Travis Brown has been at the forefront of mountain biking at every turn.
The man born-and-raised in Durango had a Hall of Fame professional career as a rider, and his work on the Trek development team has transformed the construction of mountain bikes through the years, as he helped with the design of products that truly changed the game.
For all of his contributions, Brown will be recognized May 20-22 by Epic Rides at The Grand Junction Off-Road race. At each Epic Rides race event, one mountain bike industry icon is selected as a dedication recipient. Brown joins this year’s class with Sue Haywood, who was honored at The Whiskey Off-Road in Prescott, Arizona, and Gary Fisher, who will be recognized at The Carson City Off-Road on June 17-19 in Nevada.
“I was very flattered when Epic Rides contacted me,” Brown said in a phone interview with The Durango Herald. “It’s a chance to get to another event.”
Along with this year’s dedication recipients, Brown joins the company of Stan Koziatek of Stan’s Notubes, Keith Bontrager, Mike Curiak, Dave Wiens, Susan DeMattai, Alison Dunlap and many more.
“I’ve been in the bike industry for a long time, and I’m flattered to be in the company that’s been dedicated in the past,” Brown said. “Some people think this is kind of a big community, but it’s kind of a small industry, and we all know each other in one way or another.”
Todd Sadow, president of the Epic Rides promotion, said Brown was an easy selection for this year’s event 168 miles north of his hometown.
“Epic Rides recruits people that have had a lasting impact on the mountain bike community/industry. Anyone from pioneers to racers to promoters,” Sadow said in an email to The Herald. “Travis is an icon. His history in mountain biking transcends multiple categories of our considerations. Yes, everyone knows him for his racing exploits, but he’s also contributed a great deal to advancing the sport.”
Brown burst on the scene with a 10th-place finish at the first mountain bike world championships at Purgatory Resort in 1990. He joined the Trek team in 1993 and has been with the company ever since. He made the 2000 Summer Olympics in Australia, and he won two single-speed world championships. He’s a five-time Colorado state cyclocross champion, and he won the NORBA National Cross-Country title in 1999. Those accolades earned him a place in the Marin Museum of Bicycling Mountain Bike Hall of Fame.
But Brown has found as much satisfaction delivering cutting edge technology to Trek as he did in his racing career. He was at the forefront of development for 29-inch mountain bikes, fat bikes and several mechanical components that have helped grow the sport.
“He’s been around since the beginning and has been really instrumental in a lot of development,” said Durangoan and three-time Olympian Todd Wells. “He’s been on the cutting edge and a real innovator of technology and equipment, and we’ve all benefitted.”
Brown said he gets great enjoyment out of testing and still enjoys racing, especially when he can try but new products. He is excited to ride a singlespeed at the Grand Junction event after being honored at Rockslide Brewery at 8 p.m. May 21. He will be presented with a custom etched bottle of wine from local vineyard Canyon Wind Cellars.
Brown, 46, said he has been lucky to translate his 20-year racing career into such a big role with Trek. The rider known for his unique hair styles, signature sideburns, big earrings and singlespeed prowess wouldn’t change any of it for a minute.
“I was in a fortunate occupation where if you thought maybe you wanted to try out red hair that it wasn’t something you would get fired for,” he joked. “I indulged a little bit to try things like that. A shaved head, a colored head, whether or not to wear a beard. That was fun, for sure.”
Always an innovator in style and function, there’s no telling what Brown will help create next.
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
