About Us

We started Franco Bikes back in 2007, when 23c tires were phat, 53T chainrings were de rigueur, 11-28T was a climbing cassette and we were all slammin’ the front end like WWE.

Building those hyper-focused machines meant being laser focussed on the smallest details. Making one machine do one thing really, really well. You might remember the weight-weenie climbing bike, the super stiff aero crit racer, the endurance double-century smasher. Building these bikes required tip-of-the-spear knowledge and craft, and we felt at home there. We built a lot of great bikes and put in a lot of memorable miles on our Balcoms, Kanans and Deckers.

But back in 2014 we started thinking about bikes that could do more. What if we could take that same knowledge and laser focus and apply it to new ways of riding. Ways of riding that were closer to how we were riding (specifically me). We wanted bikes that were fast and supple on the road, but what if we wanted to veer off and hit a dirt fire road? How would we do that?

With that versatility in mind, we launched the Grimes All-Road at Sea Otter in 2015. The term "gravel bike" wasn’t falling from tongues at that point, but it’s basically where we ended up. The OG Grimes introduced us to the world of dirt and gave us a good reason to stop shaving our legs so often.

The following year, we introduced the Latigo RS1 and then the Latigo RS1-D, a very fast Franco classic bike that could take a 32c tire and look super flash at the same time. We were moving towards bikes that look great, ride fast and go anywhere.

Bikes for the Out There

Now here we are here and it feels like we’re at the beginning of a new era for bikes. We’re energized by the possibilities to open up new roads with you. Whether it’s smooth tarmac, dirt roads or a cross-town commute, we’ll be building beautiful machines to get you Out There, every day.

Keeping it Out There,

Franco Bikes