29er (bicycle) used were forks designed for trekking bikes or hybrids. For many years, 29" frames and bikes were usually only available from small little-known manufactures like Niner Bikes. Surly Bikes introduced their 29" frameset, the Karate Monkey, in 2002. Gary Fisher Bicycles, a division of Trek Bicycles, became the first of the major manufactures to offer a line of 29" bikes. Their lines never sold well until the introduction of single-speed 29" bike the Rig, in 2004. Today, most bicycle manufacturers in the US market offer at least one 29" bicycle or frame. Even companies that openly dismissed 29" as a
Trek Bicycle Corporation a few years Trek had outgrown its original "red barn" manufacturing facility—a former carpet warehouse. Recognizing the need for expansion, in 1980 Trek broke ground on a new corporate headquarters on the outskirts of Waterloo. Company co-founder Dick Burke would later recall that "it wasn’t until we built the new factory that we became a business." With more factory space available, Trek expanded its manufacturing to include complete bikes. In 1981 Trek entered the steel road racing bike market, introducing the "Pro" line, including the 750 and 950 models, and in 1983 Trek built its first mountain bike, the 850.