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SRAM is a components manufacturer based in Chicago, Illinois. The company mainly produces drivetrains, for a wide variety of disciplines, alongside many other components. SRAM’s has acquired other brands within the industry such as Zipp, RockShox and Quarq.
SRAM began in 1987 when its founder Stan Day proposed the idea of a shifting mechanism on the handlebar of his bike, rather than the downtube. Day’s friend was engineer Sam Patterson, who went on to make a prototype of the Grip Shift. The duo expanded to form an enterprise and manufactured the product in a rundown Chicago warehouse ahead of launching it at the Long Beach bike show.
After the Grip Shift went to market, SRAM spent the 1990s adapting it for use on MTBs and developing its first derailleur. By 1997, SRAM made its first acquisition, 10 years after launching, by purchasing German manufacturer Sachs. The move provided SRAM with an abundance of knowledge about bike chains and gearing. The acquisitions of RockShox, Avid and Truvativ allowed SRAM to sell its own complete drivetrain.
The Force and Rival mechanical 10-speed groupsets arrived in 2006 - the Force being the lightest on the market at the time and used at the Tour de France the following year. The Force and Rival benefitted from SRAM’s new DoubleTap shifting technology, designed on a napkin, that allowed riders to shift in both directions using just one shifter paddle. The company acquired performance components manufacturer Zipp and power meter company Quarq in 2007 and 2011 respectively.
By 2015, SRAM had launched its 11-speed wireless electronic groupset, the SRAM Red eTap, which was powered by a set of self-contained batteries. A year later, with the launch of the 1x12 Eagle drivetrain system in the XX1 and X01 MTB groupsets, SRAM declared the death of the MTB front mech given the 1x Eagle system's ability to deliver 500% gear range.
In 2019, the company released two new wireless electronic MTB groupsets with the Eagle AXS system offering riders the ability to use the AXS app to customise button functions. Two years later and SRAM acquired all the road and MTB pedals, cleats and related patents of French company TIME Sport.
Bike tech company Hammerhead and cycling apparel producer Velocio became the latest companies to be acquired into the SRAM brand in 2022.
The company's name stems from an acronym comprising the names of its founders, Scott, Ray (middle name of SRAM's first CEO Stan Day) and Sam.
Current sponsorships: Jumbo-Visma, Movistar, Lidl-Trek, Canyon//SRAM Racing, Human Powered Health, Liv Racing TeqFind, Team SD Worx
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