Many bicycle builders use carbon fiber as a base for the bikes they design and assemble. But carbon fiber, as a bicycle frame material, has been around since the mid-1980s, and over that time, the material used in bicycle frames has evolved through different strands and layups.
Most builders focus, however, more on design and the layup process versus bending and molding the carbon fiber they use to the most important aspect: the person who will purchase and ride their bikes. Parlee Bicycles’ approach to bicycle building is different. For them, the cyclist is always at the center of their custom build process.
About Parlee Bicycles
Founded in Beverly, Massachusetts by Bob Parlee, Parlee Bicycles was born in 2000 from his background in the boat-building industry. From this field, Parlee brought his knowledge of how to work with composite materials, such as carbon fiber. As a former casual bike racer, he wanted to make a bike that met his needs as a rider because the one he had at the time was inefficient.
Parlee’s desire and mission were simple: he wanted to build the best bikes in the world. That doesn’t sound like anything new because every bike builder hopes to achieve the same thing. But because of his knowledge about carbon fiber, he knew the material could be molded and shaped around the rider’s dimensions.
Using Carbon Fiber Leads to Innovative Bicycle Builds
Parlee’s adventures in creating custom carbon fiber bikes led to innovation. His company was the first to build a 900 gram, then an 800 gram bike. He saw carbon fiber as the perfect material from which to build bikes because of its “high strength to weight ratio.”
Parlee, however, didn’t just want to thoughtlessly mold carbon tubes and put them together. He wanted to use the material in a way that would give a cyclist the best performance possible. He says, “We use carbon fiber strategically…To create a bike specifically for you that does exactly what it’s intended to do—whether that’s road racing, daily training rides, cyclocross or all-day gravel adventures.”
Parlee Bicycles Recognized With Industry Awards As It Continued With Innovations
The bicycle builds Parlee has done for its customers earned the company industry accolades for “Bicycling Magazine’s Editors’ Choice, Race Bike of the Year (Cycling Weekly), Eurobike Design awards, Bicycling Magazine All-Road Bike of the Year, and BikeRadar Gravel Bike of the Year.”
All these awards were justified as Parlee continued with its innovations in frame-building geometry. 2009 was a key year, for instance. It was then that the company first used its “Flex-Fit geometry,” which allowed for the needs of every kind of cyclist.
In 2016, Parlee entered the gravel era with its Z-Zero bike and the following year became the first builder in the marketplace to introduce disc brakes on a triathlon bike. By 2024, the company was headed by a new CEO and owner in John Harrison, and it developed its “single-piece monocoque frame construction technique.”And just last year in 2025, Parlee won the bike of the year award for its Ouray road bike and its Taos gravel bike.
Last Thoughts
Although Parlee Bicycles has been around for over 20 years, its name isn’t well known. Its bikes have also not been associated with any pro teams, nor has it sponsored specific riders. Yet, that point doesn’t diminish the fact that in the short time it has been around as far as bicycle builders go, Parlee has made its impact felt.
If you want a bike built by cyclists for cyclists, as well as a bike that will cater to your needs as a rider, then you can’t go wrong with choosing a Parlee bike. Its bikes continue to gain recognition and to garner prizes, so the future for this builder looks to be promising. And in a market that is becoming more and more saturated with new builders, that’s not a small point of note.
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