling, a buying trip to Thailand, and products sold from home has since grown into a motorcycle gear and lifestyle business in the Philippines.
Today, RideManila carries a range of trusted international brands across helmets, motorcycle communication systems, luggage, riding apparel, footwear, protective gear, and accessories, serving riders through both physical retail and online channels.
The business may look different from those early days, but its starting point remains easy to recognize.
RideManila began with riders looking for products they wanted to use themselves. They found gear they believed in, brought it into their own community, and discovered that other riders were looking for the same thing.
That connection still defines the brand today.
What started with rides, friendships, and a search for better gear has grown into RideManila as it stands today—still rooted in the perspective of the people it was built for: riders themselves.
Watch the full Founders' story here:
