Bike Athletic Company is an American sportswear company. In 1874, Charles F. Bennett, an employee of the Chicago sporting goods company Sharp and Smith, invented the jockstrap, designed to provide support and protection for bicycle transporters navigating Boston's cobbled streets. Bennett later founded the Bike Web Company and played a major role in popularizing the jockstrap among athletes and workers. On November 30, 1897, Bennett patented an improved version of the undergarment under U.S. Patent No. 594,673, titled "Combined Jock-Strap and Suspensory". Over time, the jockstrap became widely adopted in various organized sports, leading to the colloquial term "jock" for athletes who wore them. File:US PATENT No 594,673.png File:The Bike Web mfg company 1947.png

Overview

The company later produced additional protective

sports Sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The number of participants in ...

equipment such as multipurpose knee pads, elbow pads,

glove A glove is a garment covering the hand, with separate sheaths or openings for each finger including the thumb. Gloves protect and comfort hands against cold or heat, damage by friction, abrasion or chemicals, and disease; or in turn to provide a ...

shoulder pads The human shoulder is made up of three bones: the clavicle (collarbone), the scapula (shoulder blade), and the humerus (upper arm bone) as well as associated muscles, ligaments and tendons. The articulations between the bones of the shoulder m ...

uniform A uniform is a variety of costume worn by members of an organization while usually participating in that organization's activity. Modern uniforms are most often worn by armed forces and paramilitary organizations such as police, emergency serv ...

jersey Jersey ( ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. Although as a British Crown Dependency it is not a sovereign state, it has its own distinguishing civil and gov ...

s, and

Pants Trousers (British English), slacks, or pants (American English, American, Canadian English, Canadian and Australian English) are an item of clothing worn from the waist to anywhere between the knees and the ankles, covering both legs separatel ...

for

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

, and

softball Softball is a Variations of baseball, variation of baseball, the difference being that it is played with a larger ball, on a smaller field, and with only underhand pitches (where the ball is released while the hand is primarily below the ball) ...

. At one time, BIKE produced

athletic shoe Sneakers ( US) or trainers ( UK), also known by a wide variety of other names, are shoes primarily designed for sports or other forms of physical exercise, but are also widely used for everyday casual wear. They were popularized by compani ...

s and a wider range of sports-related apparel. In 2001, Bike was the official

helmet A helmet is a form of protective gear worn to protect the head. More specifically, a helmet complements the skull in protecting the human brain. Ceremonial or symbolic helmets (e.g., a policeman's helmet in the United Kingdom) without protecti ...

supplier of the XFL American football league. Almost every player in the XFL wore a helmet made by the company. In 2003, Bike was part of the Russell Corporation, which is a

subsidiary A subsidiary, subsidiary company, or daughter company is a company (law), company completely or partially owned or controlled by another company, called the parent company or holding company, which has legal and financial control over the subsidia ...

Berkshire Hathaway Berkshire Hathaway Inc. () is an American multinational conglomerate holding company headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska. Originally a textile manufacturer, the company transitioned into a conglomerate starting in 1965 under the management of c ...

. In the first quarter of 2017, Russell Brands announced they would be closing down Bike. On April 15, 2021, the brand was purchased by Alex Angelchik, as the lead investor. The brand launched a new website, and reopened for online sales, featuring a modernized version of their trademark "No. #10" jockstrap, as well as active apparel collections.

References

Companies based in Atlanta American companies established in 1874 Sportswear brands 1874 establishments in Massachusetts American companies disestablished in 2017 Defunct manufacturing companies based in Georgia (U.S. state) {{Clothing-stub