Focus Bikes is a bicycle manufacturer that has its administration in Stuttgart, Germany and production facilities based in

Cloppenburg Cloppenburg (; nds, Cloppenborg; stq, Kloppenbuurich) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, capital of Cloppenburg District and part of Oldenburg Münsterland. It lies 38 km south-south-west of Oldenburg in the Weser-Ems region between Brem ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and builds sport bicycles such as e-bikes,

racing bicycle A racing bicycle, also known as a road bike is a bicycle designed for competitive road cycling, a sport governed by and according to the rules of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI). Racing bicycles are designed for maximum performance w ...

s and mountain bicycles.

History

The company was founded in 1993 by Mike Kluge, cyclocross World Champion. In 1993 the company partnered with the manufacturer Derby Cycle Werke to produce bicycles. In 1994 the first production line brought out 6 varieties of mountain bike. In 1995 the company expanded to produce

touring bicycle A touring bicycle is a bicycle designed or modified to handle bicycle touring. To make the bikes sufficiently robust, comfortable and capable of carrying heavy loads, special features may include a long wheelbase (for ride comfort and to avoid p ...

s.Focus Bikes History
In 2003 the company began to produce

s. In 2006 the company produced its first

carbon fiber Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers (Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon compo ...

frames. In 2008 a joint production effort between Andreas Walser saw the company produce a

time trial bicycle A time trial bicycle is a racing bicycle designed for use in an individual race against the clock. Compared to a road bike, a time trial bike is more aerodynamic, has a shorter wheelbase, and puts the rider closer to the front of the bicycle. ...

and the same year produced a

triathlon A triathlon is an endurance multisport race consisting of swimming, cycling, and running over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall completion time, racing each segment sequentially with the time transitioning between the ...

bicycle. In 2009 the company set up subsidiaries in the United States and Italy, and began a European wide advertising campaign on

Eurosport Eurosport is a group of pay television networks in Europe and parts of Asia. Owned by Warner Bros. Discovery through its international sports unit, it operates two main channels— Eurosport 1 and Eurosport 2—across most of its territories, ...

TV channel.

Ownership

Focus is owned by Derby Cycle of Germany, which operates under ownership of the

Pon Holdings Pon Holdings BV is a Dutch conglomerate in the transport sector. It was founded in 1980 by Ben Pon, Jr., a former racing car driver and son of Ben Pon, Sr., who became the importer of Volkswagen in the Netherlands in 1947. Activities Tra ...

Bicycle Group.

Sponsorships & achievements

In 1993 Mike Kluge became German National Champion and runner-up World Champion riding a FOCUS bike. In 1998 Jörg Arenz became the German cyclocross champion on a FOCUS bike. In 2005

Hanka Kupfernagel Hanka Kupfernagel (born 19 March 1974 in Gera, Bezirk Gera) is a retired German professional cycle racer. During most of her career her primary focus was cyclo-cross racing, however, she has also won major road, track and mountain bike races. ...

became the cyclocross World Champion on a FOCUS Mares Team bike. In 2008 four athletes sponsored by Focus won titles at the German Cyclocross Championships for juniors, women, 23-and-under, and elite. In 2009 the company commenced a partnership with Team Milram. They will partner with

Team Katusha A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interdependent with respect to infor ...

for season 2011 since Team Milram will fold at the end of the 2010 season. In 2010 the company sponsors racing teams such as Team Van Vliet, Team Jelly Belly and Team NetApp.Focus bikes in 2010 on CyclingNews.com
/ref> They also sponsor mountain bike teams Team M.I.G. (Made in Germany) and an Italian amateur team Focus Italia. The company is also an official partner of the 2010

Tour de Suisse The Tour de Suisse ( en, Tour of Switzerland) is an annual road cycling stage race. Raced over eight days, the event covers two weekends in June, and along with the Critérium du Dauphiné, it is considered a proving ground for the Tour de France ...

. In 2011 the company began sponsoring

, and continued sponsoring Team Jelly Belly and Women's Team VanderKitten. In 2012 Focus parted company with Team Katusha, citing differing views on strategy, and partnered with the Italian team Acqua & Sapone. In 2013 the company began sponsoring

AG2R-La Mondiale Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team () is a French cycling team with UCI WorldTeam status. Its title sponsors are French sporting goods retailer Decathlon and French insurance firm AG2R La Mondiale. The team is predominantly French. History In 199 ...

, after Acqua & Sapone team folded after the end of 2012 season. In 2016 Focus cyclocross athlete Jeremy Powers won his fourth USA National Championship.

References

External links

Official Focus Bikes website
{{German bicycle manufacturers Cycle manufacturers of Germany Mountain bike manufacturers Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1992 German companies established in 1992