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Downhill Champ John Tomac Forming Bike Company
Uberlegend John Tomac, mountain biking's O.G. (Original Gangsta) and winner of nearly every off-road title under the sun recently announced he'll be making his own mountain bikes with longtime collaborator and inventor of the Manitou suspension fork, Doug Bradbury. Currently the U.S. National Downhill Champion, Johnny T. is fully committed to full suspension mountain bikes and will be producing a three bike freestyle line under the label of, hold on to your hats, Tomac Bicycles. The line will reportedly consist of an 8' long travel downhill bike, a "freeride" type of FS bike and a FS cross-country model.
Plans are to build 500 of each model in the U.S. using Schwinn Cycling's resources. Frames will be built at the Yeti factory in Durango, Co. and outfitted with Mert Lawwill's rear triangle which are also used on Schwinn's team downhill bikes. Tomac will race his prototype DH bike through the 1998 racing season as he gears up for a '99 product line. "This is a great opportunity for me to use my racing and knowledge to design bikes from the ground up," he said adding "it's also great to be working with Doug again. He knows how important my equipment is to me and he has a history of making great bikes. It should be a lot of fun." Doug Bradbury, who founded Manitou in 1985, and later sold the company to Answer Racing, has a history both with Tomac and bicycle suspension. "I'm really excited to be back with John and it feels good to get back to my love of building and designing bicycles," said Bradbury. Two years ago Bradbury showed a radical motorcycle-influenced DH bike at Cactus Cup, a platform rumored to be influencing Tomac's own bike. — Ari Cheren, Mountain Zone Correspondent
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