In conjunction with our coverage of Breezer Bikes 29″er line up for 2011, which you can check out here and here, we decided to ask for an interview with Joe Breeze. Joe Breeze is one of the founding fathers of mountain biking, built the first purpose built frames for mountain biking, and is a charter member of the Mountain Bike Hall of fame. Joe founded Breezer Bikes in the 70′s and for over 30 years has quietly made some of the most renowned 26 inch hard tail mountain bikes, highly acclaimed urban bikes, and now- 29 inch mountain bikes.
Joe Breeze riding in Marin County, California.
Joe Breeze has been around bicycles all his life. His father was a automotive engineer/machinist, and a bicycle commuter and racer. Joe raced road bikes in California in the 70′s, and then was smitten by the beginnings of the “balooner craze” which turned into mountain biking as we know it. Joe brazed up the first purpose built mtb’s and went on to champion commuting when commuting wasn’t cool in the late 90′s. Breeze has influenced cycling and what we ride off road in many ways, and now he’s turned his attention to 29″ers. We wanted to find out what he is up to with the big wheels. Here is the Twenty Nine Inches Interview with Joe Breeze:
Twenty Nine Inches: Joe, you were there when it all began in Nor Cal and were an important part of the rise of the modern MTB. All that history is there for the reading, but that was a long time ago. You could have just slipped into the pages of history but you are still heavily involved in cycling. What has kept you fired up and involved?
Joe Breeze: I love bikes and see a future full of them! I’ve ridden road racers, mountain bikes and town bikes all along. With my small company, my foray into transportation biking had to be focused 100 percent on that. Now that I’ve hooked up with Advanced Sports and their horsepower, I can get back to making mountain bikes too. It comes at a time when my son is involved in NorCal high school mountain bike racing, and well, he needed a Breezer.
TNI: Some time ago it seems that you saw the bicycle as an amazing conveyance, an affordable workhorse, and a partner in personal mobility and not just a tool for fun and fitness. That is rare in North America and certainly the US. How did that come about and why do you think bicycles are important to society?
Joe: My father rode his bike to work in the 1950s, so I always had a broader view of bicycling. In 1971 when I was 17 years old, I took a cycling trip through Europe. Especially in Holland, seeing so many people getting where they needed to go so easily and under their own power, I recall thinking, “We’ve got to do this in America!” Making the world a better place is part of my ethos.
TNI: OK…29ers. I have sat and talked with Gary Fisher about big wheels and obviously he is sold on the 29er. What is your take on 29ers as this category has developed over the last few years? Will big wheels one day replace 26ers?
Joe: It’s possible that 29ers will take over some categories, especially hardtails. 26ers will always have lighter wheels. Each wheel size will always have its advantages. The myths of why a 29er won’t fly seem to be falling one by one.
TNI: Your new 29ers are billed as some of the best climbers in their class due to their short chainstays that improve rear tire traction. It is our impression that 29ers are already great climbers, especially when seated. Could you clarify why you believe yours are among the best climbers, how they improve rear tire traction, and tell us about the key issues you tried to address when designing your first 29ers?
Joe: Right, 29ers ARE great climbers. Still, many XC 26ers have 16-3/4” chainstays and would be shorter if it were possible, as short chainstays are a key to maximum tractive effort. The four 2011 Breezer Cloud 9 and Jet Stream 29ers have 17-1/4” chainstays—half an inch longer, yet they are the shortest among 29ers. Achieving maximum tire and chainwheel clearance from the short chainstays while keeping the rear end stiff is a challenge, but I found novel ways to cram good torque resistance in there. Yes, the rider’s center of gravity shifts rearward when climbing, but I’m also interested in a bike that handles well in the tight twisties. I had a couple of Cloud 9s at Dealer Camp at Park City last week, and all who rode it commented on how well the Breezer climbs compared to other 29ers, and how they felt as nimble on the twisties as 26ers.
TNI: Joe, besides the shift from the longer chain stays to shorter ones, as we just discussed, we’re also noticing a trend on 29ers of longer front/centers with shorter stems and slightly slacker head angles. How do your new Breezer 29ers compare, and what’s your take on front-end geometry for big wheeled bikes?
