Park Tools began in the 1960s when caliper brakes, shifting systems, and lightweight components were becoming popular. There was an issue though,  a lack of tools to service these complicated new parts. The founders made early tools from scratch with whatever materials and leftovers they could find.

One of the first products created was a bike stand that could hold the bike off the ground making it easier to work on a bike. As other shops, and eventually Schwinn Bicycle Company, saw the stand in action, requests were made for a production model. Park Tool Company was born!

The line grew quickly to include a wheel truing stand, more repair stands including a double-arm shop version, wrenches gauges, fixtures and consumer tools soon joined the company's offerings. The retail side of the business also grew earning the Top Ten Schwinn dealer status fifteen years in a row including number one overall in 1977.

Since that first stand, they have built hundreds of thousands more, reaching bike shops worldwide. Since the first hand tool, we've built millions more and our line now includes over 400 different items and a recent history of fifteen to twenty new products introduced each year.

In April of 2013 they celebrated their 50th anniversary and moved into our fourth location, an 80,000 square foot facility. With that move they are able to do more manufacturing in-house than ever.