The History Of Orbea

The beginnings of Orbea reach deeper into history than nearly any other bicycle manufacturer, to 1847 when the Orbea brothers began their metal tubing business in the Basque region of northern Spain. In 1930, the brothers narrowed their focus to making bicycles, a natural progression given that cycling is an integral part of the lives of the Basque people. This area (approximately the size of New Hampshire) supports more than 1500 cycling clubs and has 150 riders competing in the European pro peloton.Honor, honesty and social ties are other tenets of the close-knit Basque culture. In keeping with these ideals, Orbea was reorganized as a worker-owned cooperative in 1960, and in 1964 joined the Mondragon Corporación Cooperativa (MCC), one of the world’s largest, oldest, and most successful cooperatives. Despite the global industrial might that this group wields, at its core Orbea remains a family and community based business. It is not unusual to see three generations of the same family at work on the Orbea factory floor.
Orbea’s commitment and love for cycling keeps them thinking creatively about the next opportunity to improve your ride, and ensures that Orbea bikes remain a product of skilled craftsmanship and personal pride. From concept to manufacturing, an Orbea bicycle takes six months to two years to create, and each bike carries a lifetime guarantee for its original owner. Given the Basque community’s passion for cycling, Orbea considers it the highest compliment that their Orca was ridden to a Beijing gold medal by Spain’s Samuel Sanchez, who rides for the world-class team Euskaltel-Euskadi. This group of Basque professional riders is sponsored by Euskaltel, the Basque telephone company, and also, fittingly, by the Euskadi, the Basque people themselves.