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Click links below to view the Calfee bikes in our collection:

2008 Calfee Bamboo

1991 CarbonFrames Onyx


Calfee/Carbonframes Timeline

  • 1987: First Prototype.

Craig Calfee needed a bike frame after a spectacular head-on collision in Boston. Determined to make this frame as tough as possible, he built a bike using materials he had used at a job making composite rowing shells. He braided the tubes and laminated them together with tooling made on a drill press.

  • 1989: Carbonframes Sapphire.

    With a $10,000 loan, Craig hired a machinist to make the first production tooling. Professional bike couriers and amateur racers took to the streets of San Francisco to test the first frames. Adjustments were made and the frames were ready to sell to the public. Carbonframes became a corporation and debuted at the industry's biggest bike show, Interbike, in 1989.

  • 1991: LeMond Alpe d'Huez.

    Carbonframes filled a big purchase order from international cycling champion Greg LeMond who wanted 18 frames for Team Z. Carbonframes relocated to Reno after entering an exclusive licensing agreement with LeMond Bicycles. LeMond rode in the leader's yellow jersey on his Carbonframe. Craig got his 15 minutes of fame with coverage on CNN, the Associated Press news network and National Public Radio. The companies parted amiably two years later.

    January 1991 Onyx Mountain Bike Action magazine article and catalog page:

    Onyx Onyx  

    June 1991 Onyx Mountain Biker magazine article:

    Onyx Onyx  

     

  • 1994: Carbonframes Tetra Pro/Tetra Tri.

    From its new headquarters in Santa Cruz, Carbonframes built a state-of-the-art production facility and continued production and sales of its superior frames. Professional triathlete Dave Scott rode his Carbonframe bike to second place at age 40 in the Hawaii Ironman World Championship triathlon.

  • 1996: Luna Debuts

    The Luna Pro and the Luna Tri were introduced as affordable frames for a mainstream public who want lower prices yet high tech craftsmanship along with longevity.

  • 1997: Calfee Design.

    A decade after building his first frame, Craig Calfee launched Calfee Design and proceeded to build topnotch road racing frames.

  • 2000: Tetra Tetra Tandem

    In 1999, a customer sends an email saying: "Can you build me a carbon fiber Tandem?" After a year of testing and refinement, Calfee offers a tandem frame that is 2 pounds lighter than the next lightest tandem on the market. But the smooth ride quality is what gets the tandem community excited. It is the first production carbon tandem!

  • 2001: Dragonfly

    After a three year period of substantial growth, Calfee Design is ready to raise the bar in bicycle technology. The two pound Dragonfly frame debuts in 2000 but it takes over a year to finalize the production and begin shipping in late 2001. Although the economy slows, Calfee Design continues growing.

  • 2003: Stiletto and BarStem

    Stiletto and BarStem. Two new products keep everyone busy. Production of the Stiletto recumbent proceeds apace. The BarStem debuts at Interbike, creating lots of interest.


  • 2005: Bamboo Bikes

    Beginning as a publicity stunt in 1995, Craig's bamboo errand bike evolves into a well-tested new model for the general public. 12 Bamboo bikes had been built for employees, relatives and friends. The feedback on the smooth ride quality was too good to ignore, so we decided to go into production

  • 2006: Bamboo Bikes in Africa

    Back in 1984, when Craig was wandering around Africa, he noticed three things: 1. There was a lot of bamboo, 2. People used bikes and didn't have enough of them, and 3. they needed jobs. Perhaps people could build their own bamboo cargo bikes. So he put a small notice on the website to see if there was any interest in the idea. Various organizations and individuals encouraged and funded Craig to go try it out. Now there are bamboo bikes being made in Ghana with more places on the way.


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