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Joe Breeze (born 1953) is an American bicycle framebuilder, designer and advocate from Marin County, California. An early participant in the sport of mountain biking, Breeze, along with other pioneers including Gary Fisher, Charlie Kelly, and Tom Ritchey, is known for his central role in developing the mountain bike. Breeze is credited with designing and building the first all-new mountain bikes, which riders colloquially called Breezers.League of American Wheelmen, “Change Agents for Cycling” American Bicyclist, Fall 2005, pp. 10-19. (p. 15 "Joe Breeze," by Tim Blumenthal.) Retrieved 1 March 2013 “10 Men Who Changed the Sport,” Mountain Bike Action, December 1991, pp. 99-104 Koeppel, Dan. “Joe Breeze Wants to Change the World. Again.” Bicycling, Vol. 44 Issue 8, September 2003, pp. 32-40. He built the prototype, known as Breezer #1, in 1977 and completed nine more Series I Breezers by early 1978.Frank J. Berto, The Birth of Dirt: Origins of Mountain Biking. San Francisco: Van der Plas Publications, 1999. Pp 43-45. . “Joe Breeze /Inducted 1988" Mountain Bike Hall of Fame. Retrieved 1 March 2013. Breezer #1 is now in the collection of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History. “Breezer 1” Smithsonian Institution. Collections Search Center, ID # 2012.0066.01. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
Breeze, a road bike racer through the 1970s, was among the fastest downhill racers at Repack, mountain biking's seminal race held west of Fairfax, California. He won 10 of the 24 Repack races, which took place between 1976 and 1984.Frank J. Berto, The Birth of Dirt: Origins of Mountain Biking. San Francisco: Van der Plas Publications, 1999. Page 41. . Breeze is a charter member of the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame; he was inducted in 1988. “Joe Breeze /Inducted 1988” Mountain Bike Hall of Fame (c.2001-2013)
Breeze developed mountain bike and road-racing bike designs through the 1980s and most of the 1990s, then focused his efforts on advocacy for bicycle transportation.David Hoffman, “Out of the Woods and Back Into Town” Urban Velo Issue 9, September 2008 (pp. 70-74). In the early 2000s he devoted his Breezer brand entirely to transportation, introducing in 2002 a line of bikes for everyday use, equipping them for local trips, errands in town and commuting.John Markoff, “Big Hopes for Commuting by Bike” New York Times, October 10, 2002.
In 2008, Breeze sold the Breezer brand to Advanced Sports International “Breezer: First Name in Mountain Bikes Sold” Mountain Bike Action, October, 2008 (10/1/2008) and since then has worked for the company as Breezer frame designer, designing transportation bikes, road bikes and mountain bikes under the Breezer name. “An Interview with Joe Breeze” EcoVelo, August 20, 2010.
Since 2015, Breeze has served on the board and as Head Curator at the Marin Museum of Bicycling.
Breeze had taken up cycling seriously as a teenager in the late 1960s, sometimes going on rides of a few hundred miles. He also enjoyed cycling and saw such value in the bicycle as a vehicle, he wanted to spread the word. In 1970 he took up road-bike racing, figuring that publicity about races could show people how fast and far a bicycle could go. Breeze also studied bicycle history and while traveling for races he searched for early bicycles. He hoped to promote cycling by restoring and displaying examples from the 1890s, the high point of bicycle technology.
[http://www.mtnbikehalloffame.com/page.cfm?pageid=6&year=1988&memberid=28 “Joe Breeze /Inducted 1988”] Mountain Bike Hall of Fame (c.2001-2013)
By 1972 Breeze was also competing in cyclocross races and often rode on the trails of Mount Tamalpais.
[http://www.karapoti.co.nz/default.asp?PageID=20829 “From Whence We Came”] Merida Karapoti Classic. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
In 1973, he and Velo Club Tamalpais teammate Marc Vendetti were looking for fine early bikes and found a less elegant relic: a 1941 Schwinn-built balloon-tire bike. Vendetti had a few years earlier ridden similar 1930s-40s “paper boy” bikes on Tamalpais at the periphery of the mountain's seminal group of off-road riders, the Larkspur Canyon Gang. Encouraged by Vendetti, Breeze bought the old fat-tire bike for $5, stripped off its extraneous parts and rode it down Mount Tamalpais. He loved it.
[http://www.mtnbikehalloffame.com/page.cfm?pageid=6&year=2009&memberid=203 “Larkspur Canyon Gang”] Mountain Bike Hall of Fame & Museum. (2009)
Breeze, Vendetti and Velo Club Tamalpais teammate Otis Guy were soon riding Mount Tamalpais trails together regularly. They and other teammates including Gary Fisher, and other enthusiasts from Marin located old fat-tire “ballooner” bikes of many makes, used them off-road and settled on Schwinns built between 1937 and 1944 as the best. They would remove extraneous parts from the bikes, strip them down to their original paint and ride them on Marin's rugged fire roads and trails.
