The cycling world lost a true legend this week. King Liu, the founder of Giant Bicycles, passed away peacefully on February 16, 2026, at the age of 93.
While his name may be most closely associated with building the world's largest bicycle manufacturer, the story that resonates most deeply with me isn't about business — it's about what happens when a 73-year-old man gets back on a bike and discovers a brand-new version of himself.
Liu wasn't even a cyclist when he founded Giant. He built the company from a small Taichung factory in 1972, grew it into a global powerhouse, and spent decades focused on the business side of bikes. He had biked to work in Giant's early years, but the habit fell away as the company grew. Then something remarkable happened.
"I was an old man contemplating retirement, but funnily enough, I instead discovered a brand-new me," Liu told Agence France-Presse (AFP) in 2016, describing his first major ride — more than 900 kilometers around Taiwan's rugged coastline. "It boosted my self-confidence, my health, and I became more willing to learn new things, to take on new challenges."
That ride, at age 73, changed everything — not just for Liu, but for thousands of cyclists around the world.
Ride Like King — and What It Meant
In 2007, Liu started the Ride Like King event, leading a 15-day cycling tour of Taiwan. Cycling News observed that the event shared the message about the health and environmental benefits of cycling. (Cycling News Obituary)
As reported by Escape Collective (escapecollective.com), that event, also known as Formosa 900, developed into a major mass participation event with Taiwanese riders and international visitors alike riding around the island's 927 km coastline. The "Ride Like King" concept was later expanded internationally, with Liu involved in similar long rides from Shanghai to Beijing, in the Netherlands (Giant's European base), and Japan.
In their obituary of Liu, Bicycle Retailer observed that his 927-kilometer journey around Taiwan inspired a nationwide cycling movement, and he later published a book called My Cycling Dream.
Think about that for a moment. A man in his seventies didn't just ride — he inspired an entire nation to ride. He then took that inspiration global.
A Message for Every One of Us
For those of us here in the Tacoma cycling community who sometimes wonder whether we're too old, too out of shape, or too far removed from our athletic prime to take on bigger challenges, King Liu's story is a direct rebuttal. He described himself as a "missionary" spreading cycling culture, and he meant it. Even after stepping back from day-to-day leadership in 2016, Liu remained active in public advocacy, urging government agencies to build bike paths and promote the sport's health benefits.
His words from that 2016 AFP interview stick with you: "There will be one day when I can't pedal my bike anymore. I hope that day will keep getting pushed back again and again."
That's a sentiment every one of us can share.
Giant Group's statement noted that "throughout his life, Mr. Liu devoted himself to bicycles, believing they represented not merely a business, but a meaningful way of life." For those of us who ride — whether it's around Point Defiance, along the Foothills Trail, or on bigger adventures — we already know that truth. King Liu just happened to build an empire proving it.
Rest easy, King. We'll keep riding.
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