Our Story
VARGO TITANIUM BIKES began in 2025 as a collaboration between Brian Vargo and Chad Swanger—two longtime friends brought together by a shared love of cycling, the outdoors, and well-designed gear. Their backgrounds in adventure, engineering, and bike mechanics naturally led to the idea of building titanium bikes designed for people who simply love to ride.
Brian Vargo
Brian’s journey with Titanium started in 2002 when he launched Vargo Outdoors from his apartment.
What began with a simple idea—a lightweight titanium alcohol stove—quickly grew into a full line of titanium backpacking equipment used by hikers and adventurers around the world. Today the brand is known for everything from ultralight stoves and camp ware to bottles and backpacks.
Adventure has always been a big part of Brian’s life. In 1995 he thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail, and in 1997 he set off on a long bikepacking trip starting in Florida that carried him West across thousands of miles of open road and changing landscapes. Cycling and ultra trail running were always there, with his career focused on outdoor gear.
In 2023 Brian completed his first half-Ironman, riding—naturally—a titanium bike. Around the same time, he began exploring the potential of 3D-printed titanium, and the idea of building a titanium bicycle line started to take shape. To bring the idea to life, he reached out to someone he had known for years: Chad Swanger.
In 2023 Brian completed his first half-Ironman.
Chad Swanger
Chad Swanger has been riding bikes for as long as he can remember. Growing up in a small town with three older siblings, much of his childhood was spent outdoors camping, exploring, and riding. He started pedaling at five years old, and by twelve he was riding long distances on a regular basis.
At fifteen Chad entered his first bike race and finished in the top half of the field. That same year he started working as a mechanic at Campus Cycle, where he first met Brian, who owned an outfitter across the street. Through high school he worked at the bike shop and raced nearly every weekend during the cycling season.
After graduation Chad spent a few years working as a truck driver, riding recreationally when he could. But cycling kept calling him back. He eventually returned to the bike industry and has now spent more than 20 years working in bike shops, including over 15 years at Marty’s Bike Shop in Muncy, PA.
Over the years Chad has logged more than 40,000 miles of riding and competed in over 100 races, earning five overall wins. His interests gradually expanded from racing to endurance climbing, tackling challenging mountain ascents like Whiteface Mountain, Burke Mountain, Pikes Peak, and Mount Hood.
Chad also spent a year living in Oregon, where he dove deeper into the outdoors—backpacking and regularly completing long day hikes of 20 miles or more. When he returned to Pennsylvania, hiking and backpacking eventually led him to bikepacking, bringing together his love of cycling and backcountry travel.
40,000+ miles logged
Today
Together, Brian and Chad bring decades of outdoor experience, engineering curiosity, and hands-on bike knowledge to VARGO TITANIUM BIKES. Their goal is simple: to build titanium bikes that riders can depend on for years of adventure — whether that means long gravel rides, big mountain climbs, or exploring roads that don’t appear on the map.
For them, the best rides are still ahead.