Quintana Roo (company)

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Quintana Roo
Type Private
Founded 1987
Headquarters Chattanooga, Tennessee
Key people Dan Empfield
Industry Triathlon
Products Tri-specific Bicycles and Wetsuits
Website www.rooworld.com

Quintana Roo is a company that produces products specific to the sport of triathlon, primarily tri-specific bicycles and wetsuits. The company was founded in 1987 by Dan Empfield of Ironman fame, and is currently owned by the American Bicycle Group, LLC.[1]Quintana Roo is considered a pioneer of triathlon-specific products.

[edit] Wetsuits

The company's flagship product in 1987 was the first-ever wetsuit made specifically for the swim portion of a triathlon, designed by Dan Empfield.[2] Quintana Roo wetsuits are made of varying thicknesses of neoprene rubber, carefully stitched and sealed together. As technology has progressed since the company's inception, so too have their designs. Today, the company has several different wetsuit designs marketed with assorted features. The latest of these is the VPB (Virtual Pull Buoy) featured with their Superfull wetsuit, which gives added buoyancy to the triathletes' legs during the swim.

[edit] Tri-specific Bicycles

In conjunction with the debut of the first tri-specific wetsuit in 1987, another company, Scott USA, created the first aerodynamic handlebar for use with standard road bicycles. It was clear that triathlon had created a niche market, requiring new products that focused on all three disciplines more contiguously rather than separately. In 1989, Empfield again brought a new design to the sport, with the first-ever bicycle made specifically for the bike portion of a triathlon, the Quintana Roo Superform. This new bicycle was called the first bicycle "built from the aerobars back." With a steep seat angle of 80 degrees, its design helped prevent leg fatigue before the final run portion of triathlons. The second person to ever ride the Superform was Ray Browning in the 1987 New Zealand Ironman. Initially ridiculed for the odd new bike geometry, he finished the bike portion of the race with a 30-minute lead over competitors. Now clear that the tri-specific design works, interest in the bike caught on.[3] Soon, famous athletes including Lance Armstrong were riding the Quintana Roo Superform. As of April 2008, Quintana Roo has six different bikes in their 2008 line, with frame materials of carbon fiber, titanium, or aluminum (listed): Lucero (CF), Ti-Phoon (Ti), Caliente (CF), Seduza (CF), Tequilo (Al), and Kilo (Al). The 2006 models included wheels made by Real Design, also an American Bicycle Group company.

[edit] References

  1. ^ American Bicycle Group's Revenue Up As Sales Grow. Bicycle Retailer (2002-4-1). Retrieved on 2008-4-17.
  2. ^ Empfield, Dan (2007-9-24). F.I.S.T. Workshops. Retrieved on 2008-4-17.
  3. ^ Empfield, Dan (2000-11-17). The Superform. Retrieved on 2008-4-17.
For more information, see Sporting goods.