Awesome names...the era of great MTB manufacturers

[sylvain]

I always liked "General Kinetics" (those ti bars with the ad where they had a V8 block hanging off each end)

 

[colin959]

Wasn't there a company called Clarke Kent, made hubs and forks, good name but from what I remember the forks lacked the man of steel moniker

 

[orange71]

Wasn't there a company called Clarke Kent, made hubs and forks, good name but from what I remember the forks lacked the man of steel moniker

is this them? http://www.mtbr.com/reviews/manufacturers/8220/

 

[Elevated]

Wasn't there a company called Clarke Kent, made hubs and forks, good name but from what I remember the forks lacked the man of steel moniker

Yeah, I think they did frames too. I recall seeing one in MBA pro's bikes. Had a Unishock, Disc Drive and snowflake front wheel.

Hoo-Koo-e-koo anyone? (Have I spelt that right?!)

Yep. I thought it was named after a Debbie Harry album, but that was Koo Koo.

 

[Repack Rider]

Your going to hit an obese woman with a mallet?

Let me rephrase that in even more dense American vernacular, which would be understood immediately by a US sports fan with an IQ above 60 (a legendary creature, to be sure).

If a southpaw hangs Uncle Charlie over the dish, go yard and touch 'em all.

On more immediate matters, I don't know whether anyone has mentioned this, but Hoo-Koo-E-Koo is a trail on Mount Tamalpais. As is Eldridge Grade. Pine Mountain is the next mountain to the north of Tamalpais.

Odd other facts. The origin of the name "Tamalpais" is obscure, and Pine Mountain does not have many pine trees on it. Mostly miniature cypress (no taller than 2 meters) and douglas fir, with some redwoods near the bottom.

 

[andrewl]

Odd other facts. The origin of the name "Tamalpais" is obscure, and Pine Mountain does not have many pine trees on it. Mostly miniature cypress (no taller than 2 meters) and douglas fir, with some redwoods near the bottom.

Is that similar to Iron Horse bike frames being mostly Aluminium for quite a while now and fairly obviously they're not actually horses?

 

[orange71]

The origin of the name "Tamalpais" is obscure

A quick google confirms:

Coastal Miwok Indians lived in the area for thousands of years before Europeans arrived. In 1770, two explorers named the mountain La Sierra de Nuestro Padre de San Francisco, which was later changed to the Miwok word Tamalpais.

from here

 

[colin959]

I think it was them who did the pineapple hub.

 

[Repack Rider]

The origin of the name "Tamalpais" is obscure

A quick google confirms:

Coastal Miwok Indians lived in the area for thousands of years before Europeans arrived. In 1770, two explorers named the mountain La Sierra de Nuestro Padre de San Francisco, which was later changed to the Miwok word Tamalpais.

from here

Unfortunately, that is only ONE of the many explanations that have been offered. I LIVE here, and I attended Tamalpais High School. Another origin story is that it was named after a local chief. If "tamalpais" is a Miwok word, no one seems to know what it means or where the unusual spelling came from.

 

[orange71]

mystery deepens!