Parlee Cycles today announced the passing of its founder, Bob Parlee, who died peacefully at his home in Massachusetts following a four-year battle with cancer. He was 70 years old.
Bob and his wife Isabel founded Parlee Cycles 25 years ago, revolutionizing the handmade bicycle industry with his expertise in composite materials.
At the time, Bob was an avid cyclist and amateur racer who had been moulding and fine-tuning carbon fibres for two decades, shaping them into light but strong vessels. Unsatisfied with the titanium bike frames he had been riding and racing in the 1990s, Bob believed the future of cycling lay in carbon fibre…