We started PARLEE a decade ago with the goal to build the best performing race bike in the world. At that time, carbon fiber was overlooked in the road bike market despite all the success in motorsports, aerospace and defense. In the late 1990's most race bikes were aluminum or titanium. However, based on what I learned about materials in my 20 years building racing boats, I knew that with the right sized tubes, and the right fiber lay-up, and proper molding techniques, carbon fiber would be the best choice for creating fast, light and comfortable racing bikes. Ten years on, it is plain to see, my instincts were right. Carbon is now the material of choice for professional and recreational riders. No major bike manufacturer is without carbon fiber in their road lineup. The question now, for the rider, is not what material to choose, but which carbon fiber bike to choose and why?

What makes this choice challenging is the incredible amount of marketing-driven clutter and confusion regarding carbon fiber — tube shapes, inserts, mixed materials, modulus, etc. Every company claims to use the highest strength materials and the most advanced techniques available, but what is the real deal? The reality is that carbon fiber has enabled bicycles to be styled much the way that cars can be. For the first 100 years that bicycles have been tubular metal truss structures, there was little styling that could be done beyond paint jobs. This is true for steel, aluminum and titanium bikes, even now. Carbon fiber, however, allows a bicycle designer or stylist to shape a mold in just about any form and it can be engineered to at least be in the realm of what would be considered acceptable performance. Many bicycle companies have jumped on the carbon fiber bandwagon for this very reason. Carbon is a great engineering material, but the ability to style bikes can mislead the rider into mistaking looks for performance.

I am not a stylist. I am a designer and builder of race bikes. I design and build fast, light, durable and comfortable bikes — qualities that were once considered mutually exclusive in bike building. Because of this, you will not see unnecessary shapes in my designs. The guiding principle for PARLEE is efficiency. The key to pushing performance is to use carbon fiber strategically to maximize its characteristics. Carbon fiber is perfect for building bikes because it has such a high strength to weight ratio. This is why the styling makes no sense. All it does is add weight and take away from ride quality. It is akin to putting fins a car — they may look cool, but they are not going to make it perform better.

Efficient use of material leads to good performance. This unrelenting focus on efficiency in our designs leads to better performance. Better acceleration. Better tracking on technical descents. Lighter weights. Unmatched durability. Remarkable comfort. That is what sets PARLEE apart. I invite you to learn more about our history and products in our catalog or visit us online at parleecycles.com.

Bob Parlee, founder and owner