Epsiode 246 - Orbea Bicycles on Hacking Shimano Motors, The Hardest Part About Making Bikes, Customization & More
Orbea has over 180 years of manufacturing heritage, starting as a gun and ammunition manufacturer in the Basque Country of Northern Spain way back in 1840. When the business of gun making waned, the company pivoted and began using the tubing machines and raw materials they'd acquired to manufacture bicycles. In the 1930s, Orbea made the switch to bicycle manufacturing entirely, and by the time the Spanish Civil War ended in 1939, they were producing 50,000 bikes per year.
It wasn't always easy going however, and in 1969 the company found itself on the edge of bankruptcy, which would have…
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