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.
A bicycle wheel is a wheel, most commonly a wire wheel, designed for a bicycle. A pair is often called a wheelset, especially in the context of ready built "off the shelf" performance-oriented wheels.
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 cyclo-cross bike or cyclo-cross bicycle is a bicycle specifically designed for the rigors of a cyclo-cross race. Cyclo-cross bicycles roughly resemble the racing bicycles used in road racing. The major differences between the two are the frame geometry, and the wider clearances that cyclo-cross bikes have for their larger tires and mud and other debris that they accumulate.
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.
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.
Colnago Ernesto & C. S.r.l. or Colnago is a manufacturer of road-racing bicycles founded by Ernesto Colnago near Milano in Cambiago, Italy. It remained a family-controlled firm until May 4, 2020, when it was announced that the UAE-based investment company, Chimera Investments LLC, had acquired a majority of the Colnago shares from Ernesto Colnago, although the headquarters will remain located in Italy after the acquisition. Instead of following his family's farming business, Ernesto Colnago chose to work in the cycle trade, and was apprenticed first to Gloria Bicycles at the age of 13, and subsequently taking up road racing. After a bad crash ended his racing career, he began subcontracting for Gloria, and opened his own shop in 1954, building his first frames the same year. While building frames, he remained much in demand as a racing mechanic. He was second mechanic on the Nivea team Giro d'Italia under Faliero Masi in 1955, eventually being employed as head mechanic for the Molteni team of Belgian cycling legend Eddy Merckx in 1963.
Giant Manufacturing Co. Ltd. is a Taiwanese bicycle manufacturer, recognized as the world's largest bicycle designer and manufacturer. Giant has manufacturing facilities in Taiwan, the Netherlands, China and Hungary. They have future plans for Vietnam to be the fifth location.
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.
Independent Fabrication (IF) is a bicycle company located in Lynn, Massachusetts, USA. IF fabricates bicycle frames from steel, titanium and carbon fiber. Independent Fabrication has twice won the Bicycling Magazine "Dream Bike of the Year" with its carbon-tubed, titanium-lugged XS road frame. Independent Fabrication was founded by and is owned by its employees. In 2005, the company took part in a CNN television program called The TurnAround. The show paired a growing business with a mentor from a more successful company. Independent Fabrication was paired with Jeff Swartz, chief executive of Timberland.
Zipp is an American company that is best known for designing, manufacturing, and marketing carbon-composite bicycle wheels for road cycling, triathlons, track racing, and mountain biking. The company's product range also includes handlebars, stems, seat posts, tires, inner tubes, handlebar tape, and bags.
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.
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.: mountain, road, beach cruisers, BMX, and fat bikes. The brand has gone through four 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"
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.
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.
Softride was a manufacturer of bicycles located in Bellingham, Washington. They specialized in bicycles for triathletes. The bicycle frames were distinctive for their lack of seat tubes and seat stays. The idea was to reduce aerodynamic drag and improve ride comfort. The company no longer manufactures bicycles, and focuses on bicycle carriers instead.
Markus Storck is a German bicycle designer and developer, known for creating the lightest racing bike fork in the world, made of carbon fiber, and the first ever carbon fiber bicycle crank. He is the managing director and founder of Storck Bicycle, designer, and innovator, and his current developments hold the world record lightness and stiffness to weight ratios.
