25 years now

[RonaTD]

Please indulge me a little reminiscence. Riding home from work tonight on on my Cheviot, I passed by the bike shop where, almost 25 years ago to the day, I was handed The 1992 Bridgestone Bicycle Catalog. After about 30 seconds of looking at pages 36&37, I handed over my credit card and changed the course of my life. The XO-1 was exactly what I was looking for, as if Grant Petersen had said, "So, Ted, what can we build for you?" Twenty-five years and a reasonable number of bikes later, I am ever more grateful for Grant's contributions to beautiful, common-sense bicycle design and components.

Ted Durant
Milwaukee, WI USA

[Steve Palincsar]

On 11/30/2016 10:23 PM, RonaTD wrote:

Please indulge me a little reminiscence. Riding home from work tonight on on my Cheviot, I passed by the bike shop where, almost 25 years ago to the day, I was handed The 1992 Bridgestone Bicycle Catalog. After about 30 seconds of looking at pages 36&37, I handed over my credit card and changed the course of my life. The XO-1 was exactly what I was looking for, as if Grant Petersen had said, "So, Ted, what can we build for you?" Twenty-five years and a reasonable number of bikes later, I am ever more grateful for Grant's contributions to beautiful, common-sense bicycle design and components. 

[Joe Bernard]

Ted, that's exactly what happened to me except I didn't leave with a bike that day. I went into a Bridgestone shop with a co-worker whose bike was being worked on, and picked up the '92 catalogue. I noticed the white and purple XO-1s on the end-cards and said, "That's cool!" I still have the catalogue.

Joe Bernard
Vallejo, CA.

[ascpgh]

I was at InterBike in '91 and had the same experience when I saw the Bridgestone model lineup. Happy to have worked with them for those few years, and helped folks find some really sweet-riding and smartly outfitted bikes. A few myself too. 

Andy Cheatham

Pittsburgh PA

[Belopsky]

25 years ago I was 3 and living in a country that was trying to figure out how to operate in post-soviet time.

[Evan E.]

Well said, Ted!

[Igor Belopolsky]

I don't mean to derail by the way, just giving interesting perspective from across the Atlantic :)

On Thursday, December 1, 2016, Evan E. <evanel...@gmail.com> wrote:

Well said, Ted!

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[Christopher Murray]

I found the Outside article ("Lead Us Not Into Titanium" I think it was called) on a stack of magazines in an Alaskan outhouse. In there to read-n-wipe. I was fresh out of college. Not a great article but Grant's approach to cycling made sense to me.

Cheers,
Chris

[Patrick Moore]

I had to read this, and I found it, in a sanitary digital format:

http://www.outsideonline.com/1839956/equipage-lead-us-not-titanium

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[Fullylugged]

Thanks for the link.

[ascpgh]

Pertinent now as it was when written, especially when you take in recent editorial like the BSNY post which dismissing much of the current bicycle marketing hoopla with the greater recognition of the performance improvement available from the supple sidewalled wide tire. 

That old Outside article was wipe worthy for pointing out the dollar to yen exchange rate Bridgestone was facing at the time.

Andy Cheatham

Pittsburgh

On Sunday, December 4, 2016 at 7:18:43 AM UTC-5, Fullylugged wrote:

Thanks for the link.  

[masmojo]

Similar story myself, I was racing mountain bikes at the time. My first post Klunker mountain bike came down to a choice between an MB-1 & a Klein Pinnacle, I ended up going with the florescent green Klein, but sometimes wish I'd gone with the Bstone instead. Regardless, my affinity with Bridgestones started there and when the '92 catalog came out I immediately took a shine to the XO. After several weeks of staring at the drawing of it for hours a day I went down to West End Bicycles & ordered one. Best cycling decision I ever made until I bought my Atlantis.

[masmojo]

Now it would be Lead us not into Carbon Fiber.
Titanium by contrast still gives me the warm fuzzies.

[Addison Wilhite]

I'm sure I've shared this before but scans of that article, and quite a few Riv related articles from the past, are on my google site.  Scroll to the bottom for links/pdfs.

https://sites.google.com/site/renorambler/Home

Best,

Addison Wilhite, M.A. 

Academy of Arts, Careers and Technology 

“Blazing the Trail to College and Career Success”

Educator: Professional Portfolio

Blogger: Reno Rambler 

On Sun, Dec 4, 2016 at 6:30 AM, masmojo <mas...@sbcglobal.net> wrote:

Now it would be Lead us not into Carbon Fiber.
Titanium by contrast still gives me the warm fuzzies.

