About Ebykr
Ebykr celebrates classic and vintage lightweight bicycles through provoking imagery and opinion. Let's roll together!
Key Events from the Company
To capture the essence of Mavic is to look beyond individual patents and witness a century-plus cadence of innovation that has pulsed through the heart of Lyon since 1889. While our broader retrospective explores the human drama and racing triumphs of the peloton, this curated timeline serves as the definitive archival record for the vintage connoisseur—a precise accounting of the ownership shifts, logo evolutions and technological gambles that forged the yellow diamond into a global icon.
From the late 19th-century era of nickel plating and mudguards to the 1990s pioneering of “global system” wheelsets, Mavic’s trajectory is a testament to an unyielding French engineering spirit that transformed the primitive velocipede into a precision racing instrument. We invite you to explore the chronological milestones of a marque that served as the neutral guardian of the peloton for five decades, ensuring that for the dedicated cyclist, the journey never truly ends.
Here is a chronological timeline of key corporate events, product innovations and competitive milestones in the history of Mavic:
| Event Date(s) | Event Type | Event Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1889 | Company Founding | Charles Idoux and Lucien Chanel found Manufacture d’Articles Vélocipédiques Idoux et Chanel (MAVIC) in Lyon to manufacture and sell bicycle spare parts. |
| 1920 | Corporate Ownership | Henry Gormand purchases Mavic and begins diversifying production into aluminum rims. |
| 1923 (July 26) | Brand Identity | The original circular Mavic logo is officially registered. |
| 1926 | Product Innovation | Mavic manufactures the first-ever aluminum bicycle rim. |
| 1933 | Product Diversification | The company expands into high-spec children’s pedal cars, featuring spoked wheels, chain drives, and decorative hubcaps. |
| 1934 (Jan 5) | Patent Milestone | Italian designer Mario Longhi registers a double-eyelet rim patent two hours before Mavic; a license agreement allows Mavic to exploit the technology until 1947. |
| 1934 | Product Innovation | Launch of the “Bavolet” apron mudguard, featuring a flexible rubber edge to deflect water from the rider’s shoes. |
| 1934 | Racing Victory | Antonin Magne secretly trials Mavic’s Dura Duralumin rims (painted to look like wood) to win the Tour de France, signaling the end of wood’s dominance. |
| 1934–1964 | Marketing Synergy | Mavic and AVA (manufacturers of aluminum handlebars) conduct combined advertising campaigns under the unified leadership of Henry Gormand. |
| 1935 | Racing Milestone | Virtualy every rider in the Tour de France adopts Dura aluminum rims following Magne’s successful 1934 trial. |
| 1945 | Brand Identity | The original circular logo is replaced by the iconic diamond-shaped logo. |
| 1964 | Corporate Leadership | Bruno Gormand, son of Henry, takes over leadership, ushering in an era defined by a “passion for performance”. |
| 1966 | Product Innovation | Mavic perfects and patents the principle of utilizing a crimped washer on the rim. |
| 1972 | Neutral Service Concept | Bruno Gormand inspires a racing revolution by lending his personal car to a stranded team director during the Critérium du Dauphiné. |
| 1973 | Racing Service | Mavic officially launches its “neutral and free” assistance service at the Paris-Nice race. |
| 1973 | Technology Research | The Mavic Study Bureau designs its first signed wheel, a fiberglass lenticular (biconvex) model, though race regulations initially prohibit its use. |
| 1975 | Product Breakthrough | Launch of the Module E hooked rim, the first double-deck rim designed for Michelin’s high-pressure Elan clincher tires. |
| 1975 | Technological Milestone | Mavic introduces its first anodized rims (SSC Blue, silver, and gold) and the 500 series hubs with sealed annular bearings. |
