Catamount MFS

[orange71]

That's it - I was racking my brain trying to think what it reminded me of.

That and the Breezer Twister.

 

[catamount rider]

Yes, indeed the Catamount was part of the whole herd of URT bikes from the mid to late 1990's: Klein Mantra, Breezer Twister, Ibis Szazbo, Schwinn Homegrown, Control Tech, Even WTB had one.

The fanciest of these was the titanium pivotless variation, the Ibis BowTi.

 

[catamount rider]

Very nice - have bid and lost on one of these a couple of years ago (on US eBay). Seem very similar to the Control Tech sweet spot frame I saw on our Peaks ride 2009....

Mr K

Thank you Mr K.

These URT/Sweet Spot bikes benefit greatly from modern day platform forks, like the SPV Manitou Minute I am running. The SPV helps negate the inch worm effect these bikes have when applying just the front brake. As a result, these bikes ride/perform better now in 2010 than back in the 1990's IMO.

The inventor of the Sweet Spot design, John Castellano, recently introduced his updated version called the Zorro.

(As a footnote, the Catamount was technically not a Sweet Spot bike and didn't fall under that patent. The Cat's shock placement was different, being directly under the seatpost, where as Sweet Spot bikes had their shock mounted behind the post.)

 

[al]

Like the Zoro loads!

 

[catamount rider]

That's it - I was racking my brain trying to think what it reminded me of.

That and the Breezer Twister.

I wanted a Breezer Twister back in the day, but there were significantly more expensive than the Catamount, twice a much I recall.

If one shows up on eBay, I might be tempted...

 

[catamount rider]

Like the Zoro loads!

The Zorro is an interesting bike.
It's designed to run with many wheel size combinations: 26/26, 26/29 or 29/29. That photo I posted shows it with a 26/29 combo.

The shock position is adjustable to allow for the change in headtube angles to accommodate the variety.

I read that it's more active of a suspension compared to the old Sweet Spot bikes of the 1990's.

Here's a link to a rider who blogged about the Zorro after visiting John Castellano:
http://tiny.cc/Ju0dX