The economic headwinds hitting the bicycle industry show no signs of abating, and today another victim was claimed.

According to court documents released by Cycling Weekly (opens in new tab), the American brand voluntarily filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Massachusetts on February 6. This is defined as a "reorganization" bankruptcy, meaning the business is in debt and must propose a plan of reorganization, possibly involving a partnership, sole proprietorship, or corporation, to repay creditors over time and keep the business alive. However, with court approval, the business may continue to operate and borrow funds.

Boston-based Parlee Cycles was founded in 2000 by husband and wife team Bob and Isabel Parlee.

An avid cyclist, Bob's passion was awakened after a 20-year career in boat building. In 2012, Bob told Cyclist (open in new tab), "I wasn't satisfied with the performance I was getting from my bike. I thought maybe I could take what I knew about carbon fiber from the boat industry and do some crossover. I started my own business and spent about two years developing my first tube around 2000"

. [In the 23 years since then, Perley has been at the forefront of carbon fiber bicycle design. It was the first brand to produce a fully custom carbon fiber road frame and the first road frame to break the 900 gram barrier. They were the first to use disc brakes for road use and the first to introduce aero bikes. Thanks to its cutting-edge attitude, Parley has earned a reputation for excellence.

He has a number of professional cyclists among his customers, including Baystar native Tyler Hamilton. Tyler lives not too far from me, so we used to go riding together sometimes," Parley said. I started out training on one, but he liked it so much that I painted it in Team CSC colors and added a badge from Look, the team's bike sponsor.

The brand currently produces three gravel frames, three road frames, and one time trial frame as off-the-peg options, plus three custom geometry frames. The company also offers custom paint along with custom carbon in a project it calls "One of One."

News of the company's struggles comes in the wake of a turbulent year in the cycling industry. The post-pandemic recession led to numerous high-profile layoffs in all sectors. Just last month, Specialized laid off 8% of its workforce in its own restructuring, while Zwift, Wahoo, Strava, and Pearl Izumi were forced to cut jobs in 2022.