"From Repack to Rwanda" -- Mountain Bike History Exhibit at the San Francisco Airport

The exhibit just opened this weekend and will run through February in the international terminal at SFO. It covers the "humble origins, evolution, and global reach" of the mountain bike. The exhibit mainly tracks the evolution from the Northern California beginnings, though guest curator Joe Breeze would be the first to admit that the people came up with the idea of mountain biking in different parts of the country.

The SFO Museum has really come up with an entertaining and informative exhibit that will appeal to the historian and people just on their way out of the country. Definitely try to check it out if you are visiting the Bay Area.

We were able to be at the opening and hang out and eat coconut shrimp with some of the luminaries of early mountain bike development.  Photos below. More on our Facebook page.

Schwinn Admiral DX: A proto-typical cruiser before
being stripped and "klunkerfied" for Repack glory

Mountain biking started as a way to have fun. But in 2005, Tom Ritchey
was inspired to repurpose the mountain bike into something that would
hopefully help people in Rwanda. In back of the bike is one of the wooden
work bikes that the Rwandans would put together if they didn't have money
to buy a bike. www.projectrwanda.org

On display through February.

 

John Castellano's sketches for the Sweet Spot suspension design.
FYI: Castellano's current iteration of the Sweet Spot is a great platform
for a single speed MTB. Check out the Zorro.

Joe Breeze and Merry Sales Co.'s Jim and John Porter. Merry Sales was one
of the distributors for Joe Breeze Cycles in the 90's and are also responsible
for birthing Soma Fabrications. The Soma Groove frame was
partially inspired by Breeze's hardtail geometry.

TrailMaster #2 by Eric Koski improved on the Pro Cruiser design that
brother Don Koski built for Mert Lawwill. Among the improvements was
changing the 66.5° head angle to 70° which is still common today.

The Kestrel Nitro was hardest piece to secure for the exhibit.

In the Aviation Museum where the reception was held. Among those
attending were Joe Breeze, Gary Fisher, Tom Ritchey, Charlie Kelly,
Wende Cragg, Charlie Cunningham, the Koski Bros., Otis Guy,
Steve Potts, John Castellano, and Jackie Phelan.

Photo opp at the display itself.