Joe: Slack angles make sense on downhill bikes, but XC bikes handle better with steeper angles. I make the front center longer by adding length to the top tube, but get it too long and XC and tight twisties are a chore.
2011 Breezer Cloud 9 Pro 29″er.
TNI: OK, If I have my facts straight, your new parent company (ASI) also owns Fuji. Some of our readers feel that the new Breezer 29ers look very Fuji-esque. What is your role in the new company and how do you retain that Breezer design ethic–and eye for detail–in light of your new ownership? What have you done to make these bikes Breezers?
Joe: Beyond the two round wheels and the diamond frame, anyone with a trained eye looking at a Cloud 9 (or any Breezer) will see striking differences between Breezers and other Advanced Sports bikes (Fuji, Kestrel, SE bikes). Breezers are designed from the ground up by me. Every tube mold was designed and built from scratch specifically for Breezer. Breezers use design concepts that have never been used on other ASI product. Take a look at Breezer D’fusion tubing. D’fusion uses very specific shaping that I have been developing since 1991. It found its way onto Breezers by 1997 and has only just recently been mimicked by a few players. My 1997 Breezer Twister had one of the first integrated headsets. All Breezer mountain bikes have a disc mount on the chainstays (Breezer Apex). As far as I know, at Interbike in 2009 there were only two companies with this feature on a mountain bike. Fuji was not one of them. Fuji does use dropouts similar to my hooded 3D Breeze-Ins on a few of their models, but even they are made from entirely different molds. There really is no meaningful similarity between Breezers and Fujis. By the way, one reason I hooked up with ASI was that they were doing a lot of things right. For instance, many companies failed when trying to copy critical points of my Breeze-Ins. Fuji got it right. Another reason I am pleased to work with ASI is because they understand the value of keeping Breezers distinct. I sold Breezer to ASI so that I could increase my offerings and my distribution. That is very difficult as a small independent brand. Breezer is now back in Europe and with every year it will be in more countries worldwide.
TNI: Breezer Bikes is no stranger to materials other than steel, although the public consciousness connects “steel” with Breezer most closely. That said, this seems to be the year of the carbon fiber 29er. What are your thoughts on carbon fiber as an MTB material?
Joe: In 1974 I started with steel, though at the time I considered building with large-diameter aluminum tubing. It wasn’t until I partnered with American Bicycle Manufacturing in 1986 that I built with aluminum. All along I’ve said that, among steel, aluminum, titanium and carbon fiber, what matters most is the execution, not the material. For best strength per weight and liveliness the trick is to keep tubing the star of the show by keeping joinery to a minimum and dispensing with deadening gussets.
TNI: Along those lines of materials choice, I very fondly remember the steel Breezers of days gone by and I sure see a place for a steel 29er HT, even a singlespeed (ESPECIALLY a singlespeed!) version of a 29er Breezer Lightning–a sweet ride with classy paint and detailing and slender steel tubing. Ooooo. Breezer dropouts if possible. Can you make my dream come true?
Joe: Thanks for the compliment. I hope so! Since hooking up with ASI I’ve been able to do more bikes each year. For 2010 Breezer returned to mountain bikes. For 2011 we introduced our first carbon fiber frames and 29ers. I’ve still got plenty of ideas waiting to see the light of day.
Update: Here is a short video from Momentum Magazine where Joe is also interviewed which features his Cloud 9 29″er and transportation bikes.
Twenty Nine Inches would like to thank Joe Breeze for his time and considered answers to our questions. Look for further coverage on Breezer 29″ers coming soon and we are working on a possible test/review of a Breezer 29″er. Stay tuned.
I`m not convinced that Joe is really into 29.
Sounds to me like he is just jumping on the bandwagon because everybody else is.
In fact, it looks like he is riding a stupid small wheel bike in those pictures.
@skidder: He sounds like a guy who likes to make and ride bikes. It doesn’t really bother me at all that he happens to be on a 26er in his photos. I ride a 29er, but I’m not married to the size. Sometimes I ride a 26er too.
