Swan Dive

Scot Nicol - Work IS Play - Mountain Bike Pioneer

February 16, 2021 Ron Rothberg and Stu Sheldon Season 4 Episode 5
Swan Dive
Scot Nicol - Work IS Play - Mountain Bike Pioneer
Show Notes

In the late 70s, Scot Nicol, was a young hippie living on the coast in Mendocino County (CA), when an article appeared about this new “Clunker Bike” movement happening in Marin County, CA and Crested Butte. A handful of guys were essentially retrofitting old Scwhinn bikes to ride on the dirt. Scot reached out to these kindred spirits (now cycling legends: Joe Breeze, Gary Fisher and Charlie Kelly among others) and, basically, they collectively invented what we now know as mountain bikes. It will be 40 years ago this April Fools day that Scot, AKA Chuck Ibis, launched IbisCycles.com with­out mon­ey or a plan. Today, his bikes are considered some of the most sophisticated and coveted ever built, with a waiting list over a year long. Nicol always found a way to turn bikes into art, pioneering a “function follows form” philosophy that has made believers out of everyone lucky enough to ride one of his creations. Inducted into the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame, and beloved worldwide in the passionate world of riding, Scot still rides every day and defines the idea of turning avocation into vocation. He also happens to be one of Swan Dive's host, Stuart Sheldon's dear friends and favorite people on the planet.

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