BMX Brand
GT Bicycles
GT Bicycles is an American bike brand founded by Gary Turner and Richard Long in the 1970s, known in BMX for triple triangle frames, racing and the Performer.
Updated 3 min read554 words
GT Bicycles is an American bike brand founded by Gary Turner and Richard Long in Southern California at the end of the 1970s. In BMX it is known for its race heritage, for the Performer freestyle bike of the 1980s and for the triple triangle frame design that became its trademark. GT grew into one of the largest bike companies in the world and has passed through several corporate owners since the 1990s.
History
Gary Turner was a welder and drag racer who began building BMX frames in the early 1970s, during the period covered in Origins of BMX. Richard Long ran a bike shop and sold Turner's frames. The two formed GT Bicycles around 1979 to produce frames and bikes at scale. GT built its reputation in racing, where its chromoly frames were among the most respected of the early 1980s.
When freestyle took off, GT moved with it. The Performer, released in the mid 1980s, was its answer to the Haro Master and became one of the best selling freestyle bikes of the 1980s boom. GT also ran a second brand, Dyno, and at various times owned or ran other BMX names including Robinson and Powerlite. The triple triangle design, where the seat stays extend past the seat tube to the top tube, appeared on GT frames in the 1980s and became the brand's visual signature across BMX and mountain bikes.
GT went public in 1995. Richard Long died in a motorcycle accident in 1996. Schwinn bought GT in 1998, and after the combined company went bankrupt in 2001 the brands were sold to Pacific Cycle. Dorel Industries acquired Pacific Cycle in 2004, and in 2021 Pon Holdings bought Dorel's bike business, taking GT with it. Through all of this GT has continued to sell BMX race bikes and freestyle completes, and the Performer name has stayed in the catalogue.
Products
GT's BMX range has always covered both racing and freestyle.
| Product | Type | Era | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pro Series | Race frames | 1980s | Chromoly race frames that built GT's reputation |
| Performer and Pro Performer | Freestyle bikes | 1980s onward | The brand's defining freestyle model |
| Pro Freestyle Tour | Freestyle bikes | 1980s | Higher end freestyle model |
| Speed Series | Race bikes | 1990s onward | Modern race completes |
| Dyno | Sister brand | 1980s and 1990s | Lower priced freestyle and cruiser bikes |
Today GT sells freestyle completes at entry and mid level prices and a range of race bikes. Its retro reissues of 1980s Performers are popular with collectors.
Team and riders
GT ran large race and freestyle teams in the 1980s and has kept a freestyle team since. Riders associated with the brand have included:
- Eddie Fiola, the face of the Performer in the 1980s
- Martin Aparijo
- Josh White
- Dave Voelker
- Albert Mercado
- Brian Kachinsky
Influence
GT was one of the brands that made BMX a business. Its race frames set standards in the early 1980s, the Performer put freestyle bikes in department stores and bike shops across the world, and the triple triangle is one of the few frame designs that non-riders recognise. GT's history also tracks the industry's corporate side: the public listing, the Schwinn merger, the bankruptcy and the long chain of parent companies tell the story of what happened to the big BMX names after the 1980s.
Related
Frequently asked questions about GT Bicycles
What does GT stand for?
GT stands for Gary Turner, the welder who built the company's first frames before partnering with bike shop owner Richard Long.
What is the GT triple triangle?
It is a frame design where the seat stays extend past the seat tube to meet the top tube, forming a third triangle. It became GT's visual signature from the 1980s.
Who owns GT now?
GT has changed hands several times since the 1990s. It was owned by Dorel Industries from 2004 and passed to Pon Holdings when Pon bought Dorel's bike division in 2021.
Related articles
Racing
BMX racing is a sprint for up to eight riders on a dirt track with a start gate, jumps and berms, governed by the UCI and an Olympic sport since 2008.
5 min readVert
Vert is the BMX discipline of riding a half pipe with walls 10 to 13 feet high, launching airs above the coping and performing tricks before dropping back in.
5 min readFreestyle BMX boom of the 1980s
The 1980s freestyle boom was the decade when trick riding split from BMX racing, built its own contests, magazines, bikes and stars, then collapsed in 1989.
6 min readOrigins of BMX
BMX began in early 1970s Southern California when children raced modified Schwinn Sting-Ray bikes on dirt tracks in imitation of motocross, creating a sport.
6 min readHaro
Haro is an American BMX brand founded by Bob Haro in 1978 that grew from number plates into one of the first companies to build bikes made for freestyle.
3 min readMongoose
Mongoose is an American bike brand founded in 1974 by Skip Hess, known in BMX for its Motomag wheels, decades of mass-market bikes and its freestyle team.
2 min read