Corima is a French company that designs and produces carbon-composite wheels and frames for road and track cycling, cyclo-cross racing, triathlon racing, and wheelchair racing.
Corima was founded in 1973 [1] by Pierre Martin and Jean-Marie Riffard in Loriol-sur-Drôme. Corima is taken from COoperation RIffard MArtin. Its initial activities were making moulds and models for the foundry, automobile and aeronautics sectors.
In 1988, Corima diversified into carbon composite parts and its first product for cycling : the disc wheel. This was followed by the 4-spoke wheel, the Puma monocoque frame, the Aero wheel, the Ellipse seatpost and others to create a range of carbon products. In 1994, Corima expanded to frames, achieving success with the Puma, an aerodynamic carbon monocoque road frame with a steeply sloping top tube, based on the custom track frame ridden by Chris Boardman in 1993. However, production was discontinued in 1999, due to revised UCI rules that rendered the Puma's geometry inconsistent with racing frame guidelines. [2] This banning from competition meant limited exposure and sponsorships. Corima continued making a track frame with similar geometry and sloping top tube - the Cougar - until it was replaced by the VIF frame. [3]
The Fox [4] was another carbon frame, primarily for triathlon, time trial and track racing. It too incorporated aerodynamic geometry, though different from the Puma [5] and the Cougar. [6]
Two world hour records have been broken on Corima bikes: Chris Boardman in July 1993 [7] and Catherine Marsal in April 1995. [8]
Monocoque, also called structural skin, is a structural system in which loads are supported by an object's external skin, in a manner similar to an egg shell. The word monocoque is a French term for "single shell".
A bicycle frame is the main component of a bicycle, onto which wheels and other components are fitted. The modern and most common frame design for an upright bicycle is based on the safety bicycle, and consists of two triangles: a main triangle and a paired rear triangle. This is known as the diamond frame. Frames are required to be strong, stiff and light, which they do by combining different materials and shapes.
The Cannondale Bicycle Corporation is an American division of Dutch conglomerate Pon Holdings that supplies bicycles. Its headquarters are in Wilton, Connecticut, with engineering offices in Freiburg, Germany. Frames are manufactured in Taiwan. Bikes are assembled in Taiwan, as well as in the USA and in The Netherlands for the local markets.
Trek Bicycle Corporation is a bicycle and cycling product manufacturer and distributor under brand names Trek, Electra Bicycle Company, Bontrager, and Diamant Bikes. The company has previously manufactured bikes under the Gary Fisher, LeMond Racing Cycles, Klein, and Villiger Bikes brand names. With its headquarters in Waterloo, Wisconsin, Trek bicycles are marketed through 1,700 independently owned bicycle shops across North America, subsidiaries in Europe, Asia, South Africa, as well as distributors in 90 countries worldwide. Nearly all Trek bicycles are manufactured outside the United States, in countries including the Netherlands, Germany, Taiwan, and China.
A racing bicycle, also known as a road bike is a bicycle designed for competitive road cycling, a sport governed by and according to the rules of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI).
A track bicycle or track bike is a bicycle optimized for racing at a velodrome or outdoor track. Unlike road bicycles, the track bike is a fixed-gear bicycle; thus, it has only a single gear ratio and has neither a freewheel nor brakes. Tires are narrow and inflated to high pressure to reduce rolling resistance.
Christopher Miles Boardman, is a British former racing cyclist. A time trial and prologue specialist, Boardman won the inaugural men's World time trial championship in 1994, won the individual pursuit gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics, broke the world hour record three times, and won three prologue stages at the Tour de France.
Due to the nature of triathlons as a race consisting of multiple sports many pieces of technical equipment have been borrowed from other sports, or developed specifically in an effort to race faster and improve a competitors safety.
A bicycle seatpost, seatpin, saddlepole, saddle pillar, or saddle pin is a tube that extends upwards from the bicycle frame to the saddle. The amount that it extends out of the frame can usually be adjusted, and there is usually a mark that indicates the minimum insertion. Seatposts can be made of steel, aluminum, titanium, carbon fiber, or aluminum wrapped in carbon fiber.
Kestrel is an American bicycle brand which specializes in high-end bikes for triathlons and road racing. Kestrel has been owned by Advanced Sports International since 2007.
Felt Racing is an American bicycle brand based in Irvine, California. Felt produces road, track, cyclocross, electric bicycles, and cruiser bikes. All design is completed in the United States and the majority of production comes from Asia. The company also has a strong reputation in the time trial/triathlon bike area and for several years provided bicycles to UCI teams in the Tour de France. Felt still supports several professional level race teams including Hincapie Racing and Team Twenty 16.
Litespeed is a U.S. bicycle manufacturer founded in 1986 in Ooltewah, Tennessee by David Lynskey. Litespeed makes titanium and carbon fiber frame road racing bicycles and mountain bikes. Titanium bicycle frames are famed for their ride quality. Litespeed, along with triathlon specific bicycle manufacturer Quintana Roo, is a subsidiary of the American Bicycle Group.
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A motorcycle frame is a motorcycle's core structure. It supports the engine, provides a location for the steering and rear suspension, and supports the rider and any passenger or luggage. Also attached to the frame are the fuel tank and battery. At the front of the frame is found the steering head tube that holds the pivoting front fork, while at the rear there is a pivot point for the swingarm suspension motion. Some motorcycles include the engine as a load-bearing stressed member; while some other bikes do not use a single frame, but instead have a front and a rear subframe attached to the engine.
Vitus is a British direct-to-consumer bicycle brand owned by Wiggle Ltd and is known for its range of medium to high-end road and mountain bikes. The brand has gained popularity for its innovative design and use of lightweight materials. Vitus bicycles have been ridden by numerous professional athletes and have achieved success in various cycling disciplines.
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Boardman Bikes, Ltd. is a British bicycle manufacturer, founded by the professional cyclist Chris Boardman, Sarah Mooney and Alan Ingarfield, and launched in the United Kingdom and Ireland in 2007. Ingarfield is the Chairman of the company, Mooney is the CEO and Boardman heads Research & Development alongside the special projects program B56.