Swiss bicycle entrepreneur Thomas Binggeli comes from Oberried, not far from Bern. In 1991, "Thömu" set up his first bicycle stable on his parents Margrit and Fritz's farm. The then 17-year-old simply sold the sheep from the barn while his parents were away on vacation. This was soon followed by the formation of the first racing team, which mainly raced in red.
In 1998, the Bernese launched his own brand "Thömus" and took the next step from dealer to bicycle developer. Carbon mountain bikes became his core product. The bicycle industry reacted with disbelief and paid increasing respect to the Bernese from Oberried: "From ingenious dilettante to market-influencing innovator", it was later said.
While once reputable brands such as Allegro, Cilo, Condor, Mondia and many others faltered over the years, future-oriented bicycle manufacturer Thomas Binggeli developed the digitally networked and revolutionary fast e-bike "Stromer" together with former Swisscom CEO Carsten Schloter in 2009. An everyday bike that can be propelled at up to 45 km/h with little effort. The modern city and commuter bike is born. Stromer becomes the benchmark for future-oriented electric bikes across Europe and a synonym for the car replacement. In 2021, the French company Naxicap takes over myStromer AG.
Thömus" provides a professional racing team under the name "Thömus maxon Swiss Mountain Bike Racing" in the highly regarded Mountain Bike World Cup racing series of the UCI. The brand thus wins the coveted team competition of the world's best bike manufacturers. Team boss Ralph Näf and bike racer Mathias Flückiger become overall World Cup winners and Olympic silver medalists. Alessandra Keller wins the overall World Cup several times. Together with multiple European champion Lars Forster, the "Thömus" brand also gains an international reputation.
As a kind of "race laboratory", the successful racing team provides important insights for the ongoing technical development of mountain bikes, e-bikes and racing bikes. With the new "Lightrider R3", the "Thömus" brand will present one of the most competitive race mountain bikes of our time in 2024.
With the TWINNER brand, the company is once again launching a digitally networked e-bike45 made entirely of carbon. This future-oriented speed pedelec is the ultimate car replacement for commuters. With its striking carbon design, the TWINNER is designed for urban mobility - for its versatile requirements such as range, speed, locatability and theft protection and offers a practical overall system for everyday errands thanks to accessories such as panniers, trailers and exclusive rainwear.
The DNA of "Thömus" includes a comprehensive view of the world of silent transportation on two wheels. Thomas Binggeli promotes resource-conserving mobility with his involvement in the "PubliBike" bike rental system. He is co-initiator of the transport policy exchange "Veloforum Schweiz Suisse Svizzera", which took place for the first time on September 12, 2024 with Federal Councillor Elisabeth Baume-Schneider in Oberried. Binggeli is the initiator of the "Swiss Bike Park" in Oberried - a social project for young and old, for popular and elite sport. The 30,000 square meter bike park with pump tracks, jump lines, trails and drops was the venue for the first UCI Pump Track World Championships in 2019. The park is open to all visitors free of charge. The busy entrepreneur's latest coup is the takeover of twelve of the 14 "Bike World" branches of retail giant Migros on March 1, 2025, bringing the number of employees to 250.
