Name/Title
1993 Bruce Gordon Rock'n Road transitional 29erDescription
Bruce Gordon learned the craft of framebuilding from Albert Eisentraut in Oakland in 1974, and was soon part owner at that workshop. In 1976 he set up his own framebuilding shop, first in Eugene, Oregon, and then in 1988 in Petaluma, California. Gordon was known for his exquisite custom touring frames, and his luggage racks.
In 1988, Gordon’s friend Gary Helfrich (co-founder of Merlin Titanium) found a 700 x 47mm (28 x 1.75”) tire in Finland. At the time, mountain bike tires were uniformly 26-inch diameter. That year, Gordon started producing his rugged Rock’n Road touring bikes, using these 28-inch Nokian Haakapeliitta tires. He eventually produced his own similar tires called Rock’n Road.
In 1993, Ibis welder Wes Williams, the instigator (in 1988) of big wheels for mountain bikes, joined Gordon to make two titanium off-road bikes based on the Rock’n Road tire. Williams welded the frames, while Gordon machined steep crowns to adapt Rock Shox forks. The bike on display here was ridden by Gordon for many years. Having 1.7” wide tires, the two bikes weren’t quite mountain bikes, but they built believers in big-wheel mountain biking.Acquisition
Accession
2018.01.06Source or Donor
Bruce Gordon