, formerly , is a producer of bicycles and cycling accessories. The "Panasonic" brand was (together with the "National" brand) used by Matsushita for bicycles long before Matsushita changed its name to Panasonic. Konosuke Matsushita grew up with a family who owned a bicycle shop and always had a love and passion toward bicycles. He later on founded the Panasonic bicycle line. Panasonic bicycles were very well built, and produced in steel, aluminum and

titanium Titanium is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ti and atomic number 22. Found in nature only as an oxide, it can be reduced to produce a lustrous transition metal with a silver color, low density, and high strength, resista ...

. Some of the road models were used in the

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...

Panasonic has competed with bicycle companies like Miyata, Bridgestone, Maruishi, Nichibei Fuji, and

Motobécane Motobécane was a French manufacturer of bicycles, mopeds, motorcycles, and other small vehicles, established in 1923. "Motobécane" is a compound of "moto", short for motorcycle; "bécane" is slang for "bike." Motobécane is a different c ...

. The types of bicycles Panasonic produced ranged from '' mamachari'', commuter, road, touring, to track racing models. According to the Panasonic Bike Museum, other bicycle producers sold rebadged Panasonic bicycles at various times such as Royce Union,

Schwinn The Schwinn Bicycle Company is an American company that develops, manufactures and markets bicycles under the eponymous brand name. The company was originally founded by Ignaz Schwinn (1860–1948) in Chicago in 1895. It became the dominant manuf ...

and

Raleigh Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southeas ...

External links

Panasonic bicycles
*Darin Nederhoff
Panasonic Bicycles Virtual Museum
{{Panasonic Cycle manufacturers of Japan Panasonic

See also

External links