A few things about Bruce Gordon
Bits and pieces from Dirt Rag history
Ahh Bruce. Damn, do we all miss you. It’s been six years now. I was thinking about you the other day, as I often do, so I started digging through what Dirt Rag and Bicycle Times archives I had on hand to share with y’all.
First, let us begin with this interview from February 14th, 2011, at his shop in Petaluma. Jeff Lockwood conducted the interview, but I was the photographer that day.
How did you get started building frames? I was in graduate school as an art major and dropped out in 1970 or 1971. I moved to California and started working in bike shops. Albert Eisentraut was teaching bike-building classes, and I signed up. Joe Breeze and some other influential people were also in the classes. I enjoyed making stuff, and eventually became part-owner and vice president of Eisentraut, Inc. I wanted out after a few years and moved to Oregon in 1976, and started Bruce Gordon Cycles. I’ve been doing that ever since.
But first…. Could someone try out these buttons and make sure they’re working? I have a few subscribers who have thrown down the full $50/year, but I’d like to see some smaller funds…
Encourage me with $$$
So, are you ready to cough up $2 or more? Here is your chance. You can always unsubscribe if you're unsatisfied. I promise it’ll be good or your money back.
What's the best thing about your job? This is all I’ve ever done for most of my life. I’ve been doing it since 1974. I really like bicycles. I like thinking about them, and I like building them…And riding them, of course.
What's the toughest part of your job? I hate the bike business and the bullshit that goes on with the whole thing. I’ve hated marketing my whole life, and there’s a lot of stuff the bike industry doesn’t want you to know. Through creative marketing, these companies twist the truth and make you think how they want you to think. I like making bikes, but I dislike the fact that this is a country that, in my lifetime, really makes nothing. When I started, fancy bikes were made in Europe and then in Japan…. We’ve gone further from making things in the United States. Most people don’t even interact with someone who physically makes something with their hands. As a result, they don’t really have a concept of something that’s really well-made. We live in a country where if someone tells you it’s the best, then it’s the best.
What was the first frame you built? 1974, when I was in Albert’s class…it was a road bike that I still have. I have a collection of about 30 bikes I’ve made that have state-of-the-art parts of the time…all my prototypes.
Where is your favorite place to ride? I ride mostly by myself out here in Petaluma. I can ride from my house, all the way to the coast, along rolling pastures. I love that.
What are your interests aside from bicycles? I like to travel. I have a few old English motorcycles. I also have an old MGB from the 1960s. And I like making stuff. I’ve made some weird vehicles for Burning Man.
What would you like to be known for in the bicycle world (or outside it)? To bring more manufacturing and bike parts back to the United States. Things have changed dramatically since I started in 1974…we now have 14-pound carbon road bikes, full suspension downhill bikes, and all sorts of other exciting, innovative stuff. All this stuff started with small, independent American guys. If we were going to wait for the Taiwanese or the Chinese to invent the mountain bike, we’d still be waiting. I need to do better marketing on my part…I need to get the message to people that there’s a lot of good stuff being made in America, but if we don’t buy things made here, there’s not going to be anything left to buy here! I’m hoping to set up a system where you can actually make stuff in the US and be cost-competitive, but you have to remove a lot of the middlemen.
BTW there is still a website offering Bruce’s tires as well as a few other things at bgcycles.com -Ed.
Take a break with a subscription pitch
So, are you ready to cough up $2 or more? Here is your chance. You can always unsubscribe if you're unsatisfied. I promise it’ll be good or your money back.
A Fine letter from Stevil
Following Bruce’s death, Stevil Kinevil wrote a letter to Dirt Rag’s Chewing the Fat: The Love and the Loss of Bruce Gordon
When referring to people who have, to some degree or another, made an indelible impact on a scene, the term “legend” gets thrown around with some frequency. In the late Bruce Gordon’s case, from my perspective, that particular title doesn’t begin to truly cover the life he led. One of the founders of the wholly irreverent SOPWAMTOS (Society Of People Who Actually Make Their Own Shit), from the time he first lit a torch in the 1970s, the artistry of American frame-building was of vital importance to him. Besides being a meticulous craftsman, he set the stage for the following generation of bike-riding derelicts, myself included. It was always with a quick wit and a sharp tongue that he returned a greeting. He was always the first to downplay his skills, even though he was one of the most talented individuals in the game. His humility bordered on self-deprecation on his best days, but he was always there to take a quiet ride or hold up on some bar stools together. He never wavered in his warmth and adoration for bicycles and the people he knew through them. Though “gravel riding” is a bona fide thing now, back when most of us were busy just being born, learning how to walk or possibly wrestling with puberty, to Bruce and his cronies, taking the less-paved path was simply riding bikes. He lived his life never wanting accolades, never injecting himself into any spotlights. Though he rarely gave unsolicited advice, he was fond of offering the following to any folks within earshot who cared to listen: “Do it on your terms.”
Ever committed to his doctrine until his final day, on his terms was precisely how he lived.
Rest in power, Papa Bruce. 6/7/2019
Bruce Gordon’s Memorial
Thank you, Stevil. Later that month, a memorial was held for Bruce in Petaluma, including a bike ride. Many were in attendance, and Bruce got what he had coming to him, a Golden Toity from his fellow degenerates at S.O.P.W.A.M.T.O.S, The Society Of People Who Actually Make Their Own Shit.
Offerings to Bruce…
A shrine on the side of the road.
Charlie Cunningham was riding tandem with Jaquie Phelan and stopped to chat with Joe Breeze.
The ride stopped here for some reason.
Uncle Ross Schaeffer said a few words.
I’ll just leave you with this vandalism found in the bathroom at the park that day. Thanks for reading. Please, please comment if you have anything to say. I’d appreciate it! -Maurice
One last subscription pitch
So, are you ready to cough up $2 or more? Here is your chance. You can always unsubscribe if you're unsatisfied. I promise it’ll be good or your money back.
"Bruce Gordon Was Rude To Me?"
Bruce came to my workplace (Yeti cycles) and gave me a pair of his rock and road tires, like someone from the future he handed me the keys to fame and fortune and I did nothing. Sorry Bro.