Breezer Lightning back in the day.

The Lightning Team is a state-of-the-art steel hardtail with inimitable Breeze tweaks. On a historical note, the Breezer Lightning is a hallowed model in mountain biking lore. Joe designed and built the first from-scratch mountain bikes as custom frames for friends in Marin County under the shadow of Mount Tamalpais. As a nod to Tom Ritchey, the other pioneering frame builder, Breeze’s Lightning Team build uses a Ritchey headset, stem, handlebars and seat post.

Although most of our riding these days is on full suspension bikes, our Ibis Mojo and Pivot Firebird, we still hack around town on a slightly street-modified Titus titanium HCR hardtail we’ve had for nearly a decade. We decided to line up the Lightning with the HCR for visual comparison of what Joe has done to adapt convention to the 21st Century.

Today and yesterday, in racing hardtail tech.

The first thing you’ll notice is the Breezer’s arched down tube (for fork clearance, but also strength). Then there’s the shorter top tube. Lower standover height. More relaxed angles. Bottom bracket height and seat-stay length are comparable — a testament to both frames’ racing heritage. You can’t see it from the side-by-side, but the Breezer also has a clever inset rear disc caliper and unique dropout setup. [Full specs here.]

Testing the Breezer, we decided to trade off riding with our other bikes to really clarify its different feel. What jumped out at us most was the Lightning’s trigger-quick handling, its responsiveness to terrain, and its cat-like climbing ability. There were times the Lightning just kind of melded with the ride to the point we felt really at one with the frame. It reacts so fast to what you want it to do, the bike seems almost psychic.

Tucking in the caliper for stability and power.

As its name suggests, the Lightning is made to go fast. It felt so demonstrably quicker we decided to do a couple of tests against our other bikes. We rode both hardtails around a hilly loop near our home on dirt trails through Lower Woodland Park. The first test we rode the Lightning first and then the HCR. The second test we switched the order. In both cases the Lightning was faster.

We did a similar test up a long singletrack climb at Grand Ridge near Issaquah, switching off between the Breezer and our Mojo. The results were the same. According to the stopwatch, the Lightning won. The margin on all four tests averaged out to under 1 percent. That doesn’t sound big, but even a fraction of a second can mean a lot in a racing context. Just ask Davis Phinney.

Now to be clear, these tests were subject to so many variables as to render them meaningful only for casual observation. It should be noted that the Lightning is super light — 24.5 lbs. compared to 26.2 lbs. for the HCR and 25.5 for the Mojo. And although we tried to compensate for fatigue, etc., in the end our endeavor was hardly what you would call scientific.

A head badge steeped in MTB lore.

Still, we found it interesting that the Lightning, in addition to feeling faster, actually was faster, as far as our admittedly unrigorous testing could determine.

Light as it is, the Breezer seemed capable of taking a pounding. We couldn’t resist taking it over some of Lower Woodland’s doubles, and even off a small lip jump. While the landings didn’t quite compare to, say, our Firebird, we were impressed at how stable the Lightning felt on touch-down. It’s a finely balanced, springy frame that airs and sticks well, hugging any surface. Even over urban fun stuff, going down stairs, jumping curbs, etc., the Lightning sucked up hits with grace and aplomb.

Although far more compliant than aluminum, steel (Breezer D’fusion custom-butted Reynolds 525 CroMoly) does not typically have the damping of ti. But we were impressed with the Lightning. It fell a bit short of the Titus in soaking up vibration, but its more sophisticated geometry gave it a precision that helped compensate for surface jar.

We came to like the lockout.

The large frame fit perfectly despite the shorter top tube. At first we thought the remote lockout on the Fox 32 F100-RL fork was overkill but came to really like it, the only trick being remembering to click back to travel mode after the climb! The Lightning’s Schwalbe Rocket Rons were grippier than we expected, with an open tread pattern that accentuated the bike’s speed. The Shimano XT drive train (rear XTR derailleur) was crisp and quick but we still prefer SRAM. The one thing we’d definitely change on the Lightning is the narrow (23-inch) flat handlebar. It felt too twitchy, especially after riding our 27-inch Mojo bars (the HCR has 25-inchers; both are 1-inch risers as well).

