Title

"Cover Story" piece on Aegis Bicycles of Van Buren, which evolved from Simplex,

Source

Maine Times

Date

6-17-1999

Pages

4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 1

Abstract

"Cover Story" piece on Aegis Bicycles of Van Buren, which evolved from Simplex, a tennis racquet company started by brothers Delano and Levite Duplessis 30 years ago. Back in the 1970s, the Duplessis brothers developed a process to build hollow graphite tennis racquets. The brothers earned a reputation as wonders with carbon fiber, and Trek, a Wisconsin bicycle company, gave them contract to build carbon-fiber bicycle frames and by 1986 they had developed the first one-piece, or "monocoque," bicycle frame in the U.S., which was marketed as the Trek 5000. When Trek did not renew the contract because the Duplessis' refused to sell them the factory, the brothers formed Graphite Technologies and built bikes that were sold by other companies, eventually developing their own brand: Aegis. In the mid-1990s, when the Duplessis brothers retired, Keith Baumm of Boothbay Harbor bought the company and launched an ambitious research and development program. Triathlon competitors are quickly discovering Aegis bicycles. Sales are up 25 percent over last year and the company is on track to sell 750 frames and a thousand forks this year.

Subjects

Bicycles, Graphite Technologies

Full text is not available here. Please contact the Library for a copy of the article.

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