First shown at Interbike last year, we showed you what Joe Breeze’s new mountain bikes would look like. Now, they’re finally available in the U.S.
PRESS RELEASE: More than a decade after he made his last mountain bike and turned his attention to establishing the commuter bike market in the U.S., pioneering mountain bike designer Joe Breeze is back with his first Breezer off-road models since 1998.
The Breezer Lightning and Thunder are now available at bike shops in the United States and Europe, providing a new generation of cyclists with the opportunity to experience the ride that made Breezer mountain bikes a legend?and helped spawn a new sport.
The Thunder series includes three hard-tail models including the Thunder Elite, the new top-of-the-line Breezer race bike. The Lightning Team is for aficionados of steel. Breeze calls both the Lightning and Thunder “the lightest bikes on the market for their strength.”
The Thunder and Lightning frames feature Breezer D’fusion tubing, first introduced by Breezer in the 1990s. D’fusion tubes feature D-shaped cross sections that diffuse stress at key points in the frame while eliminating heavy and ride-deadening gussets. Curved down tubes provide the necessary clearance for today’s long-travel forks and are strong, light and resilient. The seat stays wrap around the chain stay-mounted disc brake. This forward brake mount is not only more protected, but also more rigid for less brake howl. The iconic Breeze-In dropouts remain the lightest and most rigid in the business, and their reduced length lets the tubing be the star of the show.
“My 1990s Breezers were the most advanced hard tail frames of the day, so my goal with the new bikes was to update the frames for more suspension, more tire clearance and disc brakes, and once again provide the best available hard tail bikes. Cyclists will be delighted by the lively, fast ride. I was also happy to oblige Breezer fans with the spearpoint livery from the roots of the sport, lest we forget where we came from.”
Returning to mountain bikes is highly satisfying for Breeze, whose Breezer commuter bikes such as the Finesse and the Uptown series have become recognized as the finest in the USA. Breezer commuter models have won an unprecedented three consecutive Editors’ Choice awards from Bicycling magazine and countless accolades.
“When I first started with commuter bikes in the U.S., people thought I was crazy,” says Breeze. “The idea of selling practical bikes for transportation to Americans was not on their radar. Now all players are in the game, and transportation bikes have become the hottest segment in the bike market.”
Breeze decided to begin building mountain bikes again due to strong consumer demand.
“So many people were asking for them,” he says. Purchased in 2009 by Philadelphia-based Advanced Sports, Inc., (ASI) Breezer now has the horsepower to do both commuter and mountain bikes. ASI, the parent company of Fuji, Kestrel and SE Bikes, has expanded Breezer’s distribution to Europe with the goal of becoming a global brand once again. In addition to the U.S., Breezers are now sold in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Australia.
