Cannondale

Cannondale Bicycle Corporation is an American based bike company that was founded in 1971, initially to make backpacks and bags for camping and later bicycle trailers and complete bikes.

Cannondale was in the vanguard of aluminium bikes in the 1980s and 90s until a disastrous attempt to break into motorcycles and quad bikes brought the company close to bankruptcy in 2003.

The motorsport and bicycle divisions were sold off separately, the bike arm eventually becoming part of Cycling Sports Group (CSG), which is owned by Canadian conglomerate Dorel Industries. CSG also covers the Charge, Schwinn, GT and Mongoose bike brands.

Today Cannondale makes a highly-regarded range of aluminium and carbon fiber framed bikes such as the Synapse sportive bike series, the SuperSix race bikes and the advanced aluminium CAAD10 bikes.

Cannondale also makes components and accessories, most notably its own ultra-lightweight chainset.

Over the years Cannondale has sponsored many professional teams including Mario Cipollini's Saeco team in the late 1990s, and the Liquigas team of Danilo Di Luca and Ivan Basso. The company currently sponsors the Cannondale-Garmin team that includes 2012 Tour of Italy winner Ryder Hesjedel.