Bob Parlee – the founder of the prestigious bike company Parlee – has died at the age of 70, following a four year battle with cancer. He is survived by his wife (and company co-founder) Isabel, and two sons.
Bob Parlee was long revered as a master craftsman of carbon fibre, having established the company in 2000 with a goal of building the best bikes in the world. He brought vast experience from the boating industry, having spent more than two decades working with composite materials in that space, before applying it to road bicycles. The company quickly became established with elite clientele, including the likes of Tyler Hamilton riding rebranded Parlee bikes on the sport’s most prestigious stage.
By 2004, Parlee was making headlines again, as the creator of what was at the time the lightest carbon frame ever achieved (<900 grams). The company’s specialisation was in custom carbon framesets utilising a distinctive (and gorgeous) tube-to-tube and wrapped construction technique, with understated graphics and a refined appearance. As demand grew, Parlee took what he had learned from the custom world and began applying it to a series of Asian-manufactured monocoque framesets like the Z5, making the brand more accessible to more customers. The Z5 was succeeded by the Altum range – the company’s first disc brake bike – before the addition of the Chebacco gravel model, Parlee’s leading model in terms of sales. [Side note: having spent thousands of kilometres on all three of these models, I can attest to their lovely ride quality – especially the Z5, which 10 years post-ownership remains my benchmark by which all other road bikes are judged.]
This growth didn’t come without its challenges, however: by 2023, the company had filed for a Chapter 11 bankruptcy in its home state of Massachusetts, citing supply chain and cash flow difficulties associated with the COVID pandemic. The company sought a lifeline which came in the form of new company owner, John Harrison – an avid cyclist who stepped into Parlee’s role as company CEO and President, with Bob Parlee staying on part time as chief designer. “Bob has been a real inspiration for the entire team here at Parlee, me included,” Harrison said. “His persistent and unwavering focus on pursuing an uncompromised and perfect product will continue to lead the identity of our business forever into the future. We are all extremely proud to continue the work that he started.”
While still producing its top-end custom models from its headquarters in Beverly, Massachusetts, the company shifted its stock frame production to a European facility, and has since launched two new models – the Taos gravel bike and the Ouray endurance road bike.
Parlee’s passing leaves the cycling world with one less framebuilding legend – a man that had his hand in the crafting of thousands of elegant and superbly-performing machines, navigating the journey from a tiny family-owned operation to the pinnacle of the sport. Escape Collective sends its condolences to his loved ones.
Did we do a good job with this story?