HOW IT ALL STARTED...
Even at the beginning of his career, Mike Kluge was sure of one thing: the right bike is crucial to health, fun and success. For this reason, he felt critical feedback on material was just as much a part of his responsibility towards sponsors as winning races. Because any improvements seemed to take an eternity, he decided to take mat- ters into his own hands. At the time, he had won countless German champion
ships and two world champion titles in Cyclo Cross at amateur level. Howe- ver, in 1990, when he lost the unofficial mountain bike world champion title in Italy as a result of a defect in the mate- rial, it was time to make changes.
manufacturers. For a while his professi- onal career took a back seat, with brand rights and development devouring huge amounts of time and money. And while giving up simply wasn‘t an option, the dream of getting back to the top of the cycling profession was never far from his thoughts.
No sooner said, than done: in 1992, Mike Kluge won the professional wor- ld champion title in Leeds (GB) on a Cy- cloCross bike that he had put together himself. His maxim was now or never. On the back of this success, he founded the bike brand FOCUS with his friend Hans-Jörg Furrer in the Black Forest in Germany. As a successful professional cyclist on the road, track, in Cyclo Cross, downhill, and on a mountain
And his tenacity paid off. His new, self-made bikes were hugely success- ful and in 1993, Mike Kluge won two mountain bike World Cups for FOCUS with many more titles to follow. But 1993 also saw another milestone: the sale of the first FOCUS bike, the birth of FOCUS as a bike manufacturer.
bike, he was able to leverage his exten- sive knowledge of the advantages of the various bike types and incorporate them into other areas. The branding was in spired by the autofocus of a camera that hones in on the centre of an object. From then on, he focussed exclusively on the development of bicycle frames, the correct combination of components and close co-operation with local part
In 1994, Mike Kluge started his own FOCUS team, which included Jörg Arenz, Tobias Nestle and Jens Reuker, who still help shape the company. A new brand – and a rising star – was born, a star that continues to rise to this day.
Their ambition as a team to achieve the best in design, build and material was the driving force, then and now. Innova- tion plays a key role – as demonstrated by the pioneering SQUARED EXPERIENCE – a development that is a labour of love for Mike Kluge.
22
23
Made with FlippingBook HTML5