Rabasa Cycle is a Spanish

bicycles A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike, push-bike or cycle, is a human-powered or motor-assisted, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, with two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A is called a cyclist, or bicyclist. ...

company, headquartered in

Mollet del Vallès Mollet del Vallès () is a municipalities of Spain, municipality in the Comarques of Catalonia, ''comarca'' of the Vallès Oriental in Catalonia, Spain. It is situated in the valley of the Besòs (river), Besòs river, and is an important commun ...

(

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

). The company, which started as a bicycle repair shop in 1922, was founded by Simeó Rabasa i Singla.

History

The first Rabasa bicycle shop opens to the public in 1922. Founded by Simeó Rabasa i Singla, its business activities originally consist of the sale, rental and repair of

. Three years later, Rabasa enters into partnership with his brother in law, Vicens Solà, and within a few years they manage to open twenty-one bicycle sales and rental branches throughout the Vallès region in

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. The company introduces sale on credit without interest and promotes bicycling classes for women.El meu avi. Simeó Rabasa, bicicletes i derivats
, Documentary script about Simeó Rabasa (text in Catalan). 2001, 7 october. In 1930, Rabasa and Solà separate and, one year later, Rabasa opens a new shop in the municipality of

Martorelles Martorelles () is a municipality in the province of Barcelona and autonomous community of Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autono ...

(

). The new building allows him to manufacture fenders and specialize in the production of frames and accessories. During the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

, production is greatly reduced due to the difficulty of supplying the factory. Later during the war, the factory is confiscated by the Republican Government for use in the repair of military airplane engines. After the civil war, production resumes. In 1944 Simeó Rabasa i Singla creates a corporation with his brother, Josep Rabasa i Singla, called Bicicletas Rabasa. From then on, the company adds the production of

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike; uni (if one-wheeled); trike (if three-wheeled); quad (if four-wheeled)) is a lightweight private 1-to-2 passenger personal motor vehicle Steering, steered by a Motorcycle handlebar, handlebar from a saddle-style ...

components to the existing bicycle business. In 1950 Bicicletas Rabasa transforms into Nacional Motor S.A. and launches the first

Derbi Derbi is a manufacturer of motorcycles, scooters, mopeds and recreational all-terrain vehicles produced by Nacional Motor S.A.U., currently integrated into the Italian (2009) Piaggio Group. History Derbi's origins began with a little bicycle wo ...

motorcycle (acronym comes from the expression « derived from bicycle») in the Barcelona Exhibition Fair. The company is hence known as Rabasa

. In 1970 the company is divided into two separate companies. Bicycle production remains under the direction of Margarita Rabasa (daughter of Simeó Rabasa i Singla) and Dante Adami, who found a new bicycle manufacturing plant in the municipality of

. The new plant occupies 26,000

square meters The square metre ( international spelling as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures) or square meter (American spelling) is the unit of area in the International System of Units (SI) with symbol m2. It is the area of a square w ...

. They produce nearly two million bicycles until 1996, when the plant closes its doors.«Cierra bicicletas Rabasa». El País Spanish journal. 1996, 5 january.
/ref> In 2011, Albert Adami Rabasa resumes the business with Rabasa Cycle. The company focuses on the production of urban bicycles. File:Factoria-rabasa.jpeg, Old Rabasa Bicicletas factory in Mollet del Vallès. File:Rabasa-corsa.jpeg, Rabasa Corsa Model. File:Rabasa-Panther.jpeg, Competition Rabasa Panther bikes.

Historic models

Panther BMX

The BMX bicycles in this series were sold in the 1980s. The Rabasa Derbi BMX team took home 4 world championship titles and 9 domestic championship titles, across several categories of competition. Rabasa Derbi riders competed with Panther BMX bikes.

Lady y Hollyday

In its early years as a repair and rental shop, Rabasa promoted riding classes for women. Later as a bicycle manufacturer, Rabasa designed and built various models for women and girls. Among these were the Rabasa Lady and the Rabasa Holiday.

Cross-Jet

The Panther Cross-Jet BMX was a big hit with the adolescent market in the 1980s. It was known for its disc brakes and other innovative available options. This model was used in several domestic and world BMX championships.

References

External links

«El meu avi». TV3 documentary about Simeó Rabasa i Singla (in Catalan).

Rabasa old pictures
{{Automotive industry in Spain Companies based in Catalonia Bicycle framebuilders Cycle manufacturers of Spain