What really struck home for us was the fun factor. It’s been years since we’ve ridden trails on a hardtail and we’d forgotten what a different set of pluses it can bring to the singletrack experience. This is a great all-around bike, especially for prowling the hills around Mount Tam, Breeze’s stomping grounds. Joe has 29ers on the way and undoubtedly a few more tricks up his sleeve. Watch for more quality innovation from the fertile and creative mind of Joe Breeze.

[Note: While BikeIntelligencer policy is to review only stuff we've purchased, in this case we will return the Lightning to Breezer. We've got enough bikes.]

It was time to do a little paring down.

We took our steed to Adam at the Downhill Zone in Seattle. After going over the state of the art that the industry has to offer, here’s what we came up with to get our bike diet under way.

1. The Bike Diet explained, step by step, component by component. Bike porn at its most tantalizing!

2. The results of a week of Adam’s magic.

3. We sneak a peek at what our prospects are for our target weight by swapping out our wheels in expectation of the Easton carbon Havens, due out this fall.

I took the bike home and slapped on the XC wheels — Chris King, Mavics, tubed Nevies — for a basis of comparison. The wheels themselves are probably a pound and a half heavier than my target wheels — the forthcoming Easton carbon Havens (1450 grams rated). I figure I can get in the neighborhood of the tire weights with 2.3 Conti or Maxxis “lite” UST models. And the ti XTR cassette on my XC bike (an Ibis Mojo) is of course heavier than the hogged-out SRAM (although not by a huge amount).

With a pound and three quarters to lose, it’s gonna be close once I get the Eastons. But see what you think …

From the specs and a little guesswork, Adam had predicted a loss of 2.3 lbs. You have to understand that when it comes to rated specs, Adam is a flat-out whack-a-geek. He’s like one of those freaks who can watch a freight train pass by and then recite back, in order, the registration numbers on all the rail cars.

So when the actual scales tally came in at 2.25 lbs., I was like, Adam, you’re practically an ounce off! What happened dude?

Actually Adam’s margin of error was less than the standard deviation for spec versus actual weight. So all was cool.

With the scales weighing in at 31 lbs. 12 oz., my goal of a 30-lb. Firebird seemed not only within reach but flat out guaranteed. Because I still had the wheels coming, and they were big. Not big as in heavy. Big as in way cool. I’ve got the Easton carbon Havens on order — expected sometime this fall. At 1450 claimed grams light, the Havens will crash the 30-lb. barrier like Brian Lopes out of the starting gate.

Adam’s gram-busting component selection included (claimed weights):

RockShox Lyrik Solo Air fork (replacing Lyrik U-Turn coil). 4.8 lbs.



Point One Podium platform pedals. Very sweet, strong and tight, plus they’re light: 359 grams. And made in the U.S.A. (San Jose).

Action Tec 20-tooth ti granny ring. Super light and tough. I’m not saving a ton of weight with it but it’s durable and better suited to complement my other major drivetrain enhancement, the cluster. 20 grams.

Thomson Masterpiece seatpost. 158 grams.

Selle Italia SLR XC saddle. 184 grams.

SRAM XG999 9 spd. cluster. 175 grams.

Here’s Adam with the full rundown —

But at our age especially, losing weight is just too dang tough. And expensive too! Have you seen what it costs to go through those Fat Farm rehabs?!

So we decided to do the next best thing and put our bike on a diet.

We love our Pivot Firebird trail bike. Checking in at 6.5 inches of travel, featuring an ingeniously integrated DW-Link suspension, it’s our favorite of the 7 bikes we own. It may well be the best bike we’ve ever owned.

But at 34 pounds and counting, it was getting a little pudgy around the quick releases.

