Rocky Mountain Bicycle History
jerry
"May 1978
A couple of guys in a Vancouver B.C. bike store modify Nishiki road bikes
with wide tires, straight bars, and thumbshifters with internal 5 speed or
external 10 speed gears. This is the first experience with "mountain bikes"
for the soon to be Rocky Mountain founders.
June 1980
The Vancouver bike store boys want a more durable frame with aggressive
geometry. They call Tom Ritchey and begin to import his version of the
mountain bike. They modify some components to withstand the harsh trails of
the West Coast. At the same time, due to a lack of quality racing bike
components available in the market, the bike store boys begin to import
European bike parts and frames.
September 1981
In order to keep the books straight, another company is started. Rocky
Mountain Bicycles Ltd. is incorporated in Vancouver, British Columbia,
Canada. The company is named after the rugged Rocky Mountain mountain range
that dominates the eastern geography of British Columbia. Grayson Bain is one
of the original three owners.
June 1982
The Rocky Mountain boys accompany Tom Ritchey to Japan to explore the world
of durable components and frame tubing that can be fashioned into a mountain
bike. Later that year, they create their first production Rocky Mountain bike
- the "Sherpa" by modifying bike parts. This is Canada's first homegrown wide
tire bike.
September 1984
Sales expand beyond Vancouver bike stores and the first sale is made in
Eastern Canada. The line-up for the coming 1985 season features both road and
mountain bikes. The mountain bike models include a tandem called the
"Cannonball" and classic mountain bikes such as the "Fat City Flyer" and the
"Discovery."(Where are they now?) Also included that year was the "Blizzard"
-which is still part of our 1999 line-up.
March 1987
Rocky Mountain adopts the slogan "Total Commitment. No Compromise." This sums
up their attitude over the years towards building quality bikes. These four
words are still repeated on the shop floors today.
February 1989
Rocky Mountain sells its first aluminum production bike - the "Stratos" - it
features a 7000 series aluminum frame. Rocky Mountain expands
internationally. They ship a total of five bikes to Germany.
April 1990
Rocky Mountain sells a radical sloped top tube bike with passive rear
suspension - called the "Wedge." It is an innovative design that the German
magazine "Bike" calls "one of the 7 Ferrari's." Rocky Mountain sponsors
Canada's best male mountian bikers - Bruce Spicer and Andy Tout.
June 1992
Rocky Mountain experiences its firts taste of the ultimate success in an
international World Cup race. A former Canadian road rider named Alison Sydor
beats the world's best on a Rocky Mountain.
March 1993
Rocky Mountain introduces bikes made with Easton aluminum tubes - the
"vertex" and the "Thin Air." Rocky is one of the first bike companies in the
world to sell production bikes made with 7005 tapered Easton tubes.
July 1994
Rocky mountain outgrows its "home" for the past eight years and moves to a
new location. The company has expanded to almost one hundred employees during
peak production season and produces fifteen thousand bikes a year.
June 1995
Rocky Mountain puts the final touches on three new full suspension design
systems for the 1996 season. This is Rocky's fourth year of producing full
suspension bikes and its 15th anniversary.
1996
This was an exciting year for Rocky. The Hammer Race won Mountain Biking
Magazine's "Bike of the Year" award, a very prestigious honor. Also, Pro Team
member Andreas Hestler went to the Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. 3 new full
suspension bikes were introduced: Element Race, Speed and XS Speed.
July 1997
Procycle Inc., Canada's largest bicycle manufacturer, buys Rocky Mountain
Bicycles. Rocky Mountain operations remain completely autonomous. Also,
Andreas Hestler wins the Cactus Cup in Arizona. 3 new full-suspension bikes
were introduced: Element T.O., Spice, and Element D.H.
1998
In 1998, Rocky introduced the Pipeline: an adjustable travel "Freeride" bike,
and their first carbon fibre bike, the 2XS. These were the first truly "on
the fly" adjustable travel mountain bikes available in the industry. This
year also marked the start of Rocky's Freeriders or Froriders, a freeriding
mountain bike team. This freeride team was the first of it's kind.
1999
The nine inch travel monster, the RM9, was the biggest news of 1999. This was
the most rear wheel travel ever seen in the industry and it came straight
from Rocky Mountain Bicycles. The 1999 Pipeline also sports a new double
diamond front triangle frame design for 1999."(Rocky Mountain Bicycles)
I feel that this article is worth mentioning because it describes the success
story of a company. The article seems to portray an attitude that this
company is striving to do better and better. Many people feel that this
company is committed to the customers that support it.
Any Comments Anyone
Jim
Source
Rocky Mountain Bicycle --> http://www.bikes.com/historyb.html