 You are looking at a 1994 Rocky Mountain Blizzard. I've had this for a bit, and keep changing it, so time for an update.
 Quick want list update; I was able to pick up a Schwinn Homegrown from my last want list post, so this really seems to be working. Here's a few more bikes I've always wanted to own, starting with a Gary Fisher Supercaliber. I believe this is the 1991 model. I just love those graphics and the huge aluminium tubes. And to get it just right, you'd want it built up with SunTour.  Here we have a 1991 Klein Pinnacle - just another piece of evidence that 1991 was the best year ever for mountain bikes. I personally prefer this and the Top Gun over the later bikes with the fat aluminium forks. Though if an Adroit or Attitude came up at a good price, I wouldn't say no necessarily. I've always been a fan of Greg Lemond, and even though I'm not a road bike guy, those Team Z bikes were just fire. And even if a more basic one like the one in the middle came up for sale, I'd be interested. Let's be real though; I'll never have the budget for a Team Z replica.
I can't find any catalogs older than 1998, so I don't really know what was available. And I would only be interested in one from 1995 or earlier. Which brings me to the theme of this want list; have you worked it out yet? All three of these companies were purchased by TREK, and I would only be interested in the pre-TREK bikes. If you'd like to read more about the worst bike company that has ever been, I've written about how their corporate approach to the sport wiped out Fisher, Klein, and Bontrager, and how awful their handling of Greg Lemond was. This week in a very special Gallery of Bikes, we go back in time - right back to the beginning of TeamCow.
 Back in '22 I posted a wanted list with five bikes, and I thought it was time to update the list, as I was able to buy two bikes from that list. So, here's five more bikes I'd love to find; The Schwinn Homegrown is one of the most sought after hardtails there is. Some were made by Yeti, some made by Control Tech, and others made by Anodizing Inc. in Portland, OR. The later ones were known for their flashy 'bass boat' paint jobs, but I'd be happy with the earlier ones that were black or red.  Way back in the day a friend of mine had an Alpinestars cr-mega DX and there was nothing else like it. I especially like the graphics on them, though I'm torn between this black XT and the yellow DX. I'd prefer an aluminium one, but the steel ones were good too.  Just about the least controversial or surprising thing I could say, as the Santa Cruz Chameleon is one of the very best hard tails ever made. Build it as an XC bike with an 80mm fork, or as an all-mountain bike with a 100mm fork - it's fine either way.
 You are looking at a 1993 Nishiki Evolution, and it's a vintage steel mountain bike nerd's wet dream...
 You are looking at a 1993 Specialized S-Works Carbon, and it is maybe the most enjoyable single speed I've ever built.
 You are looking at a Chromag Wideangle, a bike I do not own, but I feel is somehow related to the Surface I do own...
We're going bike to bike to bike this time. 1. Rocky Mountain Blizzard 20th Anniversary Edition. I bought this frame from the owner of Redbike, which he bought because it was cool even though he knew it wouldn't fit him. I built it as a singlespeed at first with a Sycip fork and ENO hub. I had to file the crap out of a disc adapter to make that fork work - I still can't figure out what was wrong with it. This second iteration had all the parts from my Rocky Altitude 29er that would work, plus some XTR wheels and that excellent Manitou Minute fork. Something I noticed recently about the singlespeed version of this Blizzard; I had a titanium Titec Flat Tracker bar on it. I do not own this bar anymore. How do I not have this bar anymore? The best bar I currently have is a steel Flat Tracker, and the only bar better than it is the Ti version. HOW THE HELL DID I GET RID OF THIS!!?? This is honestly the most distressing thing that past me has ever done. I can't understand it at all. Anyhow. One day someone stole the Blizzard, a crummy Specialized FSR with only one brake on it, a crappy laptop that didn't have a battery (they didn't take the power cord), and a bunch of beer out of my garage. The replacement for it was the next bike above... 2. Kona Explosif. Man did I ever like this bike. Reynolds 520 steel, flat orange paint, 27.5 wheels, graphics from 1994 - it had it all. And I tricked it out with a Chromag stem and 800mm bar. It was a blast to ride.
Then it got stolen from my garage. They didn't take any beer this time. Amazingly, the Edmonton Police recovered this bike, and then my brother was able to pick it up, and then a friend happened to be coming out here, so I got it back two years after it was stolen. The front brake caliper was gone, as was half the disc mount, so I had to get a new fork as well as a front brake. And I didn't notice until I took this pic that the headtube badge was way off center and upside down. Once I got it all sorted out, I sold it. Because what the hell was I doing anyway? 3. Devinci Kobain. After the Kona I picked up this very nifty Devinci Kobain. It was a 'plus' bike, running fat 27.5 tires - sort of a fatbike lite. You could also run regular 29er wheels on it instead of the 27.5 x 2.6 it came with. I just liked it because it was a new bike that looked like an old bike. It had a great ride though - just rolled right through every trail obstacle. It was one of the bikes I brought out here from Edmonton, and then I sold it. Because of course I did.  You are looking at an '01 Brodie Rocket, and I don't think I've had another bike where I made so many changes and had so many different roles for it, before finally selling it.
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AuthorI'm 80. I wrench more than I ride and I like it that way. Archives
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