An open letter to Grant Petersen

Dear Mr. Petersen,

I first remember first hearing of you in the early nineties when you were the marketing director at Bridgestone. At the time, I remember being really happy that you introduced a lightweight production mountain bike without a quick release seatpost lever. The MB0 (zip) soon became my dream mountain bike; in fact I still have the old 1991 Bridgestone catalog that first introduced me to the term Q factor. These days, I do not always agree with everything you write, but I am always interested in reading (and now hearing) your perspective on all things related to bikes. Even though I usually ride a lightweight aluminum road bike with a long, stretched out stem and a really long aero carbon seatpost, I enjoy each new issue of the Rivendell Reader. I still have a few lugged steel road bikes, as well as a 25 year old lugged steel track bike. I like all those bikes but I have no desire to take them on fast, long rides with significant elevation gain. I have to admit to you that I really love my fragile, impractical 18-pound road bike. I know that the aluminum frame won’t last forever like a good steel bike would, but I am willing to accept that. In fact, I must say that I like many fairly recent developments in the bicycle industry including compact road frames, lightweight dual suspension mountain bikes, carbon forks, threadless headsets, aero wheelsets, skinny cutaway saddles, STI shifting, and even some of the synthetic miracle fabrics that make up my “alien-like” cycling uniform.

All that said, I recently listened to the podcast interview that Sheldon Brown conducted with you at this year’s Interbike (for anyone reading this who is not Grant Petersen, I recommend listening to the interview as well as all of Sheldon’s podcasts). You really made some great points. As much as I like modern racing bikes, I realize that they are not for everyone. You are absolutely right that it makes no sense to sell racing bikes to people who do not really need or want to ride fast. I think that most of the mountain bikes sold in this country are basically used as city bikes anyway, so why are they all based on trickle down cross country racing technology (OK, I admit that I am ignoring all the freeride stuff, but I don’t really want to get into that)? As you say in the interview, normal people (and I am OK with the fact that that does not include me) should be able to be comfortable on a bike. I couldn’t agree more. We also both agree strongly that riding a bicycle is a fantastic thing. Any bicycle that gets ridden and makes its user happy is a good one in my book whether it is made of steel, aluminum, titanium, carbon fiber, plastic, or bamboo.

Another great point was toward the end of the interview. To paraphrase, you said that most people in the U.S. do not dignify the act of riding a bicycle unless it is in high performance terms. How true. Most Americans have no problem accepting the fact that kids ride bikes. Most of those same people are willing to accept the fact that cycling enthusiasts ride bikes for recreational purposes. Unfortunately, “normal” people on “average” bikes often do not get the same respect, even from other cyclists. If I go for a ride on my 2000 dollar road bike while wearing the full cyclist’s uniform, other cyclists always wave when I pass on the opposite side of the street. If I am out in street clothes on my old beater bike, a lot of those same cyclists do not even look over in my direction. I don’t know, maybe the marketing departments at some of the big bike companies are partially to blame for the elitist attitude that seems to be present among many performance-oriented cyclists. Maybe those same companies also have the power to change some of those attitudes. I hope that, as gas prices rise, they will use some of their design and marketing resources to create bikes that get average people excited about commuting, running errands, or just riding a good bike for pleasure (see my recent post about bikes for everyone for more on the subject). Oh yeah, lastly, thanks for the strides that you and Rivendell have already made toward that end.

Best regards,

James



Posted

in

by

Comments

5 responses to “An open letter to Grant Petersen”

  1. Anonymous Avatar
    Anonymous

    if you feel like those elitest bikers are giving you the cold shoulder when you pass by riding a beater bike then cruise on out for the Midnight Ridazz in Los Angeles….

  2. Gino Zahnd Avatar
    Gino Zahnd

    Maybe he would get your letter if you spelled his last name correctly?

  3. James Avatar
    James

    Oops, thanks for pointing that out Gino. Of course, this post was somewhat tongue in cheek so I want to stress again that I have the utmost respect for Mr. Petersen (not Peterson) and what he has done for the bike industry. Sorry about the misspelled name, I’ll fix it in the post.

  4. Anonymous Avatar
    Anonymous

    Someone oughtta kick Grant Petersen in the nuts and tell him to shut up.

  5. Derek Avatar
    Derek

    “If I go for a ride on my 2000 dollar road bike while wearing the full cyclist’s uniform, other cyclists always wave when I pass on the opposite side of the street. If I am out in street clothes on my old beater bike, a lot of those same cyclists do not even look over in my direction. I don’t know, maybe the marketing departments at some of the big bike companies are partially to blame for the elitist attitude that seems to be present among many performance-oriented cyclists. Maybe those same companies also have the power to change some of those attitudes.”

    Herd mentality has always been a factor in human life. If a racer guy/gal ignores you when you cross paths it should not matter. Why do you need their recognition? Are you out there to see and be seen or to HAVE FUN on a bicycle? In the cycling realm, just like any other, anyone who says things that are outside the norm really gets people riled up. I think that people ought to look past their hurt feelings when reading/hearing a grant petersen interview and take note that he ALWAYS is careful to say that what he is expressing is his own opinion. he is not telling you how to live your life, he is telling you how he thinks he should live his own life, and more importantly, why he feels the way he does. its food for thought from a very experienced individual in his field. his main message is that biking, by and large, should be enjoyable. this is the reason that everyone rides a bike when they are a kid and just because we’ve become adults doesn’t mean we should lose the joy of cycling.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *