A mountain bike (MTB) or mountain bicycle is a bicycle designed for off-road cycling. Mountain bikes share some similarities with other bicycles, but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in rough terrain, which makes them heavy. These typically include a suspension fork, large knobby tires, more durable wheels, more powerful brakes, straight, extra wide handlebars to improve balance and comfort over rough terrain, lower gear-ratios for climbing steep grades and sometimes rear suspension to really smooth out the trail as well as dropper-posts to quickly adjust the seat height.
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. Most Trek bicycles are manufactured outside the United States, in countries including the Netherlands, Germany, Taiwan and China.
Shimano, Inc. is a Japanese multinational manufacturer of cycling components, fishing tackle and rowing equipment. It produced golf supplies until 2005 and snowboarding gear until 2008. Headquartered in Sakai, Japan, the company has 32 consolidated subsidiaries and 11 unconsolidated subsidiaries. Shimano's primary manufacturing plants are in Kunshan, China; Malaysia; and Singapore.
Serotta is an American bicycle builder located in Saratoga Springs, New York. Named after founder Ben Serotta, the company was founded in 1972.
Cycle sport. is competitive physical activity using bicycles. There are several categories of bicycle racing including road bicycle racing, cyclo-cross, mountain bike racing, track cycling, BMX, and cycle speedway. Non-racing cycling sports include artistic cycling, cycle polo, freestyle BMX and mountain bike trials. The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) is the world governing body for cycling and international competitive cycling events. The International Human Powered Vehicle Association is the governing body for human-powered vehicles that imposes far fewer restrictions on their design than does the UCI. The UltraMarathon Cycling Association is the governing body for many ultra-distance cycling races.
Fuji Bikes is a brand of bicycles and cycling equipment currently owned by Advanced Sports International. The company is a descendant of Nichibei Fuji Cycle Company, Ltd. (日米富士自転車株式会社), a bicycle manufacturer originally established in Japan in 1899. The company took its name and logo from Mount Fuji, a Japanese symbol of strength and endurance.
The Schwinn Bicycle Company was founded by German-born mechanical engineer Ignaz Schwinn (1860–1948) in Chicago in 1895. It became the dominant manufacturer of American bicycles through most of the 20th century. After declaring bankruptcy in 1992, Schwinn has since been a sub-brand of Pacific Cycle, owned by the multi-national conglomerate, Dorel Industries.
Giant Manufacturing Co. Ltd. is a Taiwanese bicycle manufacturer, recognized as the world's largest bicycle manufacturer. Giant has manufacturing facilities in Taiwan, the Netherlands, China, and Hungary.
Ibis Bicycles is a mountain bike manufacturer located in northern California. It produces the popular Mojo, Ripmo, and Ripley mountain bike frames among other models. Ibis products are distributed in 33 countries.
GT Bicycles designs and manufactures BMX, mountain, and road bicycles. GT is a division of a Canadian conglomerate, Dorel Industries, which also markets Cannondale, Schwinn, Mongoose, IronHorse, DYNO, and RoadMaster bicycle brands; all manufactured in Asia.
Miyata is a Japanese manufacturer of bicycles, unicycles and fire extinguishers. The company has been in operation since 1890. Miyata was also one of the first producers of motorcycles in Japan under the name Asahi. The Asahi AA was the first mass-produced motorcycle in Japan.
Kogswell Cycles, Inc. was a small bicycle frame company with its headquarters in El Dorado Hills, California. Kogswell frames were designed in the United States and manufactured in Taiwan. Kogswell frames often ran counter to mainstream bicycle industry trends. According to Biking.com, Kogswell "focuses on creating bicycle frames that lean more towards utilitarian design rather than speed and rough roading."
Univega is a bicycle brand created during the bike boom of the 1970s by Ben Lawee (1926–2002), who founded Lawee Inc. to design, specify, and import bicycles initially manufactured in Italy by Italvega, and subsequently in Japan by Miyata.
Evans Cycles is a British cycle retailer. It was opened in central London by a London cyclist, Frederick Evans, who won an award from Britain's largest cycling club for the best cycling invention of 1925. He left his shop to be run by his manager and joined the Royal Air Force when war broke out in 1939. He died in a road accident in 1944 and the shop and the national business that developed from it has had several owners.
Ellsworth Handcrafted Bicycles is a bicycle manufacturer based in San Diego, CA. Founded by Tony Ellsworth in 1991, they produced a wide range of handmade bicycles made in the U.S.A.: mountain, road, beach cruisers, BMX, and fat bikes. The brand has gone through three ownership changes since 2014, and now focus on producing high-quality mountain bikes specifically in the genres of XC, trail, and enduro. Ellsworth also produce a designer/cruiser bike known as "The Ride"
Nishiki is a brand of bicycles designed, specified, marketed and distributed by West Coast Cycle in the United States, initially manufactured by Kawamura Cycle Co. in Kobe, Japan, and subsequently by Giant of Taiwan. The bicycles were first marketed under the American Eagle brand beginning in 1965 and later under the Nishiki brand until 2001.
Surly Bikes, or Surly, is a bicycle brand based in Bloomington, Minnesota, United States, that was founded in 1998. It is a division of Quality Bicycle Products, a manufacturer and distributor of bicycles and bicycle parts. Despite sharing a similar name and being headquartered in the U.S. state of Minnesota, Surly Bikes and Surly Brewing Company are separate enterprises, with an agreement between the two companies allowing the bicycle company to display the single word "Surly" on its products.
Centurion was a brand of bicycles created in 1969 by Mitchell (Mitch) M. Weiner and Junya (Cozy) Yamakoshi, who co-founded Western States Import Co. (WSI) in Canoga Park, California to design, specify, distribute and market the bicycles. The bikes themselves were manufactured initially in Japan by companies including H. Teams Company of Kobe and later in Taiwan by companies including Merida. The Centurion brand was consolidated with WSI's mountain bike brand DiamondBack in 1990. WSI ceased operations in 2000.
Quality Bicycle Products (QBP) is the largest distributor of bicycle parts and accessories in the bicycle industry, with revenues of $150 million in 2008. In addition to wholesaling bicycles and components from other manufacturers, QBP owns and manufactures several brands of its own. QBP also participates in activities which support its community through cycling advocacy and green building.
SOMA Fabrications is a designer and importer of bicycles, frames, parts and accessories based in the San Francisco Bay Area. It was established in 2001 and owned by bicycle parts wholesaler The Merry Sales Co.
