The 10 Best Bicycle Brands Based On World Tour Wins (2024)

Cyclists Hub is supported by its readers. We may receive a commission if you buy products using our links.
All content on Cyclists Hub is written by humans, not robots. Learn More

These are the best bicycle brands based on the wins of professional cyclists in the World Tour. There is no personal preference; it is just a ranking based on raw data.

I put together the results of WT teams since 2005 and calculated their number of victories in one-day races, monuments, and stage races. Overall, I included more than 2500 WT races!

Although these brands are mostly known for road cycling, they also produce mountain, hybrid, and gravel bikes. Some of them also produce electric bikes and kids’ bikes.

So, without further ado, let’s check them out!

Abbreviations used: WT – World Tour (the highest men’s elite road cycling league)

The Best Bicycle Brands (Most WT Wins 2005-2024)

I decided to evaluate the brands since 2005 when UCI introduced the UCI ProTour series. Four years later, UCI premiered the UCI World Tour series. In 2011, these two series merged.

1. Specialized

Many consider Specialized the best cycling brand. However, based on conversations with fellow cyclists, some people love it, and some hate it.

However, thanks to regular sponsorships of multiple pro cycling teams, Specialized has dominated the rankings for several years already, and no brand has even come close.

They are known for their broad product portfolio. For example, you can buy Specialized road, MTB, hybrid, child, e-bikes, and other bike types, as well as bike accessories like helmets and shoes.

World Tour wins commentary:

Specialized was pretty ‘lucky’ because 10 of 17 road world champions (between 2005 and 2022) rode on their bikes.

Until 2020, Specialized experienced an upward trend of wins per season. They peaked in 2019 with an incredible 66 WT wins.

Specialized is one of the few brands that sponsor at least two WT teams every season (except for 2005 and 2006). Between 2011 and 2016, they sponsored three WT teams.

Surprisingly, Specialized’s wins peaked between 2016 and 2019, when they sponsored only two teams (Tinkoff, later Redbull – BORA – Hansgrohe, and Soudal – Quick-Step).

Their 2020 season was the weakest for a long time, but it was also highly affected by many canceled races.

2. Pinarello

Pinarello is an Italian bicycle brand that belongs to one of the most premium brands. Pinarello bikes are bikes of Grand Tour winners (Bradley Wiggins, Chris Froome, Geraint Thomas, Egan Bernal).

Pinarello is known for its continued sponsorship of the INEOS Grenadiers team (formerly Sky Procycling, Team Sky), which started in 2010, and for producing road bikes.

Their frames are made in Taiwan (Taiwanese are experts in carbon frame manufacturing) and finished in Italy. Would you like to ride one of their Dogmas? Let me know in the comments.

World Tour wins commentary:

Pinarello peaked in 2012 and 2013 thanks to sponsorships of two WT teams (Sky Procycling and Movistar team).

Riders like Bradley Wiggins, Mark Cavendish, Chris Froome (Sky), Alejandro Valverde, and Rui Costa (Movistar) won the most in these two years.

Since 2014, Pinarello has sponsored only one team, so the number of wins per season has halved.

3. SCOTT

SCOTT is one of a few cycling brands that significantly overlap in other sectors (skiing, running, motorsport).

However, they are known for their road and mountain bikes. This US brand was fortunate enough to sponsor teams like Team Columbia – HTC, Orica GreenEDGE (later known as Mitchelton-Scott), and legendary XC mountain biker Nino Shurter.

Although SCOTT was established in 1958, the company started producing bikes in the 90s.

World Tour wins commentary:

SCOTT’s wins peaked in 2009 during its Team Columbia – HTC sponsorship. Sprinters like Mark Cavendish, André Greipel, and Edvald Boasson Hagen contributed the most with their wins.

They didn’t sponsor any WT team in 2011, so they had 0 wins. However, between 2012 and 2019, they collected 13 to 23 wins per season.

The most recent years, 2020-2024, were more modest in terms of wins.

However, if you are into mountain biking, you know that Scott Bikes was successful, thanks to Nino Shurter.

4. Cervélo

Established in 1995 by two engineers, Phil White and Gérard Vroomen, Cervélo is now an American cycling company (but it originates in Canada) with worldwide recognition.

They design and develop road, gravel, and TT bikes. Recently, they also started adding off-road bikes.

World Tour wins commentary:

With only two pauses of sponsorships of WT teams between 2005 and 2024, Cervélo sponsored teams like Garmin Shart, Team Dimension Data, Team Sunweb, and currently, Team Jumbo-Visma.

Cervélo did not sponsor any WT teams in 2009, 2010, and 2015, so they did not win in these years. They experienced their most successful year in 2023, mainly thanks to the wins of Primož Roglič, Wout van Aert, and Jonas Vingegaard.

5. Colnago

Colnago is another traditional Italian bicycle brand. Ernesto Colnago established it in Cambiago in 1952.

Until recently, their bikes were known for unique rounded tubes, but they changed their design language in recent years.

