| Country: | Spain | Primary Focus: | Bicycle Frames |
| Years of Operation: | N/A |
| General Information |
Orbea is a bicycle manufacturer in Mallabia, Basque Country.
It is part of the Mondragón Cooperative Corporation and Spain's largest
bicycle manufacturer. Orbea designs and builds bicycles, with some of
the higher-cost bikes being made in Portugal but all the others made at
the Orbea factory in Mallabia; the steel-framed bikes are made of
Columbus tubing
Orbea has previously sponsored and
supplied bikes to teams, including the now-defunct Euskaltel-Euskadi
professional team in the Basque area of Spain and the Herring Gas team in the USA. Samuel Sánchez rode an Orbea Orca Carbon to win the road
race at the Beijing Olympics and Julien Absalon won the mountain bike
gold on an Orbea Alma. Craig Alexander, three time Ironman World
Triathlon Champion (2008, 2009, 2011), rode an Orbea Ordu in his first 2
wins.
Orbea also manufactures and assembles bikes in China
www.orbea.com
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| History |
Orbea began in 1840 as a rifle and gun producer and began making bicycles in the 1930s.
In 1937, the name Orbea earns fame with Mariano Cañardo winning a stage in the Tour de France.
By 1946, Orbea employs 1000 people and produce 50000 bikes a year, from A to Z.
In 1969, as the company is facing a bankrupt, the workers buy it back and turn it into a cooperative.
In the 1980s, Orbea is back in the race with a new team in 1984, and series of wins on the road, on track and in cyclocross.
Pedro Delgado is the rising star of the Gin MG-Orbea team and SEAT-Orbea team.
At the same time, Orbea jumps into the moutain-bike market with success and later found the Euskaltel team and buys the Veneto and Zeus companies.
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