At Felt, our mission remains as it’s been since the beginning: to design, develop and deliver the best bicycles in the world. Period.
The roots of this mission trace back more than two decades. It all started in the late 1980s when motocross star Johnny O’Mara asked his ace motorcycle mechanic Jim Felt to build him a time trial bike. Johnny was competing in triathlons as training for motocross.
A competitive age-group triathlete himself, Jim had a distinct vision of how he could improve on the designs of the time. He focused on optimizing rider position to maximize aerodynamic efficiency. It worked. Johnny immediately started winning races, and before long Jim was building bikes for many of the world’s top triathletes. When Paula Newby-Fraser won the 1991 Kona Ironman on a Felt, Jim found himself officially in the bicycle business.
Ten years after Jim Felt built that first triathlon bike, it was time to expand. Enter Bill Duehring and Michael Mullmann. Bill, a bike industry veteran, brought years of product development experience and strong global supplier ties. Michael owned a successful distribution company in Europe. It was the perfect melding of skills. Felt now had more than 70 years of combined experience in developing, manufacturing and distributing high-quality bicycles. Jim brought his respected name, design experience and athlete relationships. Bill had broad-based product development knowledge and vendor connections. Michael had extensive experience in distribution and marketing.
“We didn’t want to be the biggest bike company in the world, just the best” was the trio’s shared maxim. Together Jim, Bill and Michael developed a singular goal: to build a bicycle brand dedicated to technological innovation and unmatched quality.
Since those fledgling days the Felt brand has grown far beyond its triathlon roots, and today includes a complete bike line that touches all of cycling’s various disciplines. Whether climbing the highest peaks of the Tour de France, bombing down single-track, racing your first triathlon, or commuting to work, Felt delivers a bike with uncompromised performance, maximum comfort and optimized efficiency.