World Tour wins commentary:

Colnago stopped sponsoring WT teams between 2009 and 2016, but then they started sponsoring the UAE Team Emirates.

Thanks to talented Tadej Pogačar, they accumulated victories in the most prestigious races, including the Tour de France. The question is, will Colnago rise to prominence again? It seems so!

You might also be interested in these best Chinese bicycle brands.

6. Canyon

Canyon is one of the most well-known German cycling brands. However, it differs from other brands in its direct-to-consumer business model. It allows them to offer quality products at lower prices.

Canyon all types of bikes you can think of – road, gravel, MTB, hybrid, etc. – and bike accessories.

World Tour wins commentary:

Canyon sponsored multiple WT teams in recent years, most notably the Movistar Team. They are also known for their relatively tight bond with Mathieu van der Poel.

Canyon got some traction in 2010 when they sponsored Omega Pharma-Lotto (today’s Quickstep).

Between 2012 and 2014, Canyon sponsored only one team (Team Katusha). However, between 2015 and 2019, they sponsored two teams (Team Katusha Alpecin and Movistar Team).

Since 2020, they have sponsored Movistar Team only, which was not exactly successful. But in 2024, everything changed when Alpecin-Decenuick got the WT license, bringing many victories.

7. Giant

Giant is a Taiwanese bicycle brand that proudly represents its name. It is considered to be the largest bicycle manufacturer in the world. Giant also has multiple sub-brands, notably Liv, a women’s bicycle brand.

It is no surprise that Giant manufactures road, gravel, MTB, and most other types of bikes you can think of. Giant is also known for its good-value bikes.

World Tour wins commentary:

Giant has been sponsoring multiple WT teams for the past decades. However, this series stopped in 2021. The CCC World Tour team they supported in 2019 and 2020 sold its WT license.

The number of WT wins per season decreased except for a few years. Giant has sponsored only one team since 2005. The years 2019 and 2020 were the worst in terms of wins. Giant sponsored the CCC Team, which managed to get only 3 WT wins.

After many years, Giant didn’t sponsor any WT team in 2021. They returned to the World Tour in 2022 and 2024 by sponsoring Team BikeExchange – Jayco (Jayco AlUla).

You might also be interested in the best titanium bike brands.

8. Ridley

Ridley is one of the few well-known Belgian bicycle brands (the other is Eddy Merckx Cycles).

They are mainly known for their road, gravel, and CX bikes, but they also manufacture MTB and e-bikes.

World Tour wins commentary:

Ridley was always tightly tied with sponsoring the Belgian team Lotto Soudal. Ridley is one of the most consistent cycling brands regarding WT wins. The number of their wins fluctuates around eight wins per season.

Ridley has also sponsored only one WT team per season since 2005, mainly Lotto Soudal, which had terrible 2022 and 2024 seasons.

9. Trek

Trek, the US’s biggest bicycle manufacturer, was founded in 1975. Since then, it has become a worldwide-known brand that its owners are proud of.

Trek Bikes designs and produces all kinds of bicycles, from road and gravel through MTB to hybrid and e-bikes. You may have heard about Electra and Townie, which are Trek-owned brands.

World Tour wins commentary:

Trek was always a part of pro cycling. For example, Lance Armstrong rode their bikes but was later stripped of his Tour de France titles.

However, Trek kept its reputation and has a traditional WT team, Trek-Segafredo.

Trek is another brand (like Giant) experiencing a long-term downward trend.

The number of wins peaked during the Discovery Channel and Astana era (when Lance Armstrong was still riding).

Except for 2011, when Trek sponsored two teams (RadioShack and Leopard Trek), Trek always sponsored only one team, most notably Lidl – Trek.

10. BMC

Switzerland is home to a few cycling brands, including BMC. Did you know that it is the abbreviation of Bicycle Manufacturing Company?

They mainly produce higher-end road and mountain bikes but also offer gravel, hybrid, and e-bikes.

World Tour wins commentary:

Between 2005 and 2020, they always sponsored only one WT team. However, in 2021, they sponsored the AG2R Citroën Team and Team Qhubeka ASSOS. They returned to one team in 2022. In 2024, they did not sponsor any WT team.

BMC peaked in 2017, the penultimate year of the BMC Racing Team’s existence. This team operated between 2011 and 2018, and the number of wins had an upward trend.

TIP: Check out the best Trek bikes for under $500 or the best Trek bikes for under $1000.

Summary

I hope you liked this approach to evaluating bicycle brands. Although it has limitations, it provides interesting insights. I was surprised that traditional Italian road bike brands like Bianchi or Wilier didn’t even make it to the top 10.

I am curious how the wins will develop in the following years. I think Colnago will continue improving its rankings thanks to Tadej Pogačar and the UAE-Team Emirates. But only time will tell whether they reach the top 5 or even top 3. UPDATE: They reached the top 5 in 2024.

Which bicycle brands in the world are your favorite? Let me know in the comments below.

Bicycle Brands FAQ

Sources