About us - History of Hawk Racing™

2001

In 2001 Sven left Germany traveling the globe to work in different fields, but mainly in the diving industry.  He learned Underwater Welding as a diver. A few years later Sven ended up in Australia and with the idea of creating high quality products still alive, he started a new business in 2005 for the diving industry.  Soon after, with the help of some friends, Sven was introduced to Triathlon.  Then, after that, as the saying goes, "the rest is history!"

2006

After his introduction to triathlon in Australia, Sven was hooked after only his first race and Hawk Triathlon was founded officially.
As with his previous companies, the goal was to make the highest quality products as affordably as possible so that all athletes could benefit from them.  Inspired by Jim Felt and Felt Bicycles, he started working with a friend on his first frame and got the first Hawk Triathlon wheels. 

High quality Triathon and cycling products have been and still are very expensive in Australia so the demand for high quality affordable products was there.  With the support of the original Hawk Triathlon members, the team, and also the unexpected business growth the company grew quickly.  Within a year, other individuals picked up the distribution of Hawk Triathlon products and soon Hawk Triathlon was available in Australia, USA and Europe.

The main focus has always been to find the best materials, styles and products to help to improve the athletes performance. Every second counts, just as does every extra dollar in their pocket.  Sven always asks questions about newly released products, such as "why is it better than another product?" Just giving a product a fancy name or pricing it high does not necessarily make it a better product. His goal was and still is to always ask the question- "Why?".  He takes the knowledge he gains and creates our products through R&D and with an engineering and aerodynamic background.

2007

Due to the success of his original idea, particularly in the United States, along with the support of his wife, TeriEnna, the headquarters for Hawk Triathlon moved to Florida.  What started as just an idea became a company that has experienced tremendous growth for such a short period of time, even through tough economical times.  We sponsored more than 20 athletes incl. Pro Triathletes and Elite Amateur athletes in 2007.

The first Time Trial bike came out in December 2007. The GS I (GOD SPEED) and was a full carbon fibre time trial bike.

2008

In 2008, because of the demand within our own company, as well as from clients, bike shops and Triathlon Clubs, we started developing custom clothing. After field testing with our sponsored athletes, in many different events, we introduced the Custom Design Clothing Program™ or “CDCP™” to our customers. We also started sponsoring local events such as the Down Town Orlando Triathlon while the R&D department worked hard on new wheels and new frames. By the end of 2008, the company grew in the USA to 12 staff members, including Field Sales Reps around the USA. We moved into our new location, which included a warehouse, two offices, a work shop and paint booth.  

We sponsored athletes and more and more events and developed additional cycling and triathlon clothing. After the release of our new hubs and wheel sets, other bicycle companies approched us to use our carbon fiber wheels and bottom brackets as an upgrade to their current product line. In order to meet this demand, we made the decision to drop our frame line.  We have changed our focus from Hawk Racing (Bicycles) to Hawk Racing (wheels).  

Our mission is still to educate fellow athletes about products and why our products are different. We believe the economy actually helped us to grow, since customers are now becoming more educated consumers by looking more closely at purchases and price differences.  They are comparing products and asking themselves why they should spend so much more for a brand name product when and equally high quality product is available at a much lower price through a smaller company like Hawk Racing. Our success proves that people really do appreciate knowing the little secrets behind a product. 

By the end of 2009, our bottom bracket, having been review by 3rd Party companies, was found to be of the highest quality bottom brackets available on the market today.  It proved that we spoke the truth when we claimed that it was not necessary to have ceramic for Cycling. We will continue to do more testing, but we believe when you see the way our Bottom Bracket bearings spin, you will already be a believer and will not need to wait for the test results on paper.

2010

Hawk Racing products are now available in Australia, Brazil, Germany, Switzerland and the USA (HQ) and we have contacts to over 250 bike shops in the USA. With 13 Staff members based around the USA, Hawk Racing is still growing.

Some wind tunnel testing will be done in 2010 with our new wheels, but our research will focus on making even better hubs and bearings than we have already.  Round is Round, at least when we talk about  such simple things as a wheel for a bicycle.  So, we will be working hard to make our wheels even more special than they already are today!

Look into Hawk Racing and understand the passion every staff member, sponsored athlete and friend has about Sven Folmer's idea to bring high quality products without trickery to you - THE ATHLETE!