Last year, The Pro’s Closet approached Mosaic Cycles, another Boulder-area company, to collaborate on some special edition, made in Colorado titanium bikes. We already looked at The Radavist editions in detail this morning, so let’s take a quick look at The Pro’s Closet’s builds!
“From the Pro's Closet”
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The Pro’s Closet Interviews John Parker
Perhaps you’ve heard of Yeti Cycles? Well, John Parker is the guy who got that company rolling. Check out the latest from the Pro’s Closet interviews!
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The Pro’s Closet Interviews Greg Herbold
The Pro’s Closet always brings such great interviews. This time with two-time National Downhill Champion Greg Herbold, who takes us through the technical aspects of his race winning bike as well as the the challenges downhill racers faced in the early 90’s…like hard-tails, tension disks, and peddling uphill!
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The Pro’s Closet Interviews Ross Shafer
Salsa wasn’t always a QBP brand. Here the Pro’s Closet interviews the originator of Salsa, Ross Shafer!
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The Pro’s Closet Interviews Ned Overend
I’m loving all these vintage MTB-related interviews the Pro’s Closet has been conducting. Here’s the latest, featuring Ned Overend were he talks about the early days of professional mountain bike racing, dueling with John Tomac, and the tension disc.
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The Pro’s Closet Interviews Joe Breeze
Joe Breeze is regarded as the maker of the first purpose-built mountain bike and in this episode of the Pro’s Closet Museum Series, Joe discusses the evolution of the mountain bike. Beginning with the inspiration of his Schwinn Excelsior klunker to the nickel-plated Breezer Series 3.
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The Pro’s Closet Talks to Chris Chance
You’re gonna be seeing a lot of Chris Chance and Fat Chance over the next few weeks:
“The Pro’s Closet caught up with Chris Chance at the “Mountain Bike Hall of Fame” in the spring of 2015. In this mini-doc, Chris describes the early days of Fat Chance, the forces that pulled him away from the bicycle world, and the passion that led him back!”
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The Pro’s Closet: Juliana Furtado’s 1990 Yeti FRO with Campagnolo
Boulder, Colorado’s The Pro’s Closet has a veritable vintage mountain bike collection on display, including this ’90 Yeti FRO, build with Campagnolo components. In this video, Juli talks about her career, what matters to her in a mountain bike and what this bike represents.
Reportage
It Takes Two: John’s 1985 Steve Potts Signature
Marin County was a bustling time for the early mountain bike scene from the late 70s and well into the 80s. Names like Tom Ritchey/Gary Fisher/Charlie Kelly at the MountainBikes store, and Joe Breeze, Charlie Cunningham, and Steve Potts psychically and physically shaping the future of the then-fledgling sport with their fire-road ripping designs, torches and tig welders.
We’ve reported on Cunningham and Potts’ involvement in Wilderness Trail Bikes (known widely as WTB) over the past few years along with Mark Slate. In 1983, Cunningham, Potts, and Mark Slate founded WTB, and the trio began developing components in Marin, leaning on both builder’s fondness for innovation and exquisitely unique craft. While Steve loved to shape tubes with brass fillets, focusing on the form regardless of weight, Charlie would tig aluminum and shave grams anywhere he could. The two made for a dynamic duo of constructeurs.
By the time 1985 rolled around, mountain bikes were a legitimate tour de force within the bike industry. Even though they gravitated towards completely different frame materials and processes, Cunningham and Potts were credited with crafting some of the most iconic bikes of the era and still found the time to collaborate and share ideas.
As with many of the influential characters and pivotal moments in the early days of the almighty mountain bike, collaboration was key, and sometimes, it took two talented individuals to make a single bike…
Reportage
One Merry Fellow: John’s Balloon Tire Rivendell Bombadil 29er
It’s no secret Rivendell Bicycle Works pulls inspiration from Tolkien’s Middle Earth. Grant Petersen is a big Tolkien fan and, over the years, many of the brand’s bicycles have adorned names from Tolkien’s writings. When it comes to beings of power and mystique, there are none more significant than Tom Bombadil. Older than Middle Earth and more powerful than any, Bombadil was omitted from the Jackson-envisioned big-screen movies for several reasons, but that didn’t keep Grant from naming Rivendell’s first mountain bike after the most powerful being in Middle Earth.
