Who makes Bontrager Tires?

bontrager maybe? I have the tires and i like em

OscarC said:

Any body know who makes Bontrager road or mountian bike tires?

Lion Tyres in Thailand - also make for Vittoria.

do you know if they also make Continental? There seems to be some connection based on some reading.

DiabloScott said:

Lion Tyres in Thailand - also make for Vittoria.

OscarC said:

do you know if they also make Continental? There seems to be some connection based on some reading.

Conti tires, at least the GP 3000s, say "Made in Germany" on the package.

Bontrager seems like the OEM house brand tire for Trek; have only seen them for sale at the Trek dealer here. They may have some fine tires, just don't see them much.

dhk said:

Conti tires, at least the GP 3000s, say "Made in Germany" on the package.

Bontrager seems like the OEM house brand tire for Trek; have only seen them for sale at the Trek dealer here. They may have some fine tires, just don't see them much.

WHOIS bontrager.com:

Registrant:
TREK BICYCLE CORP 801 West Madison Street Waterloo, WI 53594 US Domain Name: BONTRAGER.COM Administrative Contact : TREK BICYCLE CORP [email hidden] 801 West Madison Street Waterloo, WI 53594 US Phone: 920-478-2191 Fax: 123 123 1234

Bontrager is the same as Trek even though Trek would like Bontrager to seem like a separate entity. This gives Trek the ability to use different manufacturers for their Bontrager "private" label. I wouldn't be surprised if Bontrager/Trek had their tires made by a number of different manufacturers and played them off each other every year.

The saving grace is that high-end Bontrager is like high-end Trek: better than average quality and good value for the money. Not very sexy though.

Cyclesafe said:

Bontrager is the same as Trek even though Trek would like Bontrager to seem like a separate entity. This gives Trek the ability to use different manufacturers for their Bontrager "private" label. I wouldn't be surprised if Bontrager/Trek had their tires made by a number of different manufacturers and played them off each other every year.

The saving grace is that high-end Bontrager is like high-end Trek: better than average quality and good value for the money. Not very sexy though.

And low-end Bontrager is like low-end Trek: average quality, most likely made in China, probably still a good value for the money, and definitely not very sexy.

John M said:

And low-end Bontrager is like low-end Trek: average quality, most likely made in China, probably still a good value for the money, and definitely not very sexy.

Trek used to have some other house brands (Icon and Matrix I think were two). But those brands were clearly generics and when folks saw them on the bikes they perceived cheapness. Trek bought Rolf and then Bontrager so that their house brands would have more respect and in general it worked and in all cases Bontrager branded stuff is better than the old generic stuff. Some of the Bontrager stuff is made by Trek and some is farmed out and it's all available as after market which also adds to its image. Trek won't allow thier frames to be sold mail order, but you can find all kinds of Bontrager stuff from internet retaillers.

Also it's interesting to see how far away from Shimano Trek can get with their own stuff - in some cases of high end bikes only the brake/shifters and derailleurs are Shimano, despite Shimano's "tough guy" dealings with manufacturers.

Trek is just like all the other companies out there though....go try to find some sora, tiagra or even 105 cranksets out there OEM on bikes....not very many......

The bontrager stuff isn't all that bad...especially the higher end stuff...but everyone thinks its "cheap" cause it is a trek house brand.

DiabloScott said:

Trek used to have some other house brands (Icon and Matrix I think were two). But those brands were clearly generics and when folks saw them on the bikes they perceived cheapness. Trek bought Rolf and then Bontrager so that their house brands would have more respect and in general it worked and in all cases Bontrager branded stuff is better than the old generic stuff. Some of the Bontrager stuff is made by Trek and some is farmed out and it's all available as after market which also adds to its image. Trek won't allow thier frames to be sold mail order, but you can find all kinds of Bontrager stuff from internet retaillers.

Also it's interesting to see how far away from Shimano Trek can get with their own stuff - in some cases of high end bikes only the brake/shifters and derailleurs are Shimano, despite Shimano's "tough guy" dealings with manufacturers.

yea alot of people who don't know all that much think bontrager isn't all that good, just cause its under the Trek house. Oh and go take a look at all the larger brands bikes and you'll find hardly any shimano cranks, brakes on almost anything under $2000.00. Go try finding a bike with OEM Sora, Tiagra, or even 105 cranks. Good Luck