Outer Edge Mag, . Retrieved 1 March 2013.
Espinoza, Zapata. “Memories of Marin: Taking a Trip Back to Where it All Began.” ''Mountain Bike Action,'' May 1991. Pp. 48-56.
Some, including Gary Fisher, added parts such as gears and derailleurs to their ballooners.
Berto, Frank J. (2025). 9781892495617, Cycle Publishing/Van der Plas Publications. . ISBN 9781892495617
In 1976 Breeze began to compete in Repack races. A downhill time trial on fire roads in the hills west of Fairfax, California, Repack brought together riders from around Mount Tamalpais who stripped down older bikes for off-road use and fitted rugged parts to them. Repack served as a testing ground for off-road bikes.
Kelly, Charlie [http://www.sonic.net/~ckelly/Seekay/repack.htm “Repack Page”] Charlie Kelly’s Website. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
The heavy old fat-tire bike frames, made of mild steel, were not standing up to the rigors of mountain biking. Breeze was asked by Charlie Kelly to build a mountain bike frame and in early 1977 Breeze agreed to do so.
Berto, Frank J. (2025). 9781892495617, Cycle Publishing/Van der Plas Publications. . ISBN 9781892495617
Kelly, Charlie [http://www.sonic.net/~ckelly/Seekay/mtbwelcome.htm “Charlie Kelly’s Mountain Bike Hubsite”] Retrieved 1 March 2013.
Kelly, Charles. “The Dirt Rag Interview with Joe Breeze,” ''[[Dirt Rag]]'' #27, November 1992, pp 22-24.
While working on the design for the mountain bike, Breeze took orders to make mountain bikes for several other Marin County off-road cycling enthusiasts. He completed the prototype (Breezer #1) in Fall 1977 and rode it to victory at Repack.
Breeze finished nine more Breezer mountain bikes by June 1978. He built up the bikes with all-new parts, which he sourced from around the world.
Sutton, Rob [http://www.bike198.com/interview-joe-breeze-founding-father-of-mountain-biking/ “Interview: Joe Breeze, Founding Father of Mountain Biking.”] Bike198.com, November 19, 2009.
Those ten Breezer Series 1 bikes, made of chrome-moly alloy steel, are widely considered the first modern mountain bikes.
[http://mombat.org/Breezer.htm “Breezer Timeline."] Museum of Mountain Bike Art & Technology. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
Berto, Frank J. (2025). 9781892495617, Cycle Publishing/Van der Plas Publications. . ISBN 9781892495617
“Greatest Mountain Bikes of All Time,” ''Mountain Bike Action,'' December 1991. Pp. 58-68.
The first ten Breezer mountain bikes can be recognized by their twin lateral tubes, which Breeze included to stiffen the long frames for high-speed tracking. “Exhibitions - International Terminal. From Repack to Rwanda/ Image 3” FlySFO.com, SFO Museum. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
Breeze revised his designs shortly after, and shared his ideas for the next generation of mountain bikes with other framebuilders, including Tom Ritchey (of Palo Alto, 50 miles south of Marin) who built his first mountain bike frames in 1979.
[[Brandt, Jobst|Jobst Brandt]], [http://sheldonbrown.com/brandt/mtb-history.html “A Brief History of the Mountain Bike”] SheldonBrown.com, October 2005.
Ritchey became the frame supplier to the Marin County company MountainBikes, founded in 1979 by Gary Fisher and Charlie Kelly.
Kelly, Charlie [http://sonic.net/~ckelly/Seekay/mtbikes_company.htm “MountainBikes History and Advertising”] Charlie Kelly’s Website. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
The mountain bike's progression from local San Francisco Bay Area builders to the larger industry was complete in Fall 1981, when Specialized Bicycle Components introduced a lower-priced production mountain bike, the Specialized Stumpjumper, built in Japan and based on the Ritchey-built bikes sold by Fisher and Kelly.
Ruibal, Sal [http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/cycling/2006-03-22-cycling-bikes_x.htm “Still Shredding After All These Years.”] ''[[USA Today]]'', March 22, 2006.
