Torker was a brand of

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

s and

unicycle A unicycle is a vehicle that touches the ground with only one wheel. The most common variation has a frame with a saddle, and has a pedal-driven direct-drive. A two speed hub is commercially available for faster unicycling. Unicycling is pract ...

s owned by Seattle Bike Supply, headquartered in

Kent, Washington Kent is a city in King County, Washington, United States. It is part of the Seattle–Tacoma–Bellevue metropolitan area and had a population of 136,588 as of the 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest municipality in greater Seattle and th ...

History

The Torker name was created by Johnson Engineering in Fullerton, CA in 1977 for a

BMX BMX, an abbreviation for bicycle motocross or bike motocross, is a cycle sport performed on BMX bikes, either in competitive BMX racing or freestyle BMX, or else in general street or off-road recreation. History BMX began during the earl ...

bike frame. The first Haro bikes were made by Torker. In 1982, Torker let go Bob Haro when he introduced his own line of BMX racing pants. In 1984, the Torker Bicycle Company went bankrupt, and Seattle Bike Supply purchased the name. BMX bikes with the Torker name were made from the late 1970s into the 2000s. Torker's product line expanded to include beach cruisers, tandem bikes and even unicycles. ''

Reader's Digest ''Reader's Digest'' is an American general-interest family magazine, published ten times a year. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, it is now headquartered in midtown Manhattan. The magazine was founded in 1922 by DeWitt Wallace and his wif ...

'' nominated Torker unicycles as "America's 100 Best" for 2006, and Torker was awarded BEST OF 2006 in the December issue of '' Seattle Magazine''. Seattle Bike Supply was acquired by

Accell Accell Group N.V. is a bicycle company based in Heerenveen, Netherlands. They own the bicycle brands Atala, Babboe, Batavus, Carraro Cicli, Ghost, Haibike, KOGA, Lapierre, Loekie, Nishiki, Raleigh, Sparta, Torker, Tunturi, Van Nicholas, ...

in 2006.

BMX team

Torker sponsored a BMX racing team that included such riders as: * Kevin McNeal *

Leo Green Leo Green (born 30 August 1972) is a British musician and broadcaster. Saxophonist and orchestra leader Green played with Van Morrison's band. Green plays saxophone and sings in his own band. In 2010 guitarist Jeff Beck said, "Leo Green has ...

* Mike Miranda * Richie Anderson *

Tommy Brackens Tommy Lee Brackens (born November 20, 1960, in Los Angeles, California) is an American former professional "Old School" Bicycle Motocross (BMX) racer. His prime competitive years were from 1980 to 1988. His nickname was "The Human Dragster", so ...

Clint Miller Clint Miller 1 (born April 29, 1962, in Pomona, California U.S.) is a former American "Old School" professional Bicycle Motocross (BMX) racer whose prime competitive years were from 1976 to 1984. A popular nickname given to him was "Miller Time ...

Eddy King Edward King (born October 9, 1964 in the Philippines (in 1970 his family settled in Chula Vista, California)) is an "Old School" former professional Bicycle Motocross (BMX) racer whose prime competitive years were from 1977 to 1985. Eddy King i ...

Matt Hadan Matthew Merle Hadan (b. June 4, 1970 from Azusa, California U.S.) is an American professional "Old/Mid School" Bicycle Motocross (BMX) racer whose prime competitive years were from 1985 to 1995. Hadan was nicknamed early in his career as "The Mast ...

Steve Veltman Stephen James Veltman (born August 4, 1969 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; later raised in Conroe, Texas U.S.) is a former American "Old School/Mid School" professional Bicycle Motocross (BMX) racer whose prime competitive years were from 1980–1 ...

* Mike King *

Cheri Elliott Cheri Elliott (born April 17, 1970) is an American former champion female bicycle motocross (BMX) racer in the 1980s, and a champion Downhill and Slalom mountain bike racer in the 1990s and early 2000s. During her BMX career, she spent most of her ...

Kelly McDougal Jason Jenson

Products

The Torker line currently includes

s, strollers, and

trailers Trailer may refer to: a Transportation * Trailer (vehicle), an unpowered vehicle pulled by a powered vehicle ** Bicycle trailer, a wheeled frame for hitching to a bicycle to tow cargo or passengers ** Full-trailer ** Semi-trailer **Horse traile ...

Bicycles

The bicycles include adult (men's and

women's A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardle ...

), children,

tandem Tandem, or in tandem, is an arrangement in which a team of machines, animals or people are lined up one behind another, all facing in the same direction. The original use of the term in English was in ''tandem harness'', which is used for two ...

, and

cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles. The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several ...

Unicycles

The unicycles include ones with 16", 20", 24", 26", and 29" wheels, a 5' giraffe, and a 20" trail. Beginner Unicycles, CX Unistar: 16' 20" and 24" Intermediate Unicycles, LX Unistar: 20", 24", 26" Trials Unicycles, DX Unistar: 20" and 24" Giraffe Unicycle, TX Unistar: 20".

References

External links

Torker websiteSeattle Bike Supply website
Cycle manufacturers of the United States BMX Companies based in Kent, Washington {{cycle-manufacturer-stub