Giant Bicycles
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This article is outdated. Please update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. Please see the talk page for more information. (November 2010) |
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| Type | Public |
|---|---|
| Industry | Bicycle manufacturing |
| Founded | 1972 |
| Headquarters | Dajia District, Taichung City, Taiwan |
| Key people | King Liu (Founder & President) |
| Products | Bicycles |
| Website | www.giant-bicycles.com |
Giant Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (捷安特) is a Taiwanese bicycle manufacturer which bills itself as the world's largest bicycle manufacturer.[1] Giant has manufacturing facilities in Taiwan, Netherlands, and Mainland China.
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[edit] History
Established 1972 in Dajia, Taichung County (now part of Taichung City), Giant started as an OEM, manufacturing bicycles to be sold exclusively under other brand names (for example, Schwinn and Nishiki), as a private label. In 1986, Giant, under new president Bill Austin, established its own brand of bicycles to compete in the rapidly expanding $200-and-above price range. Today Giant has sales in over 50 countries, in over 10,000 retail stores. In 2007, its global sales surpassed 5 million bicycles and $820 million USD in global revenues.
[edit] Timeline
- 1972 - Establishes Giant Manufacturing Co. Ltd. in Taiwan
- 1980 - Becomes Taiwan's Largest Bicycle Manufacturer
- 1981 - Establishes Giant Sales Company, Taiwan
- 1986 - Establishes Giant Europe BV, Netherlands
- 1987 - Establishes Giant Bicycle Inc., USA
- 1989 - Establishes Giant Company Ltd., Japan
- 1991 - Establishes Giant Bicycle Co., Canada, Inc.
- 1991 - Establishes Giant Bicycles PTY Ltd., Australia
- 1992 - Establishes Giant Co. Ltd., China
- 1994 - Goes Public on Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE: 9921)
- 1996 - Establishes European Factory, Netherlands.
- 1997 - Establishes Chuansin Metal Products (Kunshan) Co. Ltd., China
- 1998 - Manufactures 2,840,000 bicycles in a single year
- 1998 - Acquires 30% share of Hodaka in Japan
- 2002 - Manufactures 4,730,000 bicycles in a single year
- 2006 - Giant released accessories into the UK such as pumps, little apparel and luggage.
- 2007 - Giant becomes the world's largest quality cycle manufacturer
[edit] Models
Giant currently categorises its bikes in seven groups:
- Road - Training, advanced and professional road bikes are included in this group.
- Mountain - Includes bikes for various riding styles. From casual single track to race specific downhill bikes.
- Comfort - A range of casual city bikes.
- Mode - Bikes designed for youth teens.
- Indoor Cycling - Indoor fitness bikes.
- Family Cycling - Bikes designed for children.
- Speciality - HALFWAY and the CLIP are the only bikes in this folding bike group.
In 1995, Giant designed its Compact Road design featuring a smaller rear triangle and sloping top tube. The tighter chainstay/seatstay configuration is said to be inherently stiffer than a more conventional frame design, and because less material is used, the Compact Road design is also said to be lighter. Add to that more responsive cornering and improved acceleration, as well as improved aerodynamics, and the Giant design became much imitated.
By 1998, with Mike Burrows refined the design for racing by the professional ONCE team. This was only after initial resistance by the Union Cycliste Internationale and subsequent amendment to its regulations to allow for bicycles with a sloping top tube.
The Giant frames were originally made of 6061 (ALUXX) aluminium and were also characterised by bladed forks and seat posts to reduce air resistance. Frames came in 3 sizes (Small, Medium and Large) with riders fitted through the use of stems and seatposts of different lengths. Another Mike Burrows innovation that featured on the original TCR bikes included a height adjustable stem, later removed from road racing bicycles due to flex under heavy load.
In 2003, the TCR frame was offered in carbon fibre construction and marketed as the TCR Composite range. In 2006, Giant added a higher-grade carbon fibre frame marketed as the TCR Advanced frame, which was characterised by an integrated seat post (ISP). These frames were most notably raced at the Tour de France as the pink and black chariots of the professional team, T-Mobile. Using this design the seatpost on a new frame must be cut precisely to fit the owner by a trained Giant dealer. In 2010, the TCR frames with ISP continue to be raced internationally, most notably by the Rabobank team.
In terms of other innovations, Giant also introduced its Maestro suspension in 2006. Maestro Suspension, according to Giant, is designed to deliver an efficient rear suspension power transfer. Maestro utilizes a set-up of four pivot points and two linkages to create a floating pivot point which is designed to reduce pedal bob and enables the rear wheel to travel vertically.
[edit] Bike Models
- TCR
- Trinity
- Avail
- Omnium
- Dash
- Defy
- Anthem
- Trance
- Boulder
- Talon
- Yukon
- Revel
- XTC
- Reign
- Glory
- Faith
- STP
- Tran Send
- Rapid
Comfort Bikes:
- Escape
- Via
- Cypress
- Suede
- Rapid
- Seek
- Simple
- GFR
- Method
Kids Bikes:
- Gloss
- Bella
- Moda
- Animator
- Pudd'n
[edit] Competitions
Giant currently sponsors three international cycling teams, the Global Giant Mountain Bike Team and Team Rabobank,[2] as well as many national teams.
[edit] Top Competitors
Accell Group
Specialized Bicycle Components- Cannondale Bicycle Corporation
Kona Bicycle Company- Trek Bicycle Corporation
- Rocky Mountain Bicycles
- GT Bicycles
[edit] References
- ^ "World's Foremost Bicycle Maker Aims to "Inspire Adventure"". http://www.cens.com/cens/html/en/news/news_inner_19877.html. Retrieved 2008-06-20.
- ^ "Rabobank team to ride Giant bicycles for the 2009 season". Velonews.com. http://www.velonews.com/article/82382/rabobank-team-to-ride-giant-bicycles-for-the-2009-season. Retrieved 2009-01-11.
[edit] External links
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