In 1978, Joe Breeze was one of five riders from Marin County to travel to Crested Butte, Colorado, to participate in the Pearl Pass Tour, a two-day, off-road ride from Crested Butte to Aspen, over 12,700 foot Pearl Pass. Joe Breeze, Charlie Kelly, and Wende Cragg rode their 1977 and 1978 Breezers, while the other participants, including Gary Fisher and Michael Castelli of Marin County and several Crested Butte residents, rode modified Schwinns from the 1930s to 1950s.Upslope Brewing, “Crested Butte to Aspen Pearl Pass Klunker Tour, September 1978.” Upslope Brewing Co., April 14, 2010. Charlie Kelly, “Crested Butte to Aspen” Charlie Kelly’s Website. Retrieved 1 March 2013. Charles Kelly and Nick Crane, Richard’s Mountain Bike Book. Oxford Illustrated Press 1988. Pages 37-46. Crested Butte became an important destination for mountain biking; the Pearl Pass Tour, founded in 1976, is the sport's longest running annual two-day event. “Pearl Pass Tour Info” Mountain Bike Hall of Fame. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
In 1983, Breeze and several others founded NORBA (National Off-Road Bicycle Association), the first sanctioning organization for off-road bicycle racing. Breeze designed the NORBA logoCharlie Kelly, “NORBA History” Charlie Kelly’s Website. Retrieved 1 March 2013. and championed the rule requiring that racers do their own repairs during races. He maintained that a self-sufficiency rule for racing would ensure that manufacturers would keep their focus on durable bikes for all riders.Joe Breeze, “Jack Ingram Passes Away.” Decline Magazine.com. December 19, 2007. Amici Design, Fat Tire: A Celebration of the Mountain Bike. San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 1999. (Foreword by Joe Breeze pp. 5-10.) Page 8. NORBA is now part of USA Cycling. “NORBA” USA Cycling. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
Breeze has said that the mountain bike, being easy to ride and thus appealing to non-cyclists,Joe Breeze, “A Bike for the Masses,” Bicycle Guide, May 1997, page 90. "got more Americans onto bikes than any other bike since the 1890s." He observed in the 1990s, however, that as high-end mountain bike design (including his own) was geared increasingly toward race bikes, lower-priced mountain bikes followed suit and thus the bikes became less accessible to the masses. "The mountain bike opened cycling up to a lot of people by being friendlier than road bikes," Breeze wrote in 1997. "Maybe it's time for another bike to do that again."Joe Breeze, “A Bike for the Masses” Bicycle Guide, May 1997, page 90. His 1996 Breezer Ignaz X cruiser was the first bike he designed for town use.Don Cuerdon. “The Original Cruise King” Bicycling, Vol. 38 Issue 4, April 1997, p, 125. (The bike's name was a tribute to Ignaz Schwinn, the Schwinn Bicycle Company founder who popularized modern "balloon" tires in the 1930s, and also to the Schwinn Excelsior X bike that was the inspiration for much of Breeze's early off-road riding.David Hoffman, “Out of the Woods and Back Into Town” Urban Velo, Issue 9, September 2008, pp. 71-74.)
In the late 1990s Breeze devoted himself full-time to advocating for bicycle transportation, working with government agencies to make streets more bicycle-friendly and with grass-roots organizations to promote the bicycle as a practical mode of transportation. Transportation cycling, he said, addresses many issues at once: obesity, oil dependence, traffic congestion, global warming, lack of time for exercise.Winston O’Grady, “When Bikes Rule the Road” Southwest Airlines Spirit Magazine, Volume 16 No. 5, May 2007, pp. 112-121. He and other Marin County bicycle advocates visited Washington, DC to advocate for better cycling infrastructure and a national Safe Routes to School program. “Deb Hubsmith to Present National Safe Routes to Schools Proposal to Congressional Briefing on April 7, 2005” Marin County Bicycle Coalition, April 2005. For the Marin County Bicycle Coalition, he created in 1998 and periodically revises a detailed map of Marin's current and potential bicycle routes. “MCBC’s Joe Breeze Named ‘Advocate of the Year’ at Interbike” Marin County Bicycle Coalition Weekly Bulletin, October 23, 2003. Marin County Bicycle Coalition, “The Marin Bicycle Map” Retrieved 1 March 2013.
