BMX Brand
Hoffman Bikes
Hoffman Bikes is the BMX company founded by Mat Hoffman in Oklahoma in 1991, known for the Condor frame and for running the Bicycle Stunt contest series.
Updated 2 min read534 words
Hoffman Bikes is a BMX company founded by Mat Hoffman in Oklahoma City in 1991. It was one of the first rider-owned brands of the 1990s, built at a time when the big bike companies were pulling out of freestyle. Alongside frames such as the Condor, Hoffman's company ran the Bicycle Stunt contest series, which became the template for the BMX events at the X Games.
History
Mat Hoffman was the leading vert rider of the late 1980s and rode for Haro as a teenager. By 1991 the freestyle market had collapsed. Sponsorship money dried up and several brands dropped their teams. Hoffman responded by starting his own company in Oklahoma City, at first producing frames so that he and his friends had bikes strong enough for the riding they were doing.
In 1992 Hoffman Promotions launched the Bicycle Stunt series, known as the BS series. There were few contests left for freestyle riders at the time and the series gave them somewhere to compete. It grew through the mid 1990s and drew the attention of ESPN, which launched the Extreme Games in 1995. Hoffman was involved in bringing BMX into that event, and his company helped run the BMX side of the X Games for years afterwards.
Through the late 1990s and 2000s Hoffman Bikes was a mid-sized brand with a strong team and a reputation for heavy duty frames. Hoffman himself kept riding vert at the highest level, including record high airs out of oversized quarter-pipes. The company remains based in Oklahoma and continues to sell frames, parts and complete bikes.
Products
The Condor is the frame most associated with the brand. It was Mat Hoffman's signature frame, built for vert and ramp riding, and it has been produced in many versions since the 1990s. Other frames included the Big Daddy, a heavy duty model from the 1990s, and signature frames for team riders such as Taj Mihelich.
Hoffman Bikes also sells complete bikes aimed at beginner and intermediate riders, plus parts such as bars, forks and sprockets.
| Product | Notes |
|---|---|
| Condor | Mat Hoffman's signature frame, built for vert and ramp |
| Big Daddy | Heavy duty frame from the 1990s |
| Taj | Signature frame for Taj Mihelich |
| Complete bikes | Entry and mid level completes |
Team and riders
The Hoffman team has included:
- Mat Hoffman
- Taj Mihelich, a trails and park rider who later co-founded Terrible One
- Kevin Robinson, a vert rider
- Mike "Rooftop" Escamilla
- Rick Thorne
- Seth Kimbrough
Influence
Hoffman Bikes matters for reasons beyond its products. It showed that a pro rider could own and run a brand, which became the normal model for core BMX companies from the late 1990s onward, from S&M to Cult. The BS series kept competitive freestyle alive in the early 1990s and gave ESPN a ready-made format for the X Games. Hoffman's own riding, including the first 900 on a bike in 1989, gave the brand a founder whose name carried weight on its own.
The company also sits inside the story told in BMX in the 1990s: a shift from corporate bike brands to small rider-run companies that made what their teams actually wanted to ride.
Related
Frequently asked questions about Hoffman Bikes
Who owns Hoffman Bikes?
Hoffman Bikes was founded by Mat Hoffman in 1991 and he has remained the owner and figurehead of the company since.
What is the Hoffman Condor?
The Condor is Mat Hoffman's signature frame. It was designed for vert and ramp riding and has been produced in many versions since the 1990s.
What was the Bicycle Stunt series?
The Bicycle Stunt, or BS, series was a freestyle contest series run by Hoffman's company from 1992. It kept competition alive in the early 1990s and shaped the BMX events at the X Games.
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