was founded in 1971 by Joe Montgomery, Jim
Catrambone and Ron Davis to manufacture backpacks and bags for camping and
later bicycle trailers for bicycle touring.
One
of the most successful products was the Bugger, a child trailer,
although
Cannondale's marketing department seemed unaware of the connotations of
the
name in British English (some were, nevertheless, exported to the UK).
Today, Cannondale produces many different types of high-end bicycles,
few of which are
handmade in USA, specializing in aluminum (rather than steel or
titanium) and carbon fiber frames, a
technology in which they were pioneers. The name of the company was taken from
the Cannondale Metro North
train station in Wilton, Connecticut.
In the late 1990s Cannondale attempted to move into
the motorsports business, producing a line of off-road motorcycles
and all-terrain vehicles. According to an interview with Cannondale
Communications Director, Tom Armstrong, the company was unable to drive down
the cost of their motor vehicles fast enough. Sales took off when the company
was still losing money on each motorbike they shipped. This gap drove the
company to seek bankruptcy protection in 2003, and to sell off the motorsport
division. Cannondale's bicycle division was purchased in 2003 by Pegasus Capital Advisors, which supported the company's
renewed focus on bicycle production. In February 2008, Cannondale was purchased
from Pegasus Capital Advisors by Dorel Industries. In April 2009 it was announced
that all production would be transferred to Taiwan.