I agree with Skidder in that it sounds like he isn’t totally sold on the concept. It sounds like a guy who loves to tinker, and since everyone else is giving it a try, why not him? It could also be at the behest of ASI, looking to play off of JB’s history and popularity in the sport. Little things like chainstay mounted brakes are great, but give me some reason to look harder that I haven’t seen from someone else at a much cheaper price point.
@skidder: I suggest that a careful reading of the article will reveal the following….
1: Joe Breeze loves bicycles, regardless of wheel size
2: Joe Breeze believes 29″ers may become the dominate wheel size in the hard tail category, possibly others.
3: Joe Breeze’s company couldn’t branch out into other bikes (ie: 29″ers) until ASI bought Breezer and the capital to do so was in place.
Check it again and see if you don’t agree.
@Chris: Not totally sold on the concept? That accusation could be leveled at many companies selling 29″ers for that matter. And again, if you look for what I mention in point #2 in my comment above, and consider that, I don’t think that points to a soft commitment to 29″ers.
Prices don’t seem out of line to me either. Then again, you can always find something cheaper if you look, but without any meaningful comparison, the criticism of lack of value here falls flat.
In my opinion…Joe Breeze is a class act and I hope Breezer does well in this reincarnation.
I’d like to know more about Advanced Sports. Never heard of them before. Had no idea that the same company was behind both Fuji and SE Bikes.
For that matter, I think I’m going to go read up on the history of Fuji. I know nothing about them, really, but there’s a Fuji mountain-bike of some sort sitting in my driveway right now. I’d like to know more.
I recall reading about Joe’s departure from “the scene” when he took on commuting bikes. He knew that was going to be a tough direction, but something he felt was necessary. I was saddened to see his departure, but applauded the mission he took on (back then) and applaud (now) the success he’s had with it. Even though he may not have been as well marketed as some other founding fathers, I would argue that he has done more with bikes and for bikes than most. (okay, there were only like 7 of them, right? can anyone name them – without wikipedia?)
I think he’ll do well. And the steel dream bike that GT was describing is a shared dream by a lot of us. I’ll be eagerly awaiting that release.
How about a specific HS league bike?
I am still not sure why everyone is obsessed with short chainstays. As a tall 6’3″ rider I run my seat high and with a lot 10cm+ setback (nose to BB) and I like the long chainstays on my mamasita (18″) going really short would have me too far over the back wheel. Why does everyone think shorter is always better?
Those of us with a BMX background like shorter chainstays, makes the bike feel more playful. I don’t know if it makes it climb better or not, but it does make it feel more flickable.
Joe, if your listening, build us a road bike! bring back the venturi. light weight steel would be great. i own a storm ht, twister fs and would dearly love a road bike.
thanks for the many miles and fun times,
russ behrman
It’s funny to me how people respond to bike companies that are coming to the 29er scene a bit later, seriously, who cares? If they put out a quality product now does it matter what their stance was last year (Yeti really comes to mind here)? Next time I am in the market for a new bike I will certainly check out a Breezer.
Though I do have an issue with the statement that 17 1/4″ chainstays are among the shortest available on a production 29er. The Banshee Paradox has 16.9″ chainstays and the Canfield Brothers Nimble 9 (rumored to be coming out soon) is rocking something like 16.8″ chainstays.
Anyways, Joe Breeze is awesome, thanks for the interview.
@all
Let me ramble a bit about my thoughts on CS length. I have two bikes with 18″-ish CS lengths, one with 17.75″ and two at 17.3″ . On top of that, I have bounced between a Salsa SS and a Specialized SS on the same ride and the feeling is very different. That difference was not all from the CS length, so keep that in mind. I prefer the longer TT and shorter CS of the Specialized, even with a shallower HT issue.
