BMC Switzerland AG (abbreviation of "Bicycle Manufacturing Company") is a Swiss bicycle and cycling product manufacturer based in Grenchen. BMC designs, builds and distributes road bikes,

mountain bike A mountain bike (MTB) or mountain bicycle is a bicycle designed for off-road cycling. Mountain bikes share some similarities with other bicycles, but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in rough terrain, which ...

s, and

commuter bike Bicycle commuting is the use of a bicycle to travel from home to a place of work or study — in contrast to the use of a bicycle for sport, recreation or touring. Commuting especially lends itself to areas with relatively flat terrain and ar ...

s primarily for sale to dealers in North America, Europe, South Africa, Australia, East Asia and the United Arab Emirates.

History

1986-2001 founding and early years

In 1986,

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

Bob Bigelow founded BMC as an assembler and wholesale distributor of Raleigh bicycles (then owned by

Derby Cycle Derby Cycle AG, based in Cloppenburg, Germany, is one of the three largest manufacturers of bicycles in Europe. During the 2010/11 fiscal year Derby employed 756 people. Derby Cycle has a 14% market share in Germany. The Derby Cycle AG is listed i ...

). After losing his distributor's license, Bigelow began building bikes under a new BMC label, but it remained a niche brand. In 2001, the company shifted their strategy, turning to greater investment in engineering and design.

2001 - present

BMC's relationship to performance cycling began when BMC began supplying the Swiss professional road racing team Phonak with bikes. The team's patron was Andy Rihs, owner of the world-leading hearing-aid company of the same name. Andy Rihs took over BMC in 2000 with the vision of building a carbon production facility in Grenchen, Switzerland to produce the ‘Porsche of race bikes’ and the Impec road bike was created. Having a carbon production facility at its disposal has heavily influenced how BMC approaches bike manufacturing. The facility is now called the Impec Advanced R&D Lab and it is primarily used for research and development by the company's design and engineering teams. Professional cycling teams and athletes riding BMC's bikes have won the

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...

, the Tour de Romandie, the Tirreno–Adriatico, the

Tour de Wallonie The Tour de Wallonie is a stage race cycling race on the UCI Europe Tour. It runs in Wallonia, the French-speaking part of Belgium in the end of July. Between 1974 and 1995 it was reserved to amateurs. Since 2005, the race has been organized as a ...

, the

Paris–Tours Paris–Tours is a French one-day classic road cycling race held every October from the outskirts of Paris to the cathedral city of Tours. It is a predominantly flat course through the Chevreuse and Loire valleys; the highest point is 200 m, ...

, Critérium International, Paris–Roubaix, and many other high-profile events. In 2014 and 2015 the BMC Racing Team won the UCI Team Time Trial World Championships. In 2015, Australian rider

Rohan Dennis Rohan Dennis (born 28 May 1990) is an Australian professional road racing cyclist who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Dennis was born, raised, and resides in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. He won back to back UCI men's individual ti ...

broke the hour record on a BMC.

Sponsorship

At the end of the 2018 season, BMC withdrew support of the

BMC Racing Team CCC Pro Team () was a UCI WorldTeam co-owned and managed by American cyclist Jim Ochowicz, who founded the 7-Eleven Cycling Team. After its last title sponsor, CCC, a Polish shoe retailer, pulled out due to financial difficulties resulting from t ...

, whose former leader,

Cadel Evans Cadel Lee Evans (; born 14 February 1977) is an Australian former professional racing cyclist, who competed professionally in both mountain biking and road bicycle racing. A four-time Olympian, Evans is one of three non-Europeans – along wi ...

won the

2011 Tour de France The 2011 Tour de France was the 98th edition of the race. It started on 2 July at the Passage du Gois and ended on the Champs-Élysées in Paris on 24 July. The cyclists competed in 21 stages over 23 days, covering a distance of . The route en ...

, th
BMC Mountain Bike Racing Team
as well as th
BMC Factory Trailcrew
From 2019, BMC is a bicycle supplier for Team Dimension Data. Beside that BMC is also co-sponsoring th
Uplace-BMC Pro Triathlon Team
as well as many other athletes.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Cycle manufacturers of Switzerland Cycle parts manufacturers Mountain bike manufacturers Swiss brands Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1986 Swiss companies established in 1986 Manufacturing companies of Switzerland Companies based in the canton of Solothurn Grenchen