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GT Bicycles history
GT Bicycles company history timeline
Since 1972 GT Bicycles has proudly been developing bikes, for every type of rider, with a consistent mission.
Back in 1972, Gary Turner couldn’t find a durable BMX frame for his son, he decided to put his welding experience into creating the very first GT frame.
In 1973, a father named Gary Turner is one of the dads that goes to Moto Cross races and watches the kids racing, including his own.
1974 THE BEGINNING. Richard Long owns and runs a bike shop in Orange County, California.
Together, they started GT Bicycles in 1977.
GT Bicycles was founded in 1979 by BMX racetrack operator Richard Long and engineer and former drag racer Gary Turner, who had been building customized bicycle frames in his garage in Santa Ana, California; the finished bikes were ridden by Turner's son in area races.
1980-86 THE GLORY DAYS OF BMX. GT expands exponentially every year and enters the new off shoot sport of BMX, Freestyle.
In 1980, GT Bicycles launched its first bike called the GT Pro.
By 1981, from a single bicycle shop in Anaheim, the company was selling complete BMX bicycles, and sales reached $4 million, with gross margins of nearly 70 percent due to the low overhead of manufacturing in Turner's garage.
In 1984, the company entered the fast-growing (and higher-priced than BMX) mountain bike industry, introducing its own line of mountain bicycles and going head-on against segment leader Cannondale, then a Pennsylvania-based manufacturer led by Joseph Montgomery.
In 1985, GT acquired Dyno from Bob Morales along with its apparel and footwear collection.
The company acquired Riteway Distributor in 1987 and then proceeded to purchase three more distributors in the United States, to help market its products in the nearly $3 billion parts and accessories market.
1988: Full assortment of USA made 4130 BMX and freestyle frames, components and accessories
Revenues reached $41.2 million in 1989.
1990: MTB range expands to 12 models including the Titanium Xizang LE and the ill fated 700D series of trekking / cross bikes.
President and cofounder Long began a continuous personal promotion campaign, going to weekend bike races to meet customers, dealers, the trade press, and vendors, and total revenue for 1991 reached $61 million.
1992: Huge proliferation of GT innovations such as the Groove Tube, Flip Flop stem and 2 x 4 forks are introduced.
The company was incorporated as GT Holdings, Inc in August 1993.
1993: RTS hits the market and GT becomes a leader in full suspension.
Competitor Huffy, meanwhile, posted a year-end 1993 loss of $4.9 million.
Because of the struggle, Long and Turner sold a controlling interest to Bain Capital in 1993.
1994: RTS becomes a complete line of suspension bikes.
beckert, beverly. "mission possible!: first to market."knight-ridder/tribune news, 17 july 1995.
In October 1995 GT Bicycles issued its common stock in an initial public offering at a price of $14.00 per share.
GT completed its initial public offering of stock on October 18, 1995, issuing 3.15 million new shares and receiving net proceeds of approximately $40.2 million, of which approximately $37.1 million was used to repay debt.
1995: LTS ruled the MTB line up and GT is the first to supply dealers with a fully functional 4 bar linkage MTB made in the USA and damped by the infamous ALPS 5 by Fox.
The Karakoram won “1995 bike of the year”
Also, in 1995 the company's "Stock Purchase Plan" was adopted by the Board of Directors, covering an aggregate of 300,000 shares of common stock.
While GT established an important presence in international markets, representing some 30 percent of 1996 revenue, the company perceives an important opportunity to improve the growth and profitability of these markets.
In 1996, GT won a commission to manufacture a $30,000 carbon fibre “Superbike” for the Summer Olympic games.
sterngold, james. "bike makers try comfort and gizmos to pump up profit." new york times, 30 november 1997.
In 1997, GT introduced 3 new carbon fiber high end LTS full susp.
Also offered to the amazement of many is the IT-1….the commercialization of the original Gear Box design first shown in Anaheim in 1998.
Early in 1998, the company entered into negotiations with Questor Partners to be acquired.
1999: I-Drive is born and marks a new chapter in MTB suspension technology.
2000: GT acquires the Syncros brand and gets into the Tour De France.
The LTS –2000 won “Bike of the Year” .
2000: ULTRABOX !!!. An all new creation by PM Robert Kahler and Industrial Designer Alec Tam blows away the BMX world.
2001: The new I-Drive Team (inspired by the bike Roland raced) weighs in at about 24.5 pounds and brings I-Drive onto the race courses of the world in numbers.
2001: In an effort to catch up to the rider owned companies GT switches the focus to the X Games crowd and starts to market their athletes more aggressively with an all new model line up.
telephone: (714)481-7100 or write: investor relations, gt bicycles, inc., 2001 e. dyer rd., santa ana, ca 92705
On the 5th death anniversary of Richard Long in 2001, Questor filed for bankruptcy and was acquired by Pacific Cycle.
The first frame designed by Gary for freestyle, the Performer, becomes a legend in freestyle and, still today, in 2002, is one of the most recognized brand names in juvenile bicycles.
A tiny office space was found in Lake Forest in Feb of 2002 and GT was back in business.
At Interbike 2002, one of the most famous battles of all time in the IBD occurred when Chris Hornung and Byron Smith attempted to embrace the IBD at Interbike in Las Vegas.
2002: Basically a bust due to the bankruptcy.
2002: The only real news is the Ruckus I-Drive which is the new standard for free riding.
2003, RISING FROM THE ASHES. PC had Schwinn….and they knew exactly what to do with it.
And then in 2004, Pacific Cycle was acquired by Canadian company Dorel Industries.
With more engineering and design resources added the GT product team resurrects the “G-Box” concept bike for the 2005 Eurobike show.
2005, THE REVIVAL. Slowly but surely the GT development engine gets more gas as two years of success convince PC that it is worth paying attention to not only GT but the IBD market in general.
That is all for now, 2008 marks a true return to form for GT Bicycles.
Current demographics bode well for the company as teen population growth is expected to outpace the overall population through the year 2010.
"GT Bicycles Inc. ." Company Profiles for Students. . Retrieved June 21, 2022 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/economics/economics-magazines/gt-bicycles-inc
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GT Bicycles competitors
| Company name | Founded date | Revenue | Employee size | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Specialized Bicycles | 1974 | $500.0M | 1,500 | 52 |
| SRAM | 1987 | $725.0M | 3,500 | 9 |
| Felt Bicycles | 1991 | $6.5M | 65 | - |
| Iridex | 1989 | $51.9M | 114 | - |
| Mitsubishi Digital Electronics America, Inc. | 1997 | $1.3M | 138,700 | - |
| vasamed | 1999 | $1.6M | 15 | - |
| Minwax | 1904 | $580.0M | 990 | - |
| Raltron Electronics | 1983 | $86.0M | 350 | - |
| Crown Matting Technologies | 1943 | $43.4M | 100 | - |
| Boston Acoustics | 1979 | $80.0M | 249 | - |
GT Bicycles history FAQs
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GT Bicycles may also be known as or be related to GT Bicycle Corporation, GT Bicycles and GT Bicycles, Inc.