There is a playfulness that a shorter CS allows for that is very hard to get on a longer version. Even a 1/2″ diff is very noticeable. In the twisties I feel like I am driving a long bed pickup on a bike with 18″ stays…it does not suck, but it is not as nimble and fun. At speed on a fast fireroad, I actually like the longer stays…real stable. There is nothing that an 18″ CS cannot do that a 17.3″ CS length can do, but the feel is different. I have not seen a real effect in climbing, but I do not live where steep, sudden climbs are the norm and if I lived where getting the front end up over things on trail was typical, I would not be caught dead on an 18″ CS bike, all other things being equal.
However, for climbing, I think that the taller the rider, the more they may benefit from extra length back there to keep the bike from wanting to wheelie when seated climbing. Compromises.
I think that the trend will be towards 17.5″ and under as it just makes for a more fun bike to ride. It is not the all defining part of the geometry that we need to live and die by, but it is a part of the mix that I have come to appreciate.
So while Breezer may not (and is not) the only guy building with a tucked in back-end, I think he is on track for the direction 29ers are going.
Shorter TTs, steeper HT angles and longer CS lengths are getting to be yesterday in 29ers.
grannygear
My Niner Sir9 with the biocentric bb at the current 1:00 o’clock position (viewed from the non-drive side-just behind the top position) is about 1mm longer than 17.25 inches and if you move the bb to the rear position it would be almost an inch shorter. So effectively, I have exactly the same cs length with my current settings. It does climb really well though. In fact, I like everything about my Sir (with Niner Carbon fork) so much I hardly ride my new Jet that is also awesome. The Sir is just so responsive/nimble/climbs great. It sounds like the Breezers would be a very similar frame geometry to my Sir with the current bb position.
Around here we have mostly short very steep hills. On long hills, I would probably descend faster on the Jet, but basically we have hills 20-50 feet long and 7 to 12 percent grade then right back down again. Sometimes each succeeding hill is a little higher, but you get the idea. Basically strip pit “till piles. The Sir is a much better tool for these than the Jet. I run my Sir geared 95% of the time.
Sounds like the Breezers have the right ideas implemented and by the way; the man is a legend.
Ted I thought you asked a lot of poignant and thoughtful questions. Thanks again for providing unique content of this subject.
Carbon and aluminum niners are getting to be a dime a dozen. Joe was always known for the breezer, a fast lightweight nimble steel hardtail,
Obviously he puts his heart into everything he does but when you sell out you don’t get to call the shots your way, so I guess we’ll see in 2012, until then I guess its el mar and emd for this iconic form.
prphoto: did you mean Mcr? Emd is aluminum Mcr is steel.
I seem to remember that when Joe graced the SSWC in Berlin (2004?) with his presence, he was also a sceptic towards 29″, while custom builders were having huge demand for them. To me his words in this interview also sound like that of a businessman serving a significant demand from the market, and acknowledging the purchasing arguments of this group, without really embracing the concept more than just it being yet another various to the glorious bike theme.
Everyone should try a simple test with a Redline Monocog of sorts (horizontal dropouts) singlespeed bike, with the wheel in the most forward setting (find the perfect gear. Then, with an addtional 2″ section of chain with powerlink type quick release (or a whole seperate chain if that’s how you roll) to see how 1″ longer chainstays feel like. The difference is great in terms of feel, but both bikes (if feels like different bikes) are still very good.
Interestingly, for my tall body style me at least, the extra CSL offered a huge comfort improvement. Altered cantilever action from the rear wheel to the seat, I suppose. Can’t have been flexing parts to account for such a noticble difference.
Who’ll create the bike with on the fly adjustable CSL?
All those numbers what about grin factor? Sounds like hes right on it. hmmm steel in future sounds good..
@yourdaguy thanks true that MCR and now the Chris King Cielo
Love a bandwagon. Might as well jump on – everyone else is…
@Joe: The “bandwagon” comment has been bandied about here since 2005. For what it is worth, I don’t think it is a mere “bandwagon” movement anymore. It is a big wheeled mountain bike deal. That’s all. My prediction is that in less than 10 years from now no one will even make a distinction between wheel sizes anymore. But that’s just me perhaps.
@Joe, you are absolutley right, I can’t believe all these companies that jumped on the mountain biking bandwagon after Breezer.