Bontrager

One of Trek’s in-house brands, Bontrager is a cycling manufacturer based in Wisconsin, USA. From wheelsets to handlebars, it produces a range of high-quality components, clothing and accessories.

History

Bontrager takes its name from its founder, Keith, who grew up with a passion for motorbikes. In 1978, at the age of 24, Keith’s passion transferred to bicycles for the first time and he soon became one of the early pioneers of mountain bike design.

Keith started out by building a road bike before building his first mountain bike in 1980, and in the same year Bontrager Cycles was founded. Working out of his garage in Santa Cruz, California, Keith built frames for all disciplines and quickly built up a reputation for his high-quality builds.

Throughout the 1980s, Bontrager Cycles expanded its work to include a range of components, from wheel rims and forks, to handlebars and stems.

Notable innovations include a patented fork crown which still provides the inspiration for most modern suspension forks, and the conversion of 700c road wheels into 26” mountain bike rims.

Having built up its reputation, Bontrager Cycles was acquired by Trek in 1995. Although it continued to develop frames for a short period, it’s since become the components, accessory and clothing arm of Trek’s business. This includes everything from wheelsets and saddles to bottle cages, all of which are specced on Trek’s range of bikes.

At the top of the range, Bontrager’s Aeolus products are the choice of the pros including current WorldTour team Lidl-Trek who are the latest in a long string of WorldTour teams to use Bontrager products over the last 25 years.

Did you know?

Pro cycling

Current sponsorships:

• Lidl-Trek

Highlights

• In 1987 Bontrager Cycles created the first clamped fork. Instead of welding it into one unit, the fork legs were clamped into the fork crown instead. This design is still the inspiration behind most modern suspension forks.
• After years as a one-man bike shop, Bontrager Cycles expanded to a limited-production facility in 1992.
• The company had already built a reputation by this point and was purchased by Trek only three years later, with Keith Bontrager moving across to the new company.
• Bontrager enjoyed its first major racing breakthrough in 2003 when it became wheels and components supplier for the U.S. Postal Team.
• It’s since become wheel and components sponsor for Lidl-Trek, joining the team, which is co-sponsored by parent company Trek, when it was first founded in 2011. It enjoyed plenty of success in that time, including multiple Tour de France stage wins, most recently on stage 8 of the 2023 race courtesy of Mads Pedersen.