And here is the truly stunning 1995 Croll as I passed it on to it's next caretaker.  For those not familiar, Croll was founded by Walter Croll and was a manufacturer of high end steel frames in Minneapolis throughout the 90's. I am unclear as to when Croll formally shuttered their business. Early Croll's were often lugged, but mid and later Croll's were Tig Welded by Erik Noren of Peacock Groove fame.  I estimate this to be a 1995 based on the parts present, but am unsure of the accuracy of the date. The build features a full XT parts kit, however the owner opted to upgrade to M950 shifters in order to obtain the remote bar end shifter.  This...

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This race was John Tomac‘s very first pro mountain bike win. He was just a BMX kid from Michigan with a mohawk when I first met him at a downhill race in SoCal. His win took everyone by surprise since he was an unknown at this point. The race had such a unique format that nobody really knew who would succeed, motocrossers, downhill mountain bikers, cross country racers or BMX racers. In this photo you can’t see it but somebody was ahead of John at this point. I’m not sure who is directly behind Tomac here, but then it’s Kye Sharp, Joe Sloup, and then Jimmy Deaton. Here’s what Rob Rupe remembers : “Trying to get the memories straight in...

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