How a small Taiwanese workshop grew into one of the biggest bike brands on the planet
Giant is everywhere. Road riders know their aerodynamic race machines. Trail riders swear by their mountain rigs. Commuters rely on their e-bikes. Over the years the company has built everything from elite road models to tough everyday mountain bikes, and it’s why so many cyclists have a Giant bike in their garage. But few people know how the brand began or how it grew into one of the most influential names in the cycling world.
Here’s the full story behind that rise.
The Giant story starts in 1971 with King Liu. He wasn’t a racer or an engineer. He ran an eel farm in Taiwan until a typhoon destroyed it. Rather than rebuild, he changed direction entirely. In 1972, he and a few partners opened a small bike workshop in Taichung and named it Giant Manufacturing Co. Ltd.
The early years were tough. The quality wasn’t at the level they wanted, and breaking into international markets felt far away. But Liu pushed for better tools, better techniques, and better standards. Those early steps set the stage for everything that followed.
Through the late 1970s Giant worked quietly behind the scenes building bikes for other brands. The turning point came in 1977 when they signed a major contract with Schwinn, then one of the biggest bike companies in the United States.
By the mid 1980s a huge share of Schwinn’s lineup came out of Giant’s factories. That volume brought in money, experience, and the ability to build at a scale few companies could match. Still, Giant didn’t want to stay invisible.
In 1981 they took the leap and launched Giant as its own brand. By 1986 they had expanded into Europe and were building a global dealer network. This shift transformed them from a contract supplier into a name riders could finally see on the downtube.
From there, innovation came fast.
Once Giant invested in making their own bikes, the company poured resources into engineering. Their lineup grew to cover every major category: road, mountain, gravel, and eventually electric.
Aluminium at scale: At a time when steel still dominated, Giant pushed aluminium forward. Lighter, stiffer, and easier to mass produce, it made performance bikes more accessible than ever.
Carbon for real riders: In 1987, under their Cadex label, Giant released the first mass-produced carbon road bike. Until then carbon was rare and reserved for specialists. Giant opened the door for everyday riders to enjoy it.
Compact Road geometry: In the 1990s they introduced compact geometry with a sloping top tube. It offered better stiffness, lower weight, and a livelier feel. The design soon became standard across many brands.
Mountain bike progression: As mountain biking exploded, Giant helped lead the way. Their off-road development eventually shaped models like the modern Giant mountain bike lineup, from cross-country race bikes to trail and enduro builds. Today riders know these as the Anthem, Trance, and other familiar platforms in the Giant MTB family.
By the late 1990s and early 2000s, Giant had become one of the most important manufacturers in cycling. They expanded production in Taiwan, China, and Europe, went public in 1994, and built a distribution network that now reaches over 50 countries and more than 12,000 retailers.
Their lineup grew as well. Racers turned to aerodynamic road machines like the Giant Propel. Off-road riders gravitated to the Giant Anthem. Gravel riders found a home on the Giant Revolt. And as e-bikes surged in popularity, the company appeared early with a wide range of Giant electric bikes for commuting, trekking, and mountain use.
Today the company operates under the Giant Group, which includes Liv for women’s bikes and Momentum for urban riders. Their engineers continue refining carbon moulds, aerodynamic design, and advanced suspension systems for both road and off-road riding.
Whether you need a fast Giant road bike, a tough Giant MTB bike, a capable Giant gravel bike, or a dependable Giant ebike, the modern lineup reflects decades of work and steady evolution.
Giant didn’t rise because of hype or heritage. They rose because they proved that performance doesn’t have to be exclusive. They refined manufacturing, pushed materials forward, and made well-built bikes available to more riders.
Their story shows what happens when a brand stays focused on quality and engineering. Today millions of riders move through the world on a Giant bicycle in one form or another, and every one of those bikes carries a piece of the company’s history.
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