Focus Bikes is a bicycle manufacturer that has its administration in

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

, Germany and production facilities based in

Cloppenburg Cloppenburg (; ; ) is a town in Lower Saxony, in north-western Germany, capital of Cloppenburg District and part of Oldenburg Münsterland. It lies 38 km south-south-west of Oldenburg in the Weser-Ems region between Bremen and the Dutch ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and builds sport bicycles such as e-bikes, racing bicycles and mountain bicycles.

History

The company was founded in 1993 by Mike Kluge, cyclocross World Champion. In 1993 the company partnered with the manufacturer Derby Cycle Werke to produce bicycles. In 1994 the first production line brought out 6 varieties of mountain bike. In 1995 the company expanded to produce touring bicycles.Focus Bikes History
In 2003 the company began to produce racing bicycles. In 2006 the company produced its first

carbon fiber Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers ( Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon comp ...

frames. In 2008 a joint production effort between Andreas Walser saw the company produce a time trial bicycle and the same year produced a

triathlon A triathlon is an endurance multisport race consisting of Swimming (sport), swimming, Cycle sport, cycling, and running over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall completion time, racing each segment sequentially with the ...

bicycle. In 2009 the company set up subsidiaries in the United States and Italy, and began a European wide advertising campaign on

Eurosport Eurosport is a group of pay television networks in Europe and parts of Asia, owned and operated by Warner Bros. Discovery through its WBD Sports unit, it operates two main channels—Eurosport 1 and Eurosport 2—across most of its territorie ...

TV channel.

Ownership

Focus is owned by

Derby Cycle Focus & Kalkhoff Holding GmbH (formerly ''Derby Cycle GmbH'') based in Cloppenburg, Germany, is one of the three largest manufacturers of bicycles in Europe. During the 2010/11 fiscal year Derby employed 756 people. Derby Cycle has a 14% market sh ...

of Germany, which operates under ownership of the

Pon Holdings Pon Holdings BV is a Dutch conglomerate in the transportation sector. It is one of the five largest bicycle manufacturers in the world, and owns bicycle brands Caloi, Cannondale, Cervélo, Derby Cycle (owner of Focus), GT, Gazelle, IronHo ...

Bicycle Group.

Sponsorships & achievements

In 1993 Mike Kluge became German National Champion and runner-up World Champion riding a FOCUS bike. In 1998 Jörg Arenz became the German cyclocross champion on a FOCUS bike. In 2005 Hanka Kupfernagel became the cyclocross World Champion on a FOCUS Mares Team bike. In 2008 four athletes sponsored by Focus won titles at the German Cyclocross Championships for juniors, women, 23-and-under, and elite. In 2009 the company commenced a partnership with Team Milram. They will partner with Team Katusha for season 2011 since Team Milram will fold at the end of the 2010 season. In 2010 the company sponsors racing teams such as Team Van Vliet, Team Jelly Belly and Team NetApp.Focus bikes in 2010 on CyclingNews.com
/ref> They also sponsor mountain bike teams Team M.I.G. (Made in Germany) and an Italian amateur team Focus Italia. The company is also an official partner of the 2010 Tour de Suisse. In 2011 the company began sponsoring Team Katusha, and continued sponsoring Team Jelly Belly and Women's Team VanderKitten. In 2012 Focus parted company with Team Katusha, citing differing views on strategy, and partnered with the Italian team Acqua & Sapone. In 2013 the company began sponsoring AG2R-La Mondiale, after Acqua & Sapone team folded after the end of 2012 season. In 2016 Focus cyclocross athlete Jeremy Powers won his fourth USA National Championship.

References

External links

Official Focus Bikes website
{{German bicycle manufacturers Cycle manufacturers of Germany German companies established in 1992 German brands Mountain bike manufacturers Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1992