thekidmalone
Old School Hero
- Feedback
- View
Hello everyone,
It's not often that a brand's entry-level product ends up being the iconic item within their product line. When high-end ski brand Authier introduced mountain bikes in the early 1990s to create a counter-seasonal balance to their core wintersports business, that's exactly what happened, at least in their home market here in Switzerland. Relatively few remember that Authier made skis, much less bikes, but many remember the "Yellow Cab" mountain bike.
I would someday love to hear the story about how a Swiss ski brand, whose brand identity was closely associated with a British jet fighter (de Havilland Vampire - see head tube decal), decided to decorate their entry-level mountain bike as a yellow New York City taxi cab.
Authier relied on Ferraroli, a premium Swiss partner with extensive MTB experience, to source and spec their bikes. Authier followed Ferraroli's tradition of using nearly as many Shimano parts as possible, down to the headset, toe clips and spoke protector. The original spec was full Deore LX, but I swapped out the STI levers, rear derailleur and pedals to Deore DX items I had on hand.
As you can see from the pictures, this one came to me with a seized seat post. For those in a similar fix with an aluminum post in a steel frame, I thoroughly recommend Finish Line's Chill Zone product. I removed the seat QR, turned the bike upside down, removed both seat tube water bottle bolts, and sprayed the chemical into the seat tube until frost appeared on the outside of the tube. The aluminum post shrank more rapidly than the steel frame, making it child's play to twist out the post.
Has anyone else ever seen an Authier mountain bike? Their other model names were Up N' Down, Fifties, Le Grand Bleu, Discovery, Alzasca and Vampire. Entry- to mid-level models like this one were built in Japan, and the high-end models were silver-brazed, painted and assembled in Switzerland by Ferraroli.
Enjoy!
It's not often that a brand's entry-level product ends up being the iconic item within their product line. When high-end ski brand Authier introduced mountain bikes in the early 1990s to create a counter-seasonal balance to their core wintersports business, that's exactly what happened, at least in their home market here in Switzerland. Relatively few remember that Authier made skis, much less bikes, but many remember the "Yellow Cab" mountain bike.
I would someday love to hear the story about how a Swiss ski brand, whose brand identity was closely associated with a British jet fighter (de Havilland Vampire - see head tube decal), decided to decorate their entry-level mountain bike as a yellow New York City taxi cab.
Authier relied on Ferraroli, a premium Swiss partner with extensive MTB experience, to source and spec their bikes. Authier followed Ferraroli's tradition of using nearly as many Shimano parts as possible, down to the headset, toe clips and spoke protector. The original spec was full Deore LX, but I swapped out the STI levers, rear derailleur and pedals to Deore DX items I had on hand.
As you can see from the pictures, this one came to me with a seized seat post. For those in a similar fix with an aluminum post in a steel frame, I thoroughly recommend Finish Line's Chill Zone product. I removed the seat QR, turned the bike upside down, removed both seat tube water bottle bolts, and sprayed the chemical into the seat tube until frost appeared on the outside of the tube. The aluminum post shrank more rapidly than the steel frame, making it child's play to twist out the post.
Has anyone else ever seen an Authier mountain bike? Their other model names were Up N' Down, Fifties, Le Grand Bleu, Discovery, Alzasca and Vampire. Entry- to mid-level models like this one were built in Japan, and the high-end models were silver-brazed, painted and assembled in Switzerland by Ferraroli.
Enjoy!
