BOB
BOB Gear was founded in 1994 by two New Zealanders whose first product was a bike trailer rugged enough to handle gravel trails:
Back in 1994, Roger Malinowski, a bicycle industry maven, met Philip Novotny, an airline mechanic. Together, they brought an innovative bike trailer to the masses. When Roger and Philip began to start families, they were inspired to design and build a jogging stroller that held the same high standards as their trailers. The result was the Sport Utility Stroller. “We wanted the best of a bunch of worlds,” says Roger. “A lightweight, high-quality stroller that you could still take running, hiking or off-road and fold up easily and compactly.[1]
The name BOB is short for Beast of Burden—this was not taken from the Rolling Stones song, but instead as a moniker to signal the brands' outdoor suitability. The stroller featured knobby tires designed to roll over rough surfaces. The first BOB stroller was released in 1998, following the success of the BOB YAK bike trailer. Founder Rober Malinowski explained in an interview with the San Luis Opispo PAPER the inspriation for the stroller:
Our wives were bringing home strollers, and Phil and I decided we weren't sure we wanted to be seen pushing something with flowers and polka dots -- not exactly guy material. Someone suggested a suspension stroller to us one day. The more we looked at it, the more we liked the idea. We never intended to be involved in strollers.[2]
The original BOB Sport Utility Strollers had a fixed front wheel, which limited its maneuverability. To appeal to a wider market, BOB debuted a new version of the stroller with a turnable front wheel—this model, the Revolution, remains BOB's best-selling stroller to date.
In 2011, BOB Gear was acquired by Britax for an undisclosed price. Britax operates BOB as a stand-alone brand, although they are both headquartered in Fort Mill, South Carolina. BOB Gear strollers are made in China.