The 50-year-old Swiss bicycle entrepreneur Thomas Binggeli grew up in Oberried, not far from Bern. “Thömu” once set up his first “bike barn” on his parents Margrit and Fritz’s farm. The story in a nutshell: He sold the sheep while his parents were away on holiday and opened a bike workshop in the barn. He founded a racing team and from then on mainly rode in the colour red.
In 1998, the Bernese launched his own brand ‘Thömus’ and took the next step from dealer to bike developer. Carbon mountain bikes became his core product. The bicycle industry reacted with disbelief and increasingly paid tribute to the Bernese from Oberried: ‘From ingenious dilettante to market-influencing innovator’, as it was later called.
The forward-looking bicycle manufacturer Thomas Binggeli predicted the future more often than some of his traditional competitors, all of whom are no longer on the market: Allegro, Cilo, Condor, Mondia and many more… Together with former Swisscom CEO Carsten Schloter, Thomas Binggeli developed the digitally connected, revolutionary fast Stromer e-bike in 2009. An everyday bike that can be propelled at speeds of up to 45 km/h.
The modern city bike is born. Stromer becomes the European benchmark for future-oriented electric bikes and a synonym for the car replacement. In 2021, the French company Naxicap takes over the Stromer.
‘Thömus’ provides a professional racing team in the highly acclaimed UCI World Cup mountain bike racing series. With ‘Thömus maxon Swiss Mountain Bike Racing’, the brand wins the coveted team competition of the world’s best bike manufacturers. Team owner Ralph Näf mangages his group very well – bike racer Mathias Flückiger becomes overall World Cup winner as well as Olympic medallist. Alessandra Keller also becomes overall World Cup winner. Together with multiple European champion Lars Forster, they all make the Thömus maxon team the most successful Swiss cycling team of recent times.
As a ‘race laboratory’, the racing team provides important insights for the ongoing technical development of the bikes. With the new pedal mountain bike ‘Lightrider R3’, the ‘Thömus’ brand will present one of the most competitive race mountain bikes of the present day in 2024.
The company is currently launching a digitally highly connected speed pedelec made entirely of carbon under the TWINNER brand. This future-orientated everyday bike is a car replacement for commuters. The TWINNER, with its striking carbon design, is designed for urban mobility – for its versatile requirements such as range, speed, localisation capability and theft protection.
Today, ‘Thömus AG’ employs over 140 people and is recognised by experts as one of the most innovative bicycle companies in Europe.
The DNA of ‘Thömus’ includes a comprehensive view of the world on two wheels. Thomas Binggeli promotes environmentally conscious mobility with his involvement in the ‘PubliBike’ bike hire system. He is co-initiator of the transport policy exchange ‘Veloforum Schweiz Suisse Svizzera’, which will take place in Oberried on September 12 hosting Federal Councillor Elisabeth Baume-Schneider among many others. Thomas Binggeli is the initiator of the ‘Swiss Bike Park’ in Oberried – a social project for young and old, for popular and elite sport. The 30,000 square metre bike park with pump tracks, jumplines, trails and drops was the venue for the first UCI Pump Track World Championships in 2019. The park is available to all users free of charge.
Awards
- 2006: Winner of the Swiss Economic Award for young entrepreneur Thomas Binggeli
- 2020: Design & Innovation Award Roadbikes & Road Equipment: Sliker e1
- 2021: Design & Innovation Award E-Mountainbikes for the E-MTB Lightrider E2 Pro
- 2022: Design & Innovation Award Urban Bikes: Longrider E2
- 2023: Design & Innovation Award for the lightweight E-MTB Lightrider E Ultimate