| 1978 | Market Peak | Production reaches 4,000 rims per day, with Mavic holding a 65% global market share and equipping 25 professional teams. |
| 1979 | Product Innovation | Launch of the “Tout Mavic” (All Mavic) complete groupsets, including rebuildable derailleurs, hubs and bottom brackets. |
| 1979 | Racing Milestone | Bernard Hinault wins the Tour de France riding the Mavic-equipped Gitane-Renault “Profil” bike, a pioneer in road aerodynamics. |
| 1980 | Competitive Milestone | The Boston-Mavic team becomes the first professional unit to be equipped entirely with the “Tout Mavic” system. |
| 1983 | Product Expansion | Mavic enters the BMX and Mountain Bike markets, launching the TTM 504 BMX wheelset. |
| 1984 | Product Diversification | Creation of the Mavic Air Department to market ultra-light aircraft (ULM), including the “Air Plume” and “Avid Flyer.” |
| 1984 | Competitive Milestone | Sean Kelly wins a legendary edition of Paris-Roubaix using the Tout Mavic system and SSC rims. |
| 1985 | Product Innovation | Launch of the Comète carbon fiber disc wheel, the first commercially available wheel of its kind. |
| 1985 (Dec 7) | Corporate Tragedy | Owner Bruno Gormand dies in a car accident; his widow, Madame Cecile Gormand, assumes the Presidency. |
| 1985 (late) | Product Innovation | Introduction of the MA, MA2 and MA40 rim series, featuring a slightly wider 20.5 mm profile for increased rigidity. |
| 1986 | Product Innovation | Introduction of the Comète “+ and -“ disc, featuring 12 cells for perimeter steel ballast weights to adjust inertia. |
| 1988 | Brand Identity | Mavic adopts the uniform parallelogram logo with slanted italic text on a yellow background. |
| 1989 | Racing Victory | Greg LeMond wins the Tour de France by eight seconds using an “all-Mavic” bike equipped with the Comète disc and Tout Mavic system. |
| 1990 | Corporate Change | Madame Gormand agrees to a management buy-out (MBO), passing the firm to four key executive members and a financial partner. |
| 1992 | Racing Victory | Chris Boardman wins Olympic pursuit gold in Barcelona using Mavic’s 3G three-spoke wheel and Comète disc. |
| 1993 | Technology Innovation | Launch of ZMS (Zap Mavic System), the world’s first microprocessor-controlled rear derailleur. |
| 1994 | Acquisition | The French winter sports giant Salomon acquires 100% ownership of Mavic. |
| 1994 | Product Breakthrough | Launch of the Cosmic, heralding the shift toward the “global system” approach to wheel design. |
| 1996 | Product Innovation | Simultaneous launch of the ultra-light Helium road and Crossmax MTB system wheelsets. |
| 1998 | Corporate Merger | Salomon joins with Adidas to form the Adidas-Salomon group. |
| 1999 | Technology Innovation | Launch of Mektronic, the first wireless electronic drivetrain using digitally coded radio waves. |
| 1999 | Product Breakthrough | Mavic introduces Fore technology (closed rim base) and the Crossmax UST Tubeless wheel system. |
| 2002 | Technology Patent | Mavic registers the ISM (Inter Spoke Milling) patent for machining rim surfaces to reduce rotational mass. |
| 2005 | Acquisition | Amer Sports acquires Mavic and Salomon from Adidas. |
| 2008 | Range Expansion | Mavic expands into a full line of cycling footwear, apparel and pedals. |
| 2010 | Technology Shift | Introduction of Wheel-Tyre Systems, designing rims and tires in conjunction to improve system responsiveness. |
| 2019 | Corporate Ownership | Amer Sports divests Mavic to Regent LP; ownership confusion follows involving M Sports International LLC. |
| 2020 (July) | Acquisition | The Bourrelier Group acquires Mavic, returning the company to its roots as a family-run SME. |
| 2022 | Racing Milestone | Shimano replaces Mavic as the neutral service provider for the Tour de France, ending nearly 50 years of yellow car presence. |
| 2023 | Anniversary / Identity | Mavic celebrates its 134th anniversary in Annecy with a new inclusive positioning and updated logo. |