Through the latter half of the 1990s, Breeze had been urging the U.S. bicycle industry to start producing bikes that non-athletes could use to get places in daily life. Joe Breeze, “Riding Green: Take the Next Step in the Bicycle’s Evolution” Bicycle Dealer Showcase, Volume 29 Number 1, January 1998, pp 38-40. In 2001, still seeing a need in the United States for bikes fully equipped for errands and commutes, Breeze devoted his own Breezer brand to transportation. He introduced in 2002 a line of bikes designed for everyday, practical use that integrated fenders, racks, and generator lights. With model names like Uptown, Villager, Citizen, Liberty and Greenway, these Breezer bikes were similar to European utility bikes in being fully equipped, but Breeze designed them to be lighter and more ergonomically efficient.Rick Polito, “Transportation Transformation” Marin Independent-Journal, November 3, 2002. Pp. D1 – D2. Doug Donaldson, "A Better City Bicycle," Organic Style, March–April 2003, p. 25. John Schubert, "Road Test: The Breezer Liberty; Not just a utility bike—a tour de force in design. Adventure Cyclist, January–February 2005, pp 40-42. Matt Phillips, "Breezer Uptown 8." Bicycling, April 2007, Vol. 48 Issue 3, page 38. Since then the bicycle transportation sector, long a staple in other parts of the world, has become an important bicycle market in the United States.Nancy Keates, “The New Business Cycle; Makers Push Comfy Bikes Aimed at Commuters,” Wall Street Journal, New York, N.Y] 06 Oct 2006: W.1. Chris Baskind, "12 cool urban bicycles ready to replace your car” Mother Nature Network, March 20, 2010.
In 2008, Breeze sold his Breezer brand to Advanced Sports International of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, “Breezer: First Name in Mountain Bikes Sold” Mountain Bike Action, 1 October 2008. and since then has worked for the company as Breezer frame designer. The arrangement allowed him to concentrate on design and product development and create more bikes for a wide range of purposes.Jack Sweeney, “An Interview with Joe Breeze of Breezer Bicycles" bikecommuter.com, December 13, 2010. The company introduced Joe Breeze's new line of Breezer mountain bikes in 2010. Breeze's current designs include transportation bikes, road bikes and mountain bikes. “Breezer Bikes” Retrieved 1 March 2013.
Breezer #1 (1977) was on display at the Oakland Museum, Cowell Hall of California History,Claudia Jurmain & James Rawls, editors, California: A Place, A People, A Dream. The Oakland Museum/Chronicle Books 1986. Page 33. . from 1985 to 2011.Aquadog, “Breezer #1 at US Bicycling Hall of Fame Opening” MTBR.com, November 3, 2011. In 2012 it became part of the collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of American History “Breezer 1” ID # 2012.0066.01. Smithsonian Institution, Collections Search Center. in Washington, DC. Breezer #2 (1978), which Joe Breeze built for MountainBikes co-founder Charlie Kelly, is on display at the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame, part of the Marin Museum of Bicycling in Fairfax, California.
Breezer #9 is on display at Shimano's Bicycle Museum Cycle Center in Sakai City, Japan.Andrew in Japan, “Breezer” Dirt Rag Magazine, August 8, 2008. "Japanese Bike Museum” MTBR.com, January 8, 2009. Several Breezer bikes from the 1980s and 1990s are in the collection of The Museum of Mountain Bike Art & Technology in Statesville, NC.Museum of Mountain Bike Arts & Technology, “Click links below to view the Breezer bikes in our collection” Mombat.org. Retrieved 1 March 2013. Breeze's own 1982 (Series 3) Breezer mountain bike is on display at the US Bicycling Hall of Fame in Davis, California.Repack Rider, “US Bicycling Hall of Fame Induction” The Paceline Forum, November 6, 2012.
A major exhibition on the history of the mountain bike in Northern California, at San Francisco International Airport's SFO Museum (July 2012 to February 2013),San Francisco Airport Commission, “Exhibitions - International Terminal. From Repack to Rwanda: The Origins, Evolution, and Global Reach of the Mountain Bike.” SFO Museum, 2012. Retrieved 1 March 2013.Gary J. Boulanger, “From Repack to Rwanda - Mountain bike history on display” DirtRagmag.com, August 8, 2012. displayed 27 bikes and many related artifacts. The show was called "From Repack to Rwanda: The Origins, Evolution, and Global Reach of the Mountain Bike." Included were Joe Breeze's 1941 Schwinn-built BF GoodrichSan Francisco Airport Commission, “From Repack to Rwanda: The Origins, Evolution, and Global Reach of the Mountain Bike.” Image 1 . SFO Museum. Retrieved 1 March 2013. modified by Breeze in 1973 for off-road riding, and Breezer #6,San Francisco Airport Commission, “From Repack to Rwanda: The Origins, Evolution, and Global Reach of the Mountain Bike.” Image 3. SFO Museum. Retrieved 1 March 2013. built by Joe Breeze in 1977-78 for rider-photographer Wende Cragg. “Wende Cragg / Inducted 1989." Mountain Bike Hall of Fame. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
Joe Breeze, Otis Guy, Marc Vendetti and others are co-founders of the Marin Museum of Bicycling in Fairfax, California, which opened to the public in June 2015. Joe Breeze is Curator of the museum, which displays bicycles from the late 1860s to the present and functions as a cycling cultural center.
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