Some Major Road Bike Manufacturers and Their History

There are lots of bicycle companies out there, and every one of them claims to be the best. However, you may not know much about them. Here's some basic information about some of the major bicycle manufacturers and how they came to be what they are today.

Cannondale

Cannondale Bicycles is one of the biggest manufacturers of bicycles in the US. It's named after the Cannondale train station in the town where it was founded, and is currently located in Bethel, Connecticut. This company is known for quality, hand made, US produced bicycles and its unusual strategy of using aluminum frames. As one of the pioneers in aluminum, this company knows the material and sticks with it. This results in a bike that's a lot different than many offered by the company's competitors.

Fuji

Fuji Bicycles was originally established in 1919 in Japan, and uses Mount Fuji as the source for both name and logo. Currently, this major bicycle manufacturer is owned by Advanced Sports, which distributes bicycles built by Ideal Bike to Asia and the US market, as well as many other areas around the world. These bicycles are built primarily in China and in Taiwan. For a long time, Fuji was known as one of the best and more reasonably priced makers of bicycles.

However, the boom in mountain bikes caught Fuji's mostly road and touring bike selection by surprise, allowing other companies to get a bigger share of the market. Fuji was one of the last companies to shift production to Japan, with bicycles becoming more expensive than they once were. The company was purchased by Advanced Sports in the late 1990s, and is still producing quality bikes for just about any rider, including specialty bikes, women's bikes and children's cycles.

Giant

Giant is the world's biggest maker of bicycles. They're officially based in Taiwan, but they also manufacture and assemble their bikes in the Netherlands and China. This company has been making bikes for decades, and is known for their wide range of offerings for everyone from kids to serious racers.

The enormous number of different bicycles that Giant makes means that there's one for almost everyone. Their bikes span the whole range of available options. From easy access beginner bicycles to high performance on and off road cycles, there's one to suit any rider. It's relatively simple to find the perfect bike from Giant, no matter what your personal riding style is.

Raleigh

The Raleigh bicycle company has been around for a long time. This UK based manufacturer has made some of the most popular bikes of the twentieth century, plus a series of motorcycles and three wheeled card. Now, it's producing a number of great bikes under the Raleigh name and others, as well as providing cycles for several professional teams.

Schwinn

When you think about bicycle brands, one that probably springs to mind is Schwinn. This classic name in cycling has been around for more than a century, and people have been enjoying the company's quality road bikes for all that time. Founded in 1895, the company has been producing a wide range of quality bikes for years, and still has great offerings for cyclists of all skill and experience levels.

Trek

Trek Bicycle is one of the world's best known bike companies, and one of the major manufacturers of both bicycles and components. From their high end lines of Madone road bikes and Fuel mountain bikes to their machines for more casual riders, they offer nearly every type of bicycle you can imagine. Buyers can even choose to customize their bicycle, making sure they'll get the perfect ride. Brand names Trek owns include Gary Fisher, Arrow, Diamant, Klein and many more.