RIDE THE LEGACY. RIDE LIKE KING

“Driving is too fast, walking is too slow. Only through cycling can you truly capture the beautiful scenery of life.” – King Liu (1934-2026)

King Liu, founder of Giant Group, did not set out to build the world's largest bicycle company. He set out, as so many visionaries do, to simply create something of quality. In doing so, he changed the world.

King came of age with a curiosity for mechanics and a hands-on resilience that would define his life. Before bicycles, he tried his hand at many things including eel farming. When a typhoon wiped out his eel business at age 38, he didn't rebuild what he had lost. He built something new. In 1972, in his hometown of Taichung, he founded Giant Manufacturing.

King leaves behind a legacy of motion that has brought smiles, health, and freedom to people around the world. The bicycle was never just a business to him. It was a pathway to a better way of life.

When King Liu started Giant, he insisted on quality from the start, adopting rigorous manufacturing standards that raised the bar for every supplier in his orbit. In 1981, he launched the Giant consumer brand, transforming the company from a behind-the-scenes manufacturer into a globally recognized name. Today, Giant Group includes multiple brands—including Liv, CADEX and Momentum—and cycling organizations to help grow cycling culture and impact worldwide.

Under King’s leadership, Giant Group grew into a company with more than $2 billion (U.S.) in annual sales. In 2009, Bicycle Retailer and Industry News named him International Person of the Year. He received Japan's Order of the Rising Sun in 2016. And in 2022 King was honored with the United Nations World Bicycle Day Special Lifetime Achievement Award—acknowledgment of his global impact on sustainable mobility and cycling culture.

For most of his working life, King was not a cyclist. First he built the world's greatest bicycle company—and then, at age 73, he discovered what riding a bicycle really meant when he completed a 927km, 15-day ride around Taiwan.

The ride was a revelation. “I was an old man contemplating retirement,” he later said. “But instead I discovered a brand new me. It boosted my self-confidence, my health, and I became more willing to learn new things, to take on new challenges.”

He didn't stop there. At 75, King rode from Beijing to Shanghai. He led rides in Japan and the Netherlands. He published My Cycling Dream, sharing his journey with the world. Inspired by King’s belief in the power of cycling, Giant Group started Ride Like King in 2009—a small internal event that would grow, year after year, into the global cycling celebration it is today.

Beyond inspiring the next generation of riders, King was a tireless advocate for cycling infrastructure. He urged governments to build bike paths and integrate cycling into public health. One of his proudest achievements is the YouBike bike share system, which put thousands of bicycles on street corners across Taiwan and invited the public to simply ride. Tens of millions of journeys later, the proof is undeniable: Make cycling accessible, and you don't just change how people get around. You change a culture.

King Liu passed away peacefully on February 16, 2026, at the age of 93. He leaves behind a family, a company, a global cycling community, and a movement. Ride Like King is our tribute. It’s a chance for riders everywhere to honor the man who showed us that it is never too late to discover a new version of yourself, and that every kilometer can be in service of something greater.

Whether you’re picking up a bike for the first time or logging thousands of kilometers yearly, the Ride Like King community is yours to join. Stay connected with this community for ongoing stories, events and inspiration.

Keep tagging your rides with #RideLikeKing throughout the year. Every post adds to the movement King started — and keeps his legacy rolling forward.