Rocky Mountain Bicycles

Rocky Mountain Bicycles
Private
Industry Bicycles
Founded 1981
Headquarters Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Products Bicycles
Parent Procycle Group
Slogan Bikes for people who love the ride.
Website www.bikes.com

Rocky Mountain Bicycles is a Canadian bicycle manufacturer based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The company was incorporated in 1981, its name a reference to the mountain range that stretches from eastern British Columbia to the southwest United States. Rocky Mountain bicycles are widely used by professional cyclists.

History

Rocky Mountain Bicycles had its beginnings in a Vancouver bike store in 1978, when two men began modifying Nishiki road bikes by adding wider tires, straight handlebars and internal five-speed gears.[1] Their aim was to create a bicycle that could be ridden and raced on the technical trails of the West Coast. Rocky Mountain Bicycles Ltd. was officially incorporated in 1981, with Grayson Bain serving as president until 1997.[2] In 1982, working with frame designer Tom Ritchey, the company introduced its first production mountain bike - the "Sherpa".

Having expanded sales beyond Vancouver in 1984, Rocky Mountain began shipping bikes internationally in 1989. The company expanded rapidly during the 1990s, enlarging its production facilities to meet growing demand in the United States and elsewhere. Rocky Mountain was acquired by Procycle Group in 1997 but continues to operate independently.

Rocky Mountain Bicycles has won Mountain Bike Magazine's 'Mountain Bike of the Year' award three times - for the Hammer Race in 1996, the Element Race in 2000, and the Slayer in 2002. Rocky Mountain has also seen one of its sponsored riders, Marie-Hélène Prémont, win a silver Olympic medal in 2004.[3]

Products

A Rocky Mountain Altitude 70 full-suspension mountain bike

Mountain bikes

Rocky Mountain is best known for its mountain bikes and produces a wide range of models specialized for different riding styles and disciplines within the mountain category. As of 2011, the company offers over 30 different models, ranging from hard-tail cross country bikes to full-suspension downhill bikes. Rocky Mountain produces carbon fiber, aluminum alloy and steel mountain bike frames.[4]

Road bikes

Rocky mountain began producing road bikes in 1984 and currently markets 11 performance road models and 2 cyclo-cross models, along with several "urban", "fitness" and "hybrid" bikes.[5]

Sponsored teams

Rocky Mountain sponsors three racing teams.

Rocky Mountain's 2009 cross country team is co-sponsored by Maxxis. The 2010 team includes s - Marie-Hélène Prémont and Geoff Kabush, Sabrina Jonnier, Lea Davison, and Cameron Cole.[6] 2009 has also seen the addition of a new team, Rocky Mountain Bicycles' Factory XC Team. The Factory team is composed of Andreas Hester, Marty Lazarski, Raphael Gagne, Stefan Widmer and 2009 Canadian Jr MTB and Espoir CX national champion, Evan Guthrie. The team will focus both World Cups and events such as epic stage races, enduros, and festivals.[7][8]

Rocky Mountain's 2010 Freeride team consists of Wade Simmons, Geoff Gulevich, Jarrett Moore, Brett Tippie and Dave Smutok.[9]

References

  1. ↑ "History". RMB. Retrieved 24 October 2011.
  2. ↑ "LinkedIn Profile for Grayson Bain". LinkedIn. Retrieved 24 October 2011.
  3. ↑ "History". RMB. Retrieved 8 August 2009.
  4. ↑ "Bikes - Mountain". RMB. Retrieved 24 October 2011.
  5. ↑ "Bikes - Road". RMB. Retrieved 24 October 2011.
  6. ↑ "Team Maxxis/RMB XC". RMB. Retrieved 8 August 2009.
  7. ↑ "Factory XC Team". RMB. Retrieved 8 August 2009.
  8. ↑ "Rocky Mountain Bicycles launches Factory XC-Epic Racing team". BikeRadar. 23 January 2009. Retrieved 8 August 2009.
  9. ↑ "RMB Freeride Team". RMB. 23 January 2009. Retrieved 8 August 2009.

External links

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