Ross (bicycles)

Ross Bicycles Inc.
Private
Industry Bicycles
Fate Bankruptcy in 1988[1]
Founded 1946[2]
Headquarters Rockaway Beach, Queens
Ross road bike circa 1980.
Ross cruiser bicycle

Ross was a bicycle brand that manufactured over 15 million bicycles in the United States[3] between 1946 and 1988. The company, which competed with domestic bicycle manufacturers as Schwinn and Huffy, was widely noted for its pioneering marketing of mountain bikes.

History

Ross was started by Albert Ross as Ross Galvanizing Works in 1940[4] "manufacturing and galvanizing pipes and pipe fittings for the fencing industry and later galvanized steel parts for military ships during World War II."[5] After World War II, it was incorporated as Chain Bike Corp. in 1946,[2] and changed the name to Ross Bicycles Inc. in 1982.[6] Its headquarters were in Rockaway Beach, Queens,[7] and manufacturing was in Allentown, Pennsylvania.[8] Ross moved bicycle production to Taiwan in 1986 and filled for bankruptcy protection in 1988.[1]

In addition to bicycles, Ross manufactured ammunition boxes for the US government at its Lehigh facility and cited the government contract as the source of its financial difficulties at the time of filing for Chapter 11 protection.[1]

The Ross name was purchased by Rand Cycle in Farmingdale, New York, which suffered a recall of 11,000 mountain bikes in 1998.[9] Randy Ross, grandson of Albert, introduced a stair stepper bike in 2007.[10]

Albert Ross' son Sherwood (Jerry) B. Ross (1921-2013)[5] was CEO of Ross Bicycles from 1946 to 1990,[11] held several bicycle-related patents,[12][13][14][15][16] served as President of the Bicycle Institute of America (BIA)[11] and the Bicycle Manufacturers Association (BMA),[11] and acted as an expert witness in product liability cases.[11][17][18][19]

Bicycles

Ross began making bicycles in the 1945s,[20] and by the late 1960s, Ross manufactured about 1 million bicycles per year.[3] By 1985, it had sold 10 million bicycles under the Ross name, and models included children's bike, BMX, touring, cruiser, mountain, racing, wheelie, and stationary exercise bicycles.[2]

In 1968, Ross joined the muscle bike craze with models such as the Marlin with a "Console Mounted Stick Brake", the Barracuda with a "Chrome Twin Stick Shift Console", and the Barracuda Beast with a "Futura Sports Car Steering Wheel".[21][22]

In 1982, Ross introduced one of the first production mountain bikes, the Force One at Interbike,[23][24] and in 1983, they launched the first professional factory sponsored mountain bike race team, the Ross Indians.[25]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Moylan, Tom (February 11, 1988). "Ross Bicycle Files For Bankruptcy - U.S. Contract Blamed In Move". The Morning Call. Retrieved 2012-06-05.
  2. 1 2 3 United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit. (July 22, 1985). "ROSS BICYCLES, INC., Plaintiff-Appellant, v. CYCLES USA, INC., Defendant-Appellee.". Public.Resource.Org. Retrieved 2012-06-05.
  3. 1 2 Moynihan, Colin (March 15, 2008). "A Blue Ross 10-Speed Isn't Hard to Find; A Bomber Who Rode It Is". The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-06-05.
  4. ↑ Hardy Menagh (2008). "History of the ROSS Bicycles Company 1946 - 1989". Retrieved 2012-06-05.
  5. 1 2 "Engineer behind Ross Bicycles remembered". Bicycle Retailer, June 5, 2013, Lynette Carpiet.
  6. ↑ Howie Cohen. "Chain Bike Corp of Rockaway Beach, New York". Everything Bicycles. Retrieved 2012-06-05.
  7. ↑ Lloyd, Barbara (May 22, 1989). "ON YOUR OWN; Bicycle Oldies Are Making Good". The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-06-05.
  8. ↑ "Ross Bicycle". Fine Vintage Collectibles. Retrieved 2012-06-05.
  9. ↑ "CPSC, Rand/Ross Bicycle Co. Announce Recall to Repair Mountain Bikes". U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). April 27, 1998. Retrieved 2012-06-05.
  10. ↑ "Ross History". MOMBAT. Retrieved 2012-06-05.
  11. 1 2 3 4 "Curricula Vitae for Professor Sherwood B. Ross, BSME". witness.net. Retrieved 2012-06-05.
  12. ↑ "Patent number: 2997145 - Wheel Hub for Disc Type Coaster Brakes, Sherwood B. Ross et al". google.com. Aug 22, 1961. Retrieved 2012-06-05.
  13. ↑ "Patent number: 3473404 - Operating-Lever Console for a Gearshift Mechanism or the like, Sherwood B. Ross et al". google.com. Oct 21, 1969. Retrieved 2012-06-05.
  14. ↑ "Sherwood B Ross: Inventor". PatentBuddy.com. Retrieved 2012-06-05.
  15. ↑ "Inventor: Ross; Sherwood B.". PatentGenius.com. Retrieved 2012-06-05.
  16. ↑ "Patents by Inventor Sherwood B. Ross". Justia.com. Retrieved 2012-06-05.
  17. ↑ Martel, Andrew C. (April 3, 2008). "Ross bicycle is key evidence in Times Square bombing". The Morning Call. Retrieved 2012-06-05.
  18. ↑ "Professor Sherwood B Ross - Expert Witness: Bicycles, Scooters, Treadmills, Wheelchairs". HGExperts.com. Retrieved 2012-06-05.
  19. ↑ "Sherwood B. Ross, BSME, Professor". Ca-Experts.com. Retrieved 2012-06-05.
  20. ↑ "Bicycle History". SoCalBicycles.com. Retrieved 2012-06-05.
  21. ↑ John Brain. "Volume Three: The third five years, 1968-'73".
  22. ↑ Mark Wilson. "The Ross model 494-3 Barracuda Beast with the Futura steering wheel.". The New England Muscle Bicycle Museum. Retrieved 2012-06-05.
  23. ↑ "John Kirkpatrick". Mountain Bike Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2012-06-05.
  24. ↑ "1983 Ross Force 1 - Ross Indians Mountain Bike Team Bicycle". GhostNation.Org. Retrieved 2012-06-05.
  25. ↑ John Kirkpatrick (1985). "Ross Indians". Retrieved 2012-06-05.
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