Bike Athletic Company is an American sportswear company with headquarters in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, Georgia. They invented the

jockstrap A jockstrap, also a jock (male), jill (female), strap, cup, groin guard, pelvic protector (female), supporter, or athletic supporter, is an undergarment for protecting the testes and penis or vulva during contact sports or other vigorous physic ...

in 1874 for bicyclists in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

. The firm sold over 350 million jockstraps. The company later produced additional protective

sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, th ...

equipment such as multi-purpose

knee pad Knee pads or kneepads are protective gear worn on knees to protect them against impact injury from falling to the ground or hitting an obstacle, or to provide padding for extended kneeling. Use Sports Knee pads are worn in many recreationa ...

elbow pad Elbow pads are protective padded gear worn on the elbows to protect them against injury during a fall or a strike. Elbow pads are worn by many athletes, especially hockey players, cyclists, roller skaters, skateboarders, volleyball players, sk ...

glove A glove is a garment covering the hand. Gloves usually have separate sheaths or openings for each finger and the thumb. If there is an opening but no (or a short) covering sheath for each finger they are called fingerless gloves. Fingerless glov ...

shoulder pads Shoulder pads may refer to: * Shoulder pads (fashion) * Shoulder pads (sport) Shoulder pads are a piece of protective equipment used in many contact sports such as gridiron football, lacrosse, and ice hockey and some non-contact sports such as ...

uniform A uniform is a variety of clothing worn by members of an organization while participating in that organization's activity. Modern uniforms are most often worn by armed forces and paramilitary organizations such as police, emergency services, se ...

jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label=Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west F ...

s, and

pants Trousers (British English), slacks, or pants are an item of clothing worn from the waist to anywhere between the knees and the ankles, covering both legs separately (rather than with cloth extending across both legs as in robes, skirts, and dr ...

for

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

, and

softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

. At one time, Bike produced

athletic shoe Sneakers (also called trainers, athletic shoes, tennis shoes, gym shoes, kicks, sport shoes, flats, running shoes, or runners) are shoes primarily designed for sports or other forms of physical exercise, but which are now also widely used fo ...

s and a wider range of sports-related apparel. In 2001, Bike was the official

helmet A helmet is a form of protective gear worn to protect the head. More specifically, a helmet complements the skull in protecting the human brain. Ceremonial or symbolic helmets (e.g., a policeman's helmet in the United Kingdom) without protect ...

supplier of the

XFL XFL may refer to: Sports * XFL (2001), a defunct American football league that played its only season in 2001 * XFL (2020), a professional American football league Vehicles * Bell XFL Airabonita, a 1940 U.S. Navy experimental interceptor aircra ...

American football league. Almost every player in the XFL wore a helmet made by the company. As of 2003, Bike was part of the

Russell Corporation Russell Brands, LLC was an American corporation that manufactured sports equipment, marketing its products under many brands and subsidiaries, such as Russell Athletic (its flagship brand) and Spalding. Formerly a publicly traded company, Russ ...

, which is a

subsidiary A subsidiary, subsidiary company or daughter company is a company owned or controlled by another company, which is called the parent company or holding company. Two or more subsidiaries that either belong to the same parent company or having a s ...

Berkshire Hathaway Berkshire Hathaway Inc. () is an American Multinational corporation, multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate holding company headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Its main business and source of capital is insurance, from ...

. In the first quarter of 2017,

Russell Brands Russell Brands, LLC was an American corporation that manufactured sports equipment, marketing its products under many brands and subsidiaries, such as Russell Athletic (its flagship brand) and Spalding. Formerly a publicly traded company, Russ ...

announced they would be closing down Bike. On April 15, 2021, the brand's website reopened for online sales, featuring a modernized version of their trademark "No. 10" jockstrap, as well as active apparel. File:Vintage Bike - red box.jpg File:Vintage Bike NFL ProLine.jpg File:Modern Bike Jockstrap.jpg

References

Companies based in Atlanta American companies established in 1874 Sportswear brands 1874 establishments in Massachusetts American companies disestablished in 2017 Defunct manufacturing companies based in Georgia (U.S. state) {{Clothing-stub