SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. - Turning a college project into a thriving business entity may sound far-fetched, but it can happen. Take Robert Reisinger, for example. In the spring of 1987, it suddenly dawned on this college student that bicycles had not evolved much during their 100-year history. As a ten-year motocross racer with four years of experience working in research and development for Kawasaki's motorcycle division, he took it upon himself to do something about it.
Today, Reisinger is one of the world's top innovators in the bicycle industry. As president and CEO of Mountain Cycle, founded in 1989, his original motivation was simple: "I got a bike, started riding it and, although I was ranked as one of the top 100 motocross racers in the nation, I couldn't stay on top of it for the life of me," he explains, blaming the problem on lack of suspension and decent brakes, and a high center of mass.
The original goal of Mountain Cycle was to design a full-suspension bike using the latest in motorcycle technology. From the outset, Reisinger split his time between working on the technology to suspend both the front and rear ends of the rider - a strategy that paid off. At the Interbike show in Anaheim, CA, in 1990, he sparked the largest technological wave ever to sweep mountain biking.
"I've always kept in mind my years of racing and working on motorcycles and how I hated things that were either hard to operate or maintain," says Reisinger. "We try to incorporate simple designs that provide high-performance features with ease of maintenance."
Mountain Cycle is the world's largest producer of formed, free-flowing frames known as "monocoques." With names like "San Andreas" and "Shockwave," the design and structure of each frameset is unique and innovative. Outstanding benefits include a low standover height, which provides added security and allows the bike to be sized for each rider, as well as aesthetic, performance and technological features.
New, innovative products are always in the works at Mountain Cycle. With disk brakes being one of the new industry innovations, Reisinger is retooling the ProStop Disc Brake his company has made for eight years and developing new, technologically-advanced versions. The company's products, which serve both racing and non-racing bicycle enthusiasts, start at $200 and go up to $2349.
Robert Reisinger's company is the world's largest producer of monocoque bike frames, and has been recognized for its innovative designs and technological advancements by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art as well as several publications.
"We fundamentally changed the direction of the bicycling industry."
Robert Reisinger, Mountain Cycle
Richard Lancaster of Santa Margarita, CA, a downhill, semi-pro mountain bike racer who rides a Mountain Cycle Shockwave, says: "I started out racing with their San Andreas DHS frame, then went to the Shockwave which was unbelievably different. I'd never been on a bike that felt as nice as this bike did. It changed a lot of my riding style in that I didn't have to go around obstacles anymore - instead, I go right over them."
Mountain Cycle, operating from a 5,000-square-foot facility and employing about 20 persons, has seen revenues grow progressively since 1994. The company's San Andreas frameset is a permanent part of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art's collection and Reisinger has received recognition from industry groups for his innovative designs and technological advancements. Featured in TV commercials and on a "Ride Guide" segment of the Outdoor Life Network, the company has been featured in over 25 domestic and international publications, including: Mountain Bike Action, Tutto Mountain Bike (Italy), Dirt (UK) and Bicycling.
"We fundamentally changed the direction of the bicycling industry," says Reisinger. "At times, our products were considered too leading edge, but today, they're mainstream designs. Every manufacturer is trying to make a product that looks like ours."