1992-1996 OCLV and Acquisitions
In the early 1990s, Trek’s director of technology, Bob Read, attended an aerospace industry trade show in Salt Lake City, Utah, eventually meeting up with a closed mold tooling company called Radius Engineering. That visit convinced Read that Trek’s future success depended on building frames from carbon fiber, a material he envisioned could be used to make light, strong frames. Having lived through the troubled introduction of the 5000, Trek invested heavily in in-house carbon fiber manufacturing capabilities. In 1992 Trek unveiled its first home-grown, full-carbon framed bicycles, the 5500 and 5200, featuring OCLV Carbon frames. OCLV stands for “Optimum Compaction, Low Void” and refers to Trek’s proprietary process for creating carbon structures that exceed aerospace standards. Weighing only 2.44 lb (1.11 kg), the 5500 frame was the world’s lightest production road frame. To make room for its new OCLV manufacturing facility, Trek expanded its Waterloo headquarters again to a total of 140,000 sq ft (13,000 m2). 1992 marked another first for Trek: its first full suspension mountain bike, the 9000-series, which featured Trek’s T3C (travel is three times compression) suspension system.
In 1993 Trek introduced its first OCLV Carbon mountain bike frame, the 9900, which at 2.84 lb (1.29 kg) was the world’s lightest production mountain bike frame.
In 1993 Trek also acquired Gary Fisher Mountain Bikes, named after Gary Fisher, one of the inventors of the mountain bike and one of the most popular names in off-road cycling. Fisher had founded Gary Fisher Mountain Bikes in 1983 and sold his company in 1991 to Taiwan's Anlen company, remaining on as President. In 1992, Howie Cohen, who had previously imported Nishiki, Azuki and Kuwahara bicycles, assisted Gary Fisher with his brand — 18 months later brokering the acquisition of Fisher by Trek (in 1993).
In 1994 Trek entered the growing home fitness arena, introducing Trek Fitness Exercycles. In 1996 Trek discontinued the Exercycle line, spinning off its fitness division into an independently-owned company, renamed Vision Fitness.
In 1995, Trek introduced its full suspension Y bike, a departure from traditional bike design. The Y bike sold well, and won an “Outstanding Design and Engineering Award” from Popular Mechanics magazine. Also in 1995, Trek made a number of business moves in order to diversify its product offering and gain market share, acquiring Klein Bicycles, a Chehalis, WA, manufacturer of premium aluminum-framed bicycles, as well as Bontrager Cycles, a Santa Cruz, CA-based manufacturer of bicycle components and hand-built steel frames. Trek also signed a long-term licensing agreement with Greg LeMond, the 3-time Tour de France champion and the first American to win the Tour—to design, build, and distribute LeMond Racing Cycles. 1995 was also the year Trek opened a state-of-the-art assembly facility in Whitewater, Wisconsin, leaving the Waterloo location free to focus solely on frame production.
Read more about this topic: Trek Bicycle Corporation, History