Singletracks Mountain Bike News

Lennard Zinn is a bike designer and frame builder with a shop  in Louisville, Colorado. He was a member of the U.S. Olympic cycling team and worked with Tom Ritchey on some of the earliest mountain bikes. He’s also the author of Zinn and the Art of Mountain Bike Maintenance, one of the world’s best selling guides to mountain bike repair. In this episode we ask: How did you get into designing and building bikes? Zinn and the Art of MTB Maintenance was first published in 1996, and it’s now in its 6th edition. What’s changed over the years? Are today’s bikes easier to work on than bikes were 10, or 20 years ago? Why? What are the challenges involved in fitting taller riders? What have you learned about crank lengths over the years? Do tall cyclists have any particular advantages when it comes to power or bike handling? What are the considerations in terms of frame design for bigger and heavier riders? Is any of this applicable to more aggressive mountain bike designs, and vice versa? What are t