History of the Bontrager Brand

Bontrager is part of the Trek Bicycle Corporation, a large American bike, component, and accessories manufacturer. Bontrager is its range of bike apparel, components, and accessories. The line includes everything from brake levers, pedals, and saddles to panniers, helmets, and lights. The apparel range includes shoes, gloves, jackets, and more.

Trek has owned Bontrager since 1995, but the history of the company and the brand goes back much further than that. Its origins can be traced back to 1979 when its founder, Keith Bontrager, built his first bike. He was a motorcycle racer at the time and also built racing motorcycles.

In 1980, he formed a bike manufacturing company out of his garage in Santa Cruz in California. The brand quickly gained a reputation for making incredibly light and strong bike frames and components. They were not cheap, but they provided great value for the money. When you bought a Bontrager component, you got what you paid for.

Bontrager was sold to Trek after one of the business partners left. Bontrager was hired as president and still works in the company today designing bike components.

In the mid-1990s, when Trek first took over the brand, frames were a big part of the Bontrager range. They eventually began making other components too. The frames side of the business was discontinued in the late 1990s because of changes in production techniques and different demands from cyclists.

The components, accessories, parts, and apparel that carry the Bontrager brand name still adhere to the qualities that were the foundation of the brand when it first began—high performance and cutting- edge design.

Bontrager Product Range

The Bontrager product range is extensive. There is a wide range of their products in listings from both private sellers and bike shops on Bike Exchange, including high performance parts as well as components and gear for recreational cyclists. There is also a kids range.

The range includes:

• Cycling components - bar ends, brake levers, handlebars, pedals, saddles, seat posts, stems, tires, tubes, and wheels.
• Cycling accessories - bags, panniers, bells, horns, computers, GPS systems, fenders, helmets, lights, pumps, racks, tools, trailers, trainers, rollers, car racks, handlebar grips, and more.
• Cycling apparel - arm warmers, leg warmers, base layers, booties, toe covers, caps, headwear, gloves, jackets, vests, jerseys, shoes, shorts, bibs, socks, tights, pants, t-shirts, and casual wear.

Bontrager Sponsorship

Bontrager is not involved in any sponsorship arrangements directly as a brand, but its parent company Trek is heavily involved in a range of different cycling disciplines. This includes the road racing team Trek-Segafredo, the cyclocross team Telenet-Fidea, the Timex Triathlon team, the cross country mountain bike Trek Factory Racing XC team, the downhill Trek Factory Racing DH team, and the Trek Factory Racing Enduro team.

In addition, Trek also supports individual riders plus a number of grassroots initiatives and programs for junior and female riders. It is involved in the C3 Project too. It is a team of BMX freeriders who compete and put on exhibitions and appear in movies.