Kuwahara
Established 1918Founded in 1918 by Sentarō Kuwahara as a small family enterprise, the Kuwahara Bicycle Company started business by selling bicycle parts wholesale. The brand began exporting bikes abroad and entered the American market in 1959, manufacturing bikes for brands like Apollo, Schwinn and Azuki. In the early 1970s, when children began racing their bicycles on dirt tracks, Kuwahara began to build BMX bikes under the Kuwahara brand name. Together with bike importer Howie Cohen, they developed the first major BMX distributorship.
The Kuwahara brand gained international recognition and popularity when its BMX model was used in the Hollywood blockbuster E.T. (the Extra-Terrestrial) in 1982. Following the success of the film, Kuwahara began producing the red and white ‘Original E.T. model’, which still is the holy grail for many BMX old school collectors.
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With time just like other inventions cycling industry has also transformed the normal bicycles to the most eternal in the face BMX. Rather these types of bikes are mainly prepared to perform daredevil stunts and freewheeling. They are very expensive too, that’s why fewer people are seen with them.