A Bombadil is a rare bird. Perhaps as rare as the fabled Legolas, Riv’s ‘cross bike, so I never expected I’d find one in my size, a 60cm. Then, one morning, an eBay alert popped into my email; there it was; a sunny Bombadil just begging to be purchased…
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Spotted at The Cub House: CJ’s Salsa Ala Carte Commuter Conversion with White Industries
While we love our share of vintage mountain bike builds, dressed with period-correct components, and embrace the patina that has been rubbed in over the decades, there’s something to the resto-mod style of vintage builds. Baskets, racks, modern bars, and the like all add to a bike’s longevity and encourage its use. Plus, a vintage mountain bike just oozes cool and generally is cheaper to build up from a parts bin than buying something brand new. On my last trip to Los Angeles, I was hanging out at The Cub House, avoiding the rain, when Simon, their mechanic, showed me a customer’s bike that rolled in for some TLC, and I had to document it…
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Soften the Ride: A Review of the Mosaic GT-2 45 with Cane Creek eeSilk Components
With the release of our Radavist edition Mosaic bikes, both in the GT-2X and GT-2 45 models, our friends at Mosaic sent over a 58cm GT-2 45 mechanical bike for review. Adding to the compliance of the titanium frame, John looked to Cane Creek‘s popular eeSilk components…
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Vintage Bicycles: Raúl Alcalá’s 1988 7-Eleven Huffy Funny Bike
The late 80s and through the 90s brought in a sea change of experimental bicycle design, namely in the time trial events. From the banked walls of a velodrome to the bitumen, several bikes pushed the limits of design in this era. Today in our From The Pro’s Closet series, we have Raúl Alcalá’s 1988 7-Eleven Huffy funny bike, reported by Noah Geller and documented by Joey Schusler. If you’re pining for some classic 7-Eleven history, don’t miss this one! Let’s get to it…
Radar
Radar Roundup: Dillen GoFundMe, Moné Light Bar Sale, Ripton Diesel Overalls, No22 Couplers, Gravel and Loam Ep 4, and Endura Custom Kits
Our Radar Roundup compiles products and videos from the ‘net in an easy-to-digest format. Read on below for today’s findings…
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Radar Roundup: Search and State Spring Colors, Chrome Bike Bags, Spencer’s ’83 Stumpy, and Paris-Roubaix Femmes Grit & Grace
Our Radar Roundup compiles products and videos from the ‘net in an easy-to-digest format. Read on below for today’s findings…
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Vintage Bicycles: Norm Alvis’ 1992 Team Motorola MXL Eddy Merckx with Dura Ace 7400
Longtime readers of this website will recall our weekly “Merckx Mondays” posts that began back in 2008. Well, let me just get this out of the way and say don’t get your hopes up for its return, but I am very excited to share this Eddy Merckx with you, on a Monday, as a part of a little sub-category of Vintage Bicycles we’ll be doing at the Radavist over the next few months…
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Radar Roundup: BTCHN Titanium Drop Bars, Sklar SuperSomething Stock, Brooks B190, SimWorks X PAUL Turquoise, Oracle Ridge Endurance PLUS, Pas Normal X fizik, The Business of Cycling, 2023 Nutmeg Nor’easter, Fab’s User Manual, Bikepacking in a Suit, Nukeproof Digger, and Racing in Kyrgyzstan
Our Radar Roundup compiles products and videos from the ‘net in an easy-to-digest format. Read on below for today’s findings…
Radar
Safa Brian Announces the “Tour to The Tour ”
Today, Brian ‘Safa’ Wagner, cyclist and filmmaker, announced in a video on his YouTube channel that he and two of his talented friends—Alex Colorito (videographer) and Taylor Dawson (cyclist)—are departing on Saturday (July 2, 2023) for a European bike adventure. Over ten days, the crew will enjoy a route that crosses the Pyrenees and includes a total distance of 1,000 kilometers and 22,000 meters of climbing. They will depart from San Sebastian, Spain—one day after the Tour de France Grand Départ—pedal over iconic cols and mountain passes in France, through Andorra, and then descend into Barcelona to complete their route.