[Grant @ Rivendell]

Ted wrote me a super nice and encouraging note either  in '94 winter after Bstone announced its closing or early '95, in the first weeks of RBW---complimenting the XO-1 among other things, and it started a 25-year friendship. It was the first time I was aware of  a stranger from faraway (Wisconsin) had actually understood the bike, and it fired off a synapse that would've been dormant otherwise. But 25 years ago--since Andy mentioned the InterBike show--I'll tell about my experience there. I'll keep it short.
It was a huge event for me because it was the first showing of not just the XO-1, but also the '91 catalogue, which was a million miles different than all the other catalogues there. It had no photographs, it had seemingly irrelevant articles, and didn't put forth a progressive image. It was designed and made almost entirely in secret, even inside Bstone. It came out exactly as I wanted it. I found the design team via a tip from VeloNew's Felix McGowan. He told me to go to the DeFrancis Studio in Boston for the character work--they could do anything I wanted. Inside Bstone it was me and Ariadne Scott. She kept everybody on schedule and was so nice, so everybody who worked on it (the paper supplier, the printer, photographers who shot the bikes to be illustrated, and George Retseck, the illustrator) loved working with us. I picked authors and wrote myself and...it always stupefied me why there was so little internal curiosity, but I think it was  more a combination of everybody was busy with their job, and people trusted me to come up with something decent.

At the show, the XO-1 flopped, because dealers couldn't understand it. Maybe not Andy, but most. I can't tell you how many times I was asked "...but what KIND of bike is it? A mountain bike, a hybrid, a road bike?' Looking back, I should have called it the Platypus, but that might have doomed it more. Anyway, those "category" questions made a huge impression on me. I couldn't understand how bike dealers, supposedly bike people, could look at a bike close up and be confused as to its potential, with the midsized slick tires and the funny handlebars, but they were, and said they couldn't sell such an undefined bike.

I was marketing director, so I should have made it easier, but I just couldn't imagine that a bike person could look at it and not get it (as Ted did!)

The catalogue got mixed reviews--about 50-50 at best. One big dealer-- E.B. were his initials, and he was a bigshot then and for many years after--- told me directly (to his credit!) that in 20+ years in the bike industry, it was the worst catalogue he'd ever seen. It had no effect on me other than befuddlement and resolve. My seeming stubbornness today came mostly from those two incidents in '91, and in a more positive way, from Ted's early support and the encouragement of so many others along the way (and the existence of this list, and Jim for starting it, and so many of you)

It's starting to sound like a retirement send-off speech, or a surveying the kingdom speech, but neither is close or even appropriate. We're here, but it has always abeen a struggle, and we have a few big stressy projects and plans all the time. Anyway--dat's it.

[masmojo]

Grant, For the record; I got it! (At least I think I did) I also wrote you a letter, with a couple suggestions & I guess other people may have as well, because the following year both of my very small niggles were addressed (stem & Cantilevers) & I doubt those were changed on my critique alone.
Though I may not agree with 100% of your choices (who really does?) I am certainly on board and always curious to see what you will do next!
Regards.

[Eric Karnes]

From a simply aesthetic standpoint, that catalog was/is miles above anything else. All you have to do is go back and look at Trek, Cannonade, and Specialized catalogs from that period. They look gimmicky and dated. The Bridgestone still looks thoughtful and contemporary. 25 years later. And believe me...that is NOT an easy thing to accomplish. 

Eric

[stoker]

Just to chime in on my XO-1 experience: I walked into a local shop here in Minneapolis during the summer of '93 and was immediately drawn to the orange bike with the 'funny' handlebars. Bought it on the spot from Gene Oberpriller. Gene worked at the Alt bike shop in those days. I ended up eventually buying another one. Still have them! I rode them in all sorts of settings - through Minnesota winters (thanks to the ability to accept 26x1.9 tires AND fenders) and even in the 1994 Chequamegon Fat Tire 40 in Wisconsin. I believe Gene O won that race on an XO-1 in '93 (I might be off a year). Great bike and great memories...

Attached are a couple of fuzzy pics from the '94 Fat Tire 40. I'm holding my infant son, Gene O is dressed in black on his mustached XO-1. Mine had drops at the time. I eventually came to my senses and put the mustache bars back on...