CALOI is a major

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

ian manufacturer of bicycles and bicycle equipment, along with motorized cycles like the past Mobilette models, based in

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...

. In the 1960s, Caloi achieved some popularity producing

folding bicycle A folding bicycle is a bicycle designed to fold into a compact form, facilitating transport and storage. When folded, the bikes can be more easily carried into buildings, on public transportation (facilitating mixed-mode commuting and bicycl ...

History

Caloi was founded in 1898 by

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

immigrant Luigi Caloi and his brother-in-law, Agenor Poletti. The company was directed by the Caloi family from 1898 to 1999. When Luigi Caloi died in 1924, the company changed its name from ''Casa Luiz Caloi'' (Portuguese for ''House of Luiz Caloi'') to ''Casa Irmãos Caloi'' (Portuguese for ''House of Caloi Brothers''), directed by Luigi's sons Guido, Henrique and José Pedro. In 1928, Henrique and José Pedro left the company, and Caloi was directed by Guido Caloi alone. In 1948, the company changed its name to ''Indústria e Comércio de Bicicletas Caloi S.A.''. Guido died in 1955, and the company was directed by his son Bruno Caloi until 1999. In 1999, the Caloi family sold the majority of Caloi's voting shares to

Edson Vaz Musa Edson may refer to: Places Canada * Edson, Alberta United States * Edson, Kansas, an unincorporated community * Edson, South Dakota, a ghost town * Edson, Wisconsin, a town ** Edson (community), Wisconsin, an unincorporated community People G ...

. Bruno Caloi, who was the president of the CBC (the Brazilian Cycling Confederation) for many years, died in October, 2006. In 2013, 70% of Caloi's shares were acquired by Dorel, which also controls other bicycle manufacturers such as

Cannondale The Cannondale Bicycle Corporation is an American division of Dutch conglomerate Pon Holdings that supplies bicycles. Its headquarters are in Wilton, Connecticut with engineering offices in Freiburg, Germany. Frames are manufactured in Taiwan ...

and

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 ...

, among others. Dutch conglomerate

Pon Holdings Pon Holdings BV is a Dutch conglomerate in the transport sector. It was founded in 1980 by Ben Pon, Jr., a former racing car driver and son of Ben Pon, Sr., who became the importer of Volkswagen in the Netherlands in 1947. Activities Tra ...

acquired Caloi with the purchase of Dorel Sports in 2021.

Manufacturing Plants

In 1898 a shop was established in downtown

, and until 1945 Caloi sold bicycles and parts imported from Europe. In 1945 Caloi established its first factory in the Brooklin pt neighbourhood of São Paulo, as importing parts from Europe became increasingly difficult due to

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. In 1975 Caloi established a factory in Manaus, taking advantage of the economic incentives of the

Free Economic Zone of Manaus The Free Economic Zone of Manaus ( pt, Zona Franca de Manaus, - ZFM) is a free economic zone in the city of Manaus, the capital of the State of Amazonas, Northern Brazil. The initial idea, a free trade port in Manaus, came from Deputy Francisc ...

. In 1990 Caloi started the operations of its US subsidiary in

Jacksonville Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the c ...

, Florida. In 2006 Caloi established a new factory in

Atibaia Atibaia (or ''Estância de Atibaia'') is a Brazilian municipality in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. The name is derived from an indigenous language called Tupi, and means "healthy water river". Its name has changed over time, from the primiti ...

, which replaced the São Paulo plant.

Models

Caloi manufactures a wide range of bicycles including

mountain bike A mountain bike (MTB) or mountain bicycle is a bicycle designed for off-road cycling. Mountain bikes share some similarities with other bicycles, but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in rough terrain, which ...

s, comfort bikes,

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 ...

, road bicycles and child bicycles. In 1972 the company introduced its first road bike, the Caloi 10.http://www.escoladebicicleta.com.br/historiabicicletaBrasilA.html (In Portuguese) It became a cultural landmark in Brazil and remained in production until 1990. In 2005 the ''Caloi 10'' name was reinstated for a new model that differs significantly from the original,http://vejasp.abril.com.br/materia/relancamento-brinquedos-sucesso-anos-70-80 (In Portuguese) and remains in production as of 2016. In 1983 the company introduced its first BMX model, the ''Caloi Cross Extra Light'', replicating the style of the bikes that appear in the successful

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial ''E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'' (or simply ''E.T.'') is a 1982 American science fiction film produced and directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Melissa Mathison. It tells the story of Elliott, a boy who befriends an extraterrestrial, dub ...

movie. In 1989 the company introduced its first mountain bike, the ''Caloi Mountain Bike 18'', following the growing popularity of

Mountain Bike A mountain bike (MTB) or mountain bicycle is a bicycle designed for off-road cycling. Mountain bikes share some similarities with other bicycles, but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in rough terrain, which ...

s in the

United States 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 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

in the early 1980s.

References

External links

Caloi website
Manufacturing companies based in São Paulo Mountain bike manufacturers Brazilian brands Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1898 Cycle manufacturers of Brazil 1898 establishments in Brazil