The connection between the Dead and mountain bike culture is closer than many realize — there is a surprising amount of overlap between the people involved in early mountain bikes and psychedelia, with Gary Fisher himself having feet planted in both worlds. Charlie Kelly of Fat Tire Flyer, Repack, and the very formation of what became modern mountain bikes interviewed Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead on a ride with Fisher way back in 1992, published in Dirt Rag #23, sold out since the '90s, and remaining an impossible to find print copy to complete the set. Back in the early 2000s I had to purchase a copy from a collector to complete the in-house Dirt Rag set, and it hasn't gotten any easier to find in the years since. Between us here at Footdown there exists a single copy, and we made some fresh scans of this classic piece with the ads of the day intact.

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Bob Weir: ““I’ve heard…that the bicycle is the most efficient machine ever devised by man in terms of calories expended for work done. Philosophically, I like that a lot. It’s Technology, Servant of Man, in its very finest form.”

Along with the wool socks and baselayers, when cold weather outdoor adventