BOB PARLEE passing

[Charles M]

Parlee announces the passing of founder Bob Parlee.
Bob Parlee, founder of Parlee Cycles passed away peacefully at home with his family after a hard-
fought four-year long battle with cancer.
Bob founded Parlee Cycles twenty-five years ago with his wife Isabel after a successful career
building high-performance boats.
Originally from Wakefield, MA, Bob spent most of his adult life on the North Shore, where Parlee is
still based. He began tinkering with bicycles in the 1980’s and started to apply his composites
expertise to bicycles in the late 90’s. By 2000, he decided to pursue bicycles full time and he and
Isabel quit their day jobs and founded Parlee Cycles.
In the early 2000’s word was spreading about innovative carbon fiber bikes being made on the North
Shore of Boston. Soon, Parlee’s were seen at the Tour and Giro with riders such as Tyler Hamilton.
Parlee Cycles began to sell bikes around the world.
Bob believed in the superiority of composites to make great riding bikes and under his leadership,
Parlee pioneered many new ideas in composites and developed a well-earned reputation for
innovation and quality.
Bob led development and design for over twenty years at Parlee until selling the business to current
owner, John Harrison in 2023. Bob was semi-retired the past couple years to focus on his cancer
fight but never stopped sketching new ideas in his ever-present notebooks. He had spent much of
his available time over the last half decade, mentoring and developing talent across the team.
Harrison commented, “Bob has been a real inspiration for the entire team here at Parlee, me
included. His persistent and unwavering focus on pursuing an uncompromised and perfect product
will continue to lead the identity if our business forever into the future. We are all extremely proud to
continue the work that he started”.
Bob is survived by his wife Isabel and his two sons. Isabel noted how grateful Bob was for all the
relationships that working in the bike business had afforded him. He loved attending all the annual
shows to catch up with fellow frame builders, suppliers and dealers. Being part of the fabric of the
industry was something he was always appreciative of.
Isabel Parlee also shared their mutual appreciation for employees past and present.
The Parlee family will announce plans for a memorial at a later time.