Founder of iconic Taiwanese cycling brand Giant and bike ‘missionary’ dies at 91

King Liu was ‘widely respected as a lifelong advocate for cycling culture’, company says

King Liu, the founder of Taiwanese bicycle maker Giant and a “lifelong advocate for cycling culture” died at the age of 91, the company announced on Monday.

Liu, the self-described “missionary” for cycling, passed away peacefully in the early hours of Monday, the Giant Group said in a statement.

He started the company in 1972 in his hometown of Taichung in central Taiwan. The company is now the world’s largest bike designer and manufacturer by revenue with factories in China, Taiwan and Netherlands pumping out millions of cycles. Giant has an annual revenue of more than $2bn in sales.

Liu was seen as the unlikely poster boy for Taiwan's flourishing cycling scene (AFP via Getty Images)

The group said Liu was “not only our founder, but a leader who consistently guided the organisation forward while remaining attentive to the people around him”.

“Throughout his life, Mr Liu devoted himself to bicycles, believing they represented not merely a business, but a meaningful way of life. He was widely respected as a lifelong advocate for cycling culture and remained a deeply influential figure to colleagues, partners, and riders across generations,” the statement added.

The group thanked the veteran cyclist for aiding the global recognition of the “strength and capability of Taiwan’s bicycle industry”.

Giant said further arrangements of Liu’s departure will be planned according to the family’s wishes and will be made public at an appropriate time.

King Liu, chairman of the world's biggest bicycle maker Giant Manufacturing Co., poses for photographs during an interview with AFP in central Taichung (AFP/Getty)

In an interview in 2016, Liu said he only managed to get into cycling seriously at the age of 73 when he was in his retirement phase.

“I was an old man contemplating retirement, but funnily enough, I instead discovered a brand-new me," he said of his first major ride, when he bicycled more than 900km around the island's rugged coastline.

He was earlier known to cycle to work during Giant’s initial few years in his bid to better understand the product but his habit was defeated by the requirements of the company which started growing.

Liu said the ride in his retirement days “boosted my self-confidence, my health, and I became more willing to learn new things, to take on new challenges."

An employee of the world's biggest bicycle maker Giant Manufacturing Co. sorts bicycle parts at the factory in central Taichung (AFP via Getty Images)

The Taiwanese bicycle manufacturer issued the “Made in Taiwan” label for Giant at a time the country was being associated with poor-quality goods. Liu said he saw himself as a "missionary" spreading cycle culture.

"There will be one day when I can't pedal my bike anymore," Liu said in an interview in 2016.

"I hope that day will keep getting pushed back again and again.”