Douglas Bradbury

   

   

1951 Born in West Los Angeles

 

1956 First Sting Ray

 

1960 Built first downhill skateboard

 

1961 Put a Briggs & Stratton lawn mower engine on a Schwinn Cruiser.

 

1965 First motorcycle, a Honda 90

 

1969 Graduate from Hamilton High, Los Angeles. Fail most classes except Industrial Arts & Auto Shop.

 

1969 Compound fractures in arm and leg from desert racing

 

1970 Lost front teeth desert racing. Quit desert racing.

 

1971-1973 Motocross racing, California. Want to stay alive, so quit motocross.

 

1973 Start riding Observed Trials on a Bultaco motorcycle.

 

1974-1976 Travel on the Observed Trials National Circuit with top-ten placing.

 

1975 Move to Colorado Springs, Colorado.

 

1976 Win Ute Cup Trials in Colorado. I finally get a win!

 

1976-1980 Ride Enduros and ISDT two-day Qualifiers Series. Quit to stay alive once again.

 

1982 Witness idiots on bicycles going over Pearl Pass while on a motorcycle ride.

 

1984 Attempt first mountain bike ride. Quit that to stay alive. I return to motorcycles.

 

1985 Cant resist, buy a Ross Mt. Whitney 

 

1985 After crashing more on the bicycle than motorcycle, decide to build a mountain bike that works. Manitou Mountain Bikes is born.

 

1987-1989 Barely make a living building mountain bike frames, straight blade forks, stems, 115mm front hubs and 145mm asymmetrical rear hubs.

 

1990 Build first Manitou suspension fork. Tomac wants one, so take one to Tomac and get two speeding tickets and lose license.

 

1990 Build first Easton prototype aluminum frame.

 

1991 Anaheim Trade Show, sell out years production in one day!

 

1992-1997 License Manitou products to Answer Products. Design 5 models of suspension forks, Three versions of the hard tail and two versions of the full-suspension frame. Obtain five patents.

 

1994 Inducted into the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame.