New Breezer MTB's

Ouch.

After feeling the love from comments made here at "Show us your Breezer" it's a queasy swing of the pendulum with some comments here. But that's the biz...

Jeff, thanks for your initial post. I had contemplated posting the new Breezers, but figured this wasn't the forum.

To Jeroen and the Kaiser, thanks for your support.

If you'll permit (look elsewhere if not) I'd like to offer a few insights to how the new Breezers differ from the rest.

First of all, I designed these bikes after listening to what people wanted in a new Breezer. They wanted to see our black/white Lightning updated with 100mm fork travel, hydraulic discs, more tire clearance and same handling and attention to detail.

Some liked the lightness and relative affordability of aluminum (vs. carbon), so that's why there are those bigger tubes on the Thunder (aluminum is only 1/3 the stiffness of steel, so the tubes need to be larger. I've always refrained from huge alu tubes though).

Both Lightning (steel) and Thunder (aluminum) Breezer mountain bikes share the following features, most of which appeared on my Breezers from the late 1990s.

Breezer D'fusion tubing: Best example is at a frame's Achilles Heel, on the down tube at the head tube. The D-shape (flatter side down) diffuses stresses across the bottom of the down tube instead having more focused "hot spot" as with a traditional round down tube.

Breeze-In dropouts: I've been doing these on production Breezers since 1993. Their 3-D structure is twice the rigidity of traditional "door hinge" dropouts, and they are half the weight.

Breezer Apex disc mount: The rear brake is mounted on the chainstay not the seatstay. It's not only for more protection, but because chainstays are huskier than seatstays and this position forces the axle into the frame giving less (no) brake howl.

The acute down tube angle caused by 100mm forks requires a detour. I could've gone with straight, but that would shoot the DT onto the HT quite a ways up from the end making the frame weak (narrow TT/DT head perch). I could've added a gusset, but gussets deaden the ride. The curve is the best way around the fork (when turned at 90 degrees).

Basically, I'm trying to keep joinery to a minimum and make tubing the (rightful) star of the show. Joinery and gussets deaden the ride, so you want to keep that to a minimum.

Pudding: People say the new aluminum Thunder feels like steel. I agree, and was delighted to finally get aboard a new steel Lightning. People should enjoy Breezer handling as ever before.

The paint job is just a veneer, but I might as well include the ol' spears and diamonds, lest we forget where we came from.

Thanks for listening,
Joe
 
i think it looks good,

it retains its roots and its good to see a high spec bike made from steel instead of carbon,

will be interesting to see how it rides and compairs on price



stubbsy :D
 
I first got one of these new Breezers last year and it's incredible what it can do. The first thing I thought when I got on it and rode it down the street in front of my house was: "This thing can accelerate as fast as my road bike." As soon as I took it on a trail, I saw how incredibly fast it could climb on dirt and how nimble it was on any technical singletrack.

This isn't your run of the mill, thick tubed, aluminum hardtail that you see on the mass market today, the kind of bike that feels dead as soon as you get on it. This isn't a cushy, trampoline-like bounce house that takes the fun out of riding.

My first race on a new Breezer was in March, the first event of the Northern California High School MTB Series, and I got 4th place. I got off the bike after the race, took a drink, and came to my senses was and my dad asked me how the bike felt. I answered "What bike?" The whole time I felt so connected, so sure of myself on the bike, that I didn't even need to think about it.

I own a retro Breezer too, (I got my first one as soon as I could fit it) a 1994 Jet Stream that i rode mountain on for the first 3 years of my career, as well as the trip to school for 5 years. I know the feel of the retro Breezer that so many have come to love, and I can say that the new Breezers cover as many aspects of this old style as possible. Yes, they are produced in Taiwan (as most of the retro Breezers in this thread were) BUT they are designed in the room next door to the one I'm sitting in right now, at the foot of Mount Tamalpias, and that means a lot.

I should add this- nothing has come over my dad that has put a red glow in his eyes and told him "must...make...terrible...modern...bike". Since he has removed himself from the mountain bike industry for so long, and focused on what he had been wanting to do since the 70s, almost all of the design work he did on the new bikes is straight off the old, retro frames.
And I'm sure we all agree that this is a good thing.

-Tommy Breeze
 
Well said, kid. But would you say the same if we revoked your room and board? ;-)

Anyway, thought I better stick in a BIAS ALERT.

-Joe Dad
 
It's nice to see some of the bloodline / history / names etc being talked about on this and another thread :cool:

I think this may / will help to remove some of the blinkers I hinted at in my post above ;-)

WD :)
 
Wow indeed :shock:

Personally I do like the look of the new Breezers, To me its clear that a lot of thought and passion have gone into the design and detail , Ok I am slightly biased but I do find my old one a thing of beauty to look at and ride and am sure these will be too.

I really am looking forward to seeing the new range in the flesh :D
 
:cool: :D Do you happen to have any better shots of the seat stay profile? Oh and the dropout? The seat stay particularly, looks very elegant :)
 
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