So we took it in to Adam at Seattle’s Downhill Zone, who’s helped keep our quiver loaded for the past decade, and told him to have at it. Here’s what Adam came up with for our first cut at getting the Firebird in trim for the summer season.

Tour de France coverage last year featured a segment on how time-trial bikes undergo rigorous inspections before the race.

We’re squarely in the camp that sniffs a hoax. Remember that at full output this unit only produces 100 watts, or a fraction of what a human produces at full sprint. This little unit might be able to power a freewheel raised off the ground, as the video shows. But it has far too little oomph to help a world-class cyclist, either over a long haul or in a short burst.

We doubt it can even propel forward a bike carrying a non-pedaling adult.

A nice publicity stunt for the perpetrators, but there are far better ways to spend our precious time than arguing this one.

See the original videos here.

BikeHugger too is skeptical.

Cancellara says, Who, me?

Cozy Beehive has engineering chops to provide a colorful discussion which, like laying all the economists in the world end to end, does not reach a conclusion.

Bicycle.net: Team Saxo Bank vehemently denies monkeying with bikes.

On the print side, Mountain BIKE magazine’s April issue features the killer new black-white frame in a spread beginning on p. 75.

Rack o' Revolts at Fluidride (now Big Tree Bikes)

In Seattle you can find Revolts, when they’re not completely sold out, at Big Tree Bikes on Stone Way N. in Wallingford. Jerry or Zeb can give you the full rundown.

Race Face Deus granny makes a nice addition to gold Firebird pivots

Toss in a gold Chris King bottom bracket and you've got a veritable Fort Knox down there!

Later I got a Schwinn Sting Ray, red and white. That bike I rode everywhere in Lynnwood, north of Seattle, where our family lived while I went to junior high and high school. Even after getting my driver’s license I can remember riding that bike. Once my Dad caught me riding down a bunch of stairs on it and warned me that I could break an axle doing that. About two weeks later, I broke my front axle.

In high school the Euro bike craze hit the states — skinny tired, 10-speed bikes suddenly were available in the U.S. I got a Schwinn Continental, kind of a crimson, and kept it all through college and afterward. Then, in the mid-70s, I got a Nishiki equipped with Shimano, which was cheap but good stuff, no name value at all, it was all Campagnolo if you wanted brand name. But the Shimano set never wore out and worked fine. By the late 1970s I was getting into long-distance riding, 100 miles, 200 miles, living in northern California and doing triathlons as well. I did the Davis Double, the Terrible Two, all the centuries (Almaden, Sequoia, Mill Valley, Grizzly, Mt. Hamilton, which was my favorite). I did some Jobst off-road rides on my Klein, my first truly pimped-out bike, in the hills above Palo Alto, but never cared much for it.

It was not till 1991 or so that I caught the MTB bug. My wife wanted a bike so I picked up a Trek Mountain Trak 830, fully rigid, heavier than cast iron. I brought it home and took it for a spin around the block. I couldn’t believe it! Within minutes I was hopping curbs, doing little wheelies and having the time of my life. It was like a whole new world of biking, I had ridden into another dimension.

So I got a Specialized Rockhopper with a suspension fork, that tan elastomer thing from Rock Shox, and was on my way. Soon I got a Pro-flex 853, fully suspended with a linkage Girvin fork, what a hoot. I took it up on Grouse Mountain in B.C., this was long before the Northshore became famous, and almost killed myself doing primitive rock ledges and stump drops. Some locals took me with them and, even though I lagged behind, had words of praise afterward. “You did pretty good,” one told me. “The last Yank we rode with went out on a stretcher.”

I don’t have photos of any of these bikes. This was before digital cameras, and you just didn’t carry a Nikon SLR with multiple lenses on a mountain bike ride.

