#Kona joe murray bike full#
The carbon Pivot Shuttle relies on the Shimano STEPS E8000 drive, and at 44 pounds is one of the lightest full suspension E-MTBs available, but only in Europe for now. I like to think we used this early E-MTB Shimano testing experience when we started with Shimano’s first bottom bracket drive unit (E6000) for commuter bikes. In this respect, we’ve been testing off-road electric bikes for over a decade in one form or another.
Many of these projects never get produced. There’s a division at Shimano where we come up with ideas and produce prototypes for testing and proof of concept. When did the discussion in Japan begin about Shimano STEPS, and when was the first working prototype installed on a bike in your Flagstaff workshop? We spoke recently about the genesis of the Japanese giant’s foray into e-bikes in this exclusive interview. The 54-year-old has a shop in Flagstaff, Arizona, where he tests the latest Shimano STEPS electric mountain bike power plant. Murray was inducted in the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame in 1988, and hasn’t rested on his laurels since.
#Kona joe murray bike series#
1985 racing in the Suntour Pacific States Series in Bend, Oregon. A quarter century ago Murray became a skunkworks tester for the mighty component maker Shimano, providing critical feedback before, during and after the prototype and production process.
This led to stints designing bikes for Bob Buckley’s Marin Bicycles, Kona and VooDoo. As a teenager growing up in Marin County, California, Joe Murray built wheels and assembled bicycles for mountain bike pioneer Gary Fisher, before becoming a national champion cross-country racer.
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