This Iconic Carbon Component Brand Just Made a Shocking Comeback

The recent closure of CSS Composites has had reverberating effects on the cycling industry, and its in-house wheel and handlebar brand, Forge+Bond, is, of course, no longer an entity in the bike industry, but the name lives on in one of the most unexpected ways. Pickleball anyone?

The Forge+Bond website is still live, but it currently contains only a statement regarding the closure of CSS. "The company that owns the Forge + Bond business, CSS Composites LLC, has made the difficult decision to wind down its operations. This is a reflection of the enduring economic challenges facing the bike industry." There's no mention of the new endeavor in Pickleball.

Despite the fallout from CSS Composites' closure, many brands have answered the call to action to support those who have purchased wheels made with the FUSIONFIBER material. Brands like Reynolds, Industry Nine, and NOBL are all prepared to assist customers who may be left without warranty coverage on wheels that utilize the thermoplastic developed by CSS. While most concerns have been alleviated regarding warranty support for wheels using FUSIONFIBER, it is surprising to see the IP and manufacturing assets from Forge+Bond being repurposed for Pickleball purposes, but I imagine the nuance to this switch is following the popularity and revenue of the growing sport.

I don’t know the first thing about Pickleball, other than it’s one of the fastest-growing sports in North America and is repurposing Tennis courts all over. It’s kind of a hybrid of Table Tennis and regular Tennis. Other than that, I’m not too familiar with the sport. Still, it seems that the revision of Forge+Bond into a Pickleball brand, known as Forge+Bond Sports, makes sense to many. The rebrand utilizes the same FUSIONFIBER technology in these high-performance paddles, which are also still manufactured in Gunnison, Utah, just like the now-extinct wheels and handlebars. 

While looking into this rebranding of the company, I’ve learned a lot more about Pickleball than I ever really cared to, but it’s clear that there is a demand for high-performance paddles, and just like in the bike industry, carbon is seen as better, and the MUSA badge is sought after. With F+B Sports paddles running $199 USD, it’s also apparent that these high-end paddles aren’t a budget option. As stated on the Forge+Bond Sports website, “We saw an opportunity to bring that same level of engineering to pickleball paddles - a space dominated by generic, overseas designs.” This holds many parallels to bike components, and it seems that these new paddles are following a similar path to the F+B wheels: an emphasis on performance, sustainability, and US-made materials.

I don't know many mountain bikers or cyclists who also dabble in Pickleball, but this is probably the first brand to have a legacy in both mountain biking and on the P-Ball court. I've already admitted my ignorance, and you probably won't see me on the court anytime soon.