The first bike I have digital photos of is my beloved yellow Trek Y-33, one of the first mass-produced carbon fiber mountain bikes. It had a somewhat goofy design, single pivot with lots o’ bob, but was a real kick in the ass to ride. I rode it all over the West, from Crested Butte to Sedona to Moab to Mount Tam. The photo here is from a week-long hut-to-hut tour from Telluride to Moab in 1996. My reports from that ride were chronicled in The Seattle Times. Can you believe it, we sent dispatches with a cell phone we recharged off a tire generator on one of our bikes! Credit the genius of Mark Eppley, the wild and crazy founder of Laplink, a pioneering peer-to-pier networking company.

The Y-33 eventually got stolen off the back of my van in downtown Portland in mid-day, and I replaced it with one of the original Santa Cruz Hecklers, cherry red and fully tricked. I even got one of the first five-inch single-crown forks, a Marzocchi, having no clue whatsoever about what it would do to the geometry. The Heckler, another single pivot bike (it was succeeded by the Superlight, which carries the same design even today, and after a hiatus of a few years was revived in its current 5-inch configuration), could really brake-jack you into some wicked face plants. I eventually sold it and got a Turner XCE, which remains one of my favorite bikes of all time. Four-inches, light, four-bar with Horst link, wow. It had everything I needed and wanted, at least till the new generation of freeride bikes came on the scene.

I also got a Schwinn Moab hardtail, which was stolen from in front a Seattle bike shop, no less. Oh I forgot to mention, my original Rockhopper I gave to my son-in-law. It as stolen in Vancouver, B.C. I guess you could say I shared the joy!

The Turner was my first bike from the Downhill Zone in Seattle, where I’ve bought a whole gaggle of bikes. I joke with DHZ founder, Darren Brown, that he should give me one of those punchcards like you get at the coffeehouses. You know, buy 9 bikes, get one free!

While living in San Francisco for a time, I picked up a Titus HC ti hardtail from one of the world’s great bike shops, Chris Lane’s Roaring Mou
se Cycles. I still ride the Titus more than any bike I own, because it’s now my commuter, around-town bike. I put 10-15 miles a day on that thing and it just goes and goes and goes. I got the Titus after getting a Giant carbon-fiber hardtail that I truly loved but which gave out after about 8 months. The BB couldn’t take all the climbing I did and wound out of the frame. You can’t re-glue it so Giant gave me an NS-1, which I promptly sold brand new, not needing another FS bike.

Then the long-travel craze started to hit, and I got a Ventana El Saltamontes from DHZ because it could go from 3.5 to 5 inches. Eventually I converted it to a full 6 with a Romic shock and long rocker, and thought this is it. This is as much travel as I’ll ever need. But the geometry was all wrong, we were just learning about this stuff. I got a Turner 6-Pack, rode it for a summer, never much liked it, and then gave it back to DHZ on consignment, who sold it for $100 less than I paid (thanks guys!), and ordered me an Intense 6.6 in Pearl. White Flite I call it. I still do a lot of riding on it, anything fast and technical and ragged. Whistler, Northshore and Galbraith Mountain near Bellingham are perfect for the Intense, and I spent a couple of seasons pretty much glued to the thing. DHZ put my Saltamontes on the rack and got me a pretty good price for it.

But in 2007 I found myself longing to get back to high-country, all-day epics, not the sort of thing you do on a 35-lb. thrasher. Goaded by my friend Jim Lyon, who had picked up an Ibis Mojo, I went with carbon fiber again and got a black (nude) large Mojo, tricked it out with a Pace CF fork and gold Marta brakes (Jim’s has red Martas and I didn’t want people to think I was copying him). I really really like the Mojo, so much that my beloved, my trusted, my all-time No. 1 Turner XCE went on the rack.

I guess the cool thing with all my bikes is that, hopefully, they’re all still in circ! Guys are still out there enjoying them, and I’m still adding to my quiver. I’m thinking a 29er next. I’m holding out hope that Ibis is putting together a 29er CF hardtail. We’ll see. For now I’m pretty well set.