is a Japanese bicycle company manufacturing both bicycles and parts. The company was started as a small family business in

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...

, Japan in 1918 by Sentarō Kuwahara (桑原仙太郎). With his wife and eight children, he began a local bicycle parts

wholesale Wholesaling or distributing is the sale of goods or merchandise to retailers; to industrial, commercial, institutional or other professional business users; or to other wholesalers (wholesale businesses) and related subordinated services. In ...

. In 1925, Kuwahara began to export bicycles and parts to Russia, China and Southeast Asia, closing the business from 1940 to 1945 during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. 1959 saw the first delivery of Kuwahara bikes to the

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. Sentaro Kuwahara died the following year, with his son Masao taking his place. In 1962, Kuwahara sent its first shipment of Apollo brand sport bicycles to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and, in 1968, began exporting private label bikes to the USA for other companies such as

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Takara Takara Co., Ltd. (株式会社タカラ) was a Japanese toy company founded in 1955. In March 2006, the company merged with Tomy Co., Ltd. to form Takara Tomy. The Takara motto was 遊びは文化」("playing is culture"). Products Toys In 1 ...

Puch Puch () is a manufacturing company located in Graz, Austria. The company was founded in 1899 by the industrialist Johann Puch and produced automobiles, bicycles, mopeds, and motorcycles. It was a subsidiary of the large Steyr-Daimler-Puch cong ...

, and Azuki. The first Kuwahara branded bikes for export came in 1972 when it began developing BMX bicycles for the North American,

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

an and Australian markets. Howie Cohen — who had previously operated West Coast Cycle, importer of Nishiki bikes — founded the company Everything Bicycles, and worked with Kuwahara to build and import BMX bikes carrying the "Kuwahara" brand name, developing the first major BMX distributorship. To make the Kuwahara brand name a household word, Cohen ran a promotion giving free stickers to children who called a toll-free phone number and could correctly pronounce the brand name. In 1989, Cohen sold the Kuwahara name back to the Japanese parent company. The Kuwahara brand gained international recognition and popularity when its BMX model was used in '' E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial''. Following the success of the film, Kuwahara began producing red and white "ET" models in three price and quality levels. Kuwahara reissued the ET model in 2002, as part of ''ETs 20th anniversary, and again in 2022 as part of the film's 40th anniversary. In 2007, lead singer

Tom Meighan Thomas Peter Meighan (, born 11 January 1981) is an English singer and musician, best known as the former lead vocalist for the rock band Kasabian. He enjoyed large-scale success with Kasabian in the 2000s and 2010s. He is said to have an in ...

of rock group

Kasabian Kasabian ( ) are an English rock band formed in Leicester in 1997 by lead vocalist Tom Meighan, guitarist and occasional vocalist Sergio Pizzorno, guitarist Chris Karloff, and bassist Chris Edwards. Drummer Ian Matthews joined in 2004. Karl ...

purchased the screen used bike for £10,000. Takuo Kuwahara started Kuwahara International in 1988.

Models

Kuwahara made number of all-terrain/mountain bikes. These bikes were released in sizes referred to based on their frame size (small, medium, large, extra large). * Butte: 1987 * Shasta: * Cascade: * M3.5 ParkWay * M3.6 ParkWay * Lynx: 1990, 1991, 1992, *Cheetah: 1990, 1991, * Ranger: 1989, * Lion: 1989, 1990, 1991 *Cougar: 1989, 1990, 1991, * Puma: 1989 * Panther: 1989 * Jaguar: 1989 *Tiger: 1990, 1991, *Leopard: 1990, *Gepard: 1990, *A-Pacer: 1992, *C-Pacer: 1991, 1992, *U-Pacer: 1992, *X-Pacer: 1990, 1991, 1992 *Hi-Pacer: 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, *Pacer: 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, *Oncilla: 1991, 1992, *Maragay: 1991, 1992, *Carbo-Titan: 1991,1992 *Marten: 1992, *Badger: 1992, *Weasel: 1992, *Mountain Tandem: 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992 *Road Tandem: 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992 * Kuwahara Thread, MTBR https://www.mtbr.com/threads/classic-kuwahara-mtbs.513225/ * Kuwahara 1989 Catalogue http://kuwahara-family.brieger.blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Kuwahara-1989.pdf *Kuwahara 1990 Catalogue https://www.retrobike.co.uk/gallery2/d/12520-2/Kuwahara90.pdf *Kuwahara 1991 Catalogue https://www.retrobike.co.uk/gallery2/d/12526-2/Kuwahara91.pdf * Kuwahara 1992 Catalogue https://www.retrobike.co.uk/gallery2/d/12530-2/Kuwahara92.pdf *

References

External links

Official Page
Japanese companies established in 1918 Cycle manufacturers of Japan Cycle parts manufacturers Japanese brands Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1918 Manufacturing companies based in Osaka {{cycling-stub