GT Bicycles

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GT Bicycles Inc. ( GT for short , stands for the initials of the founder Gary Turner) is an American bicycle manufacturer . Today the company belongs to the US conglomerate Dorel Industries .

history

The history of GT Bicycles began in the USA in the 1970s . Gary Turner originally repaired trumpets and raced cars in his spare time. In the early 1970s, his son, a passionate cyclist, destroyed his bike several times. After another bad accident, Turner borrowed a pipe bending machine from a friend and constructed a frame that was more durable and stiffer than the bicycle frames available at the time . Soon Turner produced in his garage for the entire neighborhood in Fullerton ( California ) bicycle frame.

Turner met Richard Long at a nearby BMX course. Long owned a bike shop in Anaheim , and the two men became friends. Both shared the frustration with the bikes available on the market, especially in the segment of the emerging BMX market.

Ultimately, the two friends developed a vision for starting a cycling company that could meet the needs of all ages while delivering the quality and durability required for BMX and mountain bikes . As the demand for Turner's handcrafted frames continued, the two decided to start their own company.

In 1979 Long sold his bike shop and GT Bicycles (GT stands for Gary Turner's initials) was founded. In the following decade, the two partners expanded their product line beyond bikes for young people, with a focus on mountain bikes.

Long and Turner ran GT Bicycles as an owner-managed private company until 1993. That year they sold the majority of the shares in the Bain Capital Company. Bain Capital went public with the company in 1995.

In July 1996, Richard Long died in a motorcycle accident on the way to the NORBA race in Big Bear , California .

In 1997, GT Bicycles manufactured GT, Powerlite, Robinson and Dyno bikes in Santa Ana and Huntington Beach , had around 700 employees and generated sales of nearly $ 200 million a year. Gary Turner was still active in the company at this point, but was mainly engaged in special design projects and performed at promotional events.

Due to the death of Richard Long, who until then had held GT Bicycles together organizationally, the company slowly got into difficulties, from which nothing was externally visible, as the financial resources were still plentiful. Sales targets were not met, forecasts were wrong, delivery of the bikes was delayed and massive product recalls took place. Business numbers deteriorated, causing GT's share price to fall.

In the summer of 1998, Questor, the backer of Schwinn Cycling & Fitness, bought GT Bicycles for $ 175 million. Schwinn and GT Bicycles merged into a global corporation with two strong brands that were market leaders in several bike and fitness segments.

In the spring of 2001 it became clear that Questor and the banks had decided to pull out. Investments were halted and payments to suppliers and subcontractors ceased. Schwinn-GT Inc. filed for bankruptcy on June 27, 2001.

GT RTS-2 Fully, 1994
GT LTS, 1996
GT Vengeance triathlon bike, 1997
GT STS 1000DS with carbon frame, 1998
GT Zaskar with GT Spin Wheels, 1999
GT XCR 1000 with i-drive technology, 1999
GT Lobo DH downhill frame, 2000
GT Zaskar Pro Carbon, 2008

September 11, 2001 was a black day not only for American history , but also for Schwinn-GT. The once powerful duo was sold by bankruptcy court to Pacific Cycle Inc., Madison, Wisconsin, for $ 86 million. That meant a loss of nearly $ 175 million for Questor and was a blow to the entire industry. The inferior competitor in the bidding war for GT-Schwinn was Huffy , a producer primarily of cheap bikes for the mass market. In 2004 Pacific Cycle Inc. was bought by Dorel Industries , Montreal, Canada. Dorel Industries also owns the bike brands Cannondale (since early 2008), Schwinn and Mongoose.

Models (selection)

Mountain bike models:

  • Zaskar ( 6061 aluminum hardtail named after the high mountain region Zanskar , later also in carbon and full suspension versions). For the 20th anniversary in 2008, the frame was reissued in the style of the first models in a number of 500 copies.
  • Xizang (titanium hardtail, shiny polished)
  • Lightning (titanium hardtail, matt finish)
  • RTS (one of the first full suspension MTBs)
  • LTS (one of the first four- articulated fullys )
  • STS thermoplastic (carbon) series with the models LTS, DS, DH, Lobo and XCR
  • Lobo DH, DHi ( downhill fullys)
  • i-drive series (patented drive element, now in the second generation)
  • iT-1 (downhill gear fully)
  • Fury (downhill fully)
  • Ruckus (freeride-oriented hardtails and fullys)
  • Chucker (Dirt Jump Hardtail)
  • Avalanche ( All Mountain Hardtail)
  • Karakoram (All Mountain Hardtail)
  • Pantera (All Mountain Hardtail)
  • Borrego (steel hardtail)
  • Psyclone (steel hardtail)
  • Richter (steel hardtail)
  • Sanction ( Freeride -Fully)
  • Backwoods (7005 aluminum hardtail)
  • Terramoto (7005 aluminum hardtail)
  • Bravado
  • Corrado
  • Ricochet (steel hardtail)
  • Tequesta (All Terra Hardtail, Tange MTB / Tange Infinity CrMo)
  • Timberline (steel hardtail)
  • Talera (steel hardtail)
  • Outpost (steel hardtail)
  • Palomar (steel hardtail)
  • Aggressor (hardtail)
  • Kashmir (all mountain hardtail)
  • Helion (XC-Fully)

BMX models:

  • Performer / Pro Performer ( Freestyle BMX)
  • World Tour / Pro World Tour / Freestyle Tour / Pro Freestyle Tour (Freestyle BMX)
  • Series / Pro Series / Team Series ( Race BMX)
  • Mach One (Race BMX)
  • Interceptor (Race BMX)

Road bike models:

Cross Series models:

  • Cirque
  • Vantara
  • passage
  • Virage

Well-known athletes with GT equipment (selection)

Of course, GT Bicycles, like other bicycle manufacturers, was involved in cycling and supported many athletes and teams in mountain bike , racing bike , BMX , track cycling and triathlon . The athletes include many national and world champions, including u. a .:

Web links

Commons : GT Bicycles  - collection of images, videos and audio files