The Cannondale bike frame is easily recognized from the oversize aluminum down-tubes on the frames, Cannondale bicycles are pinnacles in the bicycle business. High-quality, innovative and visually unique, Cannondale bicycles have entrenched themselves in the industry. The history of these oversize bicycles is as unique as the bike frames.

A loft above an old pickle factory was the location of Cannondale's first formal offices and manufacturing site. First to make a bicycle trailer, Cannondale has pioneered bicycle technology.

In 1971, Peter Meyers of the as-yet-unnamed companywas ordering telephone service for the factory and headquarters from a nearby pay phone. When asked the name of the company, he looked at the sign of the nearby Cannondale, Connecticut, train station and found his response.

Introduced in 1983, the first Cannondale was a touring bike. The company followed this model with a road bike the same year and a mountain bike in 1984. They took the bicycle world by storm using lightweight, oversize aluminum tubes for the frames that were lighter and stronger than other bicycle frames of the time.

Having great success sponsoring mountain and road-cycling teams, Cannondale has more than a dozen world championship medals in mountain biking, World Cup overall series championships, two Olympic medals, and several stage wins in the Tour de France.

Assembly and manufacturing for Cannondale bicycles are currently located in Bedford, Pennsylvania, making this one of the few bicycle companies that hasn't outsourced production to China, Taiwan, and other Asian countries. The company was founded in 1971, but didn't start out making bikes. Instead, it was a camping bag manufacturer that also made bicycle touring trailers. However, by 1982, Cannondale was making high end bicycle frames, and they've branched out to many different bike types since then.

Each Cannondale is handcrafted at its production facility in Bedford, Pennsylvania. With corporate headquarters in Bethel, Connecticut, and subsidiaries in Holland, Japan and Australia, Cannondale has become an internationally recognized bicycle company.