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Bruce Gordon Celebrates the Original Gravel Grinder, with Limited O.G.G. 25th Anniversary

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Bruce Gordon Celebrates the Original Gravel Grider, with Limited O.G.G. 25th Anniversary

With “gravel grinder” becoming one of the hottest buzzwords in the industry, Bruce Gordon is taking things back, all the way back to 1988 when he built quite possibly the very first gravel grinder – the Rock ‘n Road. Bruce built the bike specifically to run his 700 x 43c Rock ‘n Road tires which were developed after seeing a tire from Finland called the Hakkapelitta that was found by Gary Helfrich. The Rock ‘n Road bike is now 25 years old, and to celebrate Bruce is offering a limited run of numbered, signed 25th Anniversary Rock ‘n Road bikes. There will only be 10 of these made, so you had better act fast if you want to get your hands on one.

Check out the history of the Rock ‘n Road plus more details on the 25th Anniversary after the jump.


The special edition 25th Anniversary bikes will carry the same geometry they’ve used for the past 25 years, though the bikes have been updated with 135mm rear spacing, and a 1 1/8″ threadless head tube. The frames will be made in Bruce’s shop and the forke will be built with Pacenti bi-plane lugged fork crowns. The 10 bikes will come with Bruce Gordon’s Signature Rust powdercoat with other options available for an additional charge. Fillet brazing is also offered for an additional fee, with TIG welding standard.

25th Anniversary Frames will run $1988, paying homage to the first year they were built – and they will include a set of the Rock ‘n Road tires as a bonus.

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18 Comments
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vectorbug
vectorbug
11 years ago

grider

yesplease
yesplease
11 years ago

Grider

Grinder?
Grinder?
11 years ago

Grider

mudrock
mudrock
11 years ago

Very cool. Just to show that almost every innovation in bicycles has been done before. How much more can be done with a diamond frame? The next frontier: internal gear hubs that are as light as derailleur gearing. Rohloff is the future.

Alex K
Alex K
11 years ago

grider

Jeff
Jeff
11 years ago

Used to have one of those back in the early 90’s, heavy as sin and the stock Red color at the time was equally ugly. Plus BG was always so pleasant to deal with… But it did ride pretty well and I always like the tire size.

Devo
11 years ago

that was great! I especially like the no frills, straight to the point, every day joe, vernacular. No crazy music, no crazy fades in the video…

Walt
11 years ago

Does he build with bamboo, aluminum, carbon fiber, or a mix of all three? Is there a kickstarter page I can check out? Where are the CAD renderings of his bikes? Does he have any ironic facial hair? Where can I buy pogs with his logo? Who is the old guy in the picture?

/snark

Bruce is da man.

-Walt

Trey R
Trey R
11 years ago

I remember an old customer walking in with one of his bikes back in the early 90’s. My favorite bike for the last 5 years has 42c tires on it, (tubeless on Crest rims no doubt). Funnest bike to ride anywhere I want!

and funnest is a word!

Sjones
Sjones
11 years ago

So Bruce Gordon basically built some of the earliest 29ers and even with suspension too?

Big Cow
11 years ago

Everything has been done before. And if Bruce thinks he is the first, well then he is just another hipster 25 years too early. Just look at all those 1970s Nishiki and Univega touring rigs – those made great gravel road bikes.

Mindless
Mindless
11 years ago

I did not hear him claiming he was the first.

TheGooch
TheGooch
11 years ago

The Polish army during WW2 beat all of the aforementioned bikes including the Marin, CA bikes of the 70’s to the punch. Look it up. The first true 29ers.

cyclocross magazine
11 years ago

they’re great tires. the originals weren’t 43c though, they were 40c. details here:
http://www.cxmagazine.com/bruce-gordon-rock-n-road-700c-tire-nahbs-2012

joe murray developed the original with gordon. photo here: http://www.cxmagazine.com/wp-content/gallery/bruce-gordon-rock-n-road-tire-nahbs-2012/bruce-gordon-rock-n-road-tire-nahbs-2012-img_9331_1.jpg

check out Cyclocross Magazine’s issue 18 for a full review on the tire, and 17 for a review on the rock ‘n road bike.

Rodegeek
Rodegeek
11 years ago

I’ve always wanted a singed bike. I’m told you can also get bikes seared (to hold in the flavorful juices) but that’s too much heat for silver-brazed frames.

The Goats
11 years ago

One super cool guy. Could give up all the plastic for one of his Rock N’ Roads and just ride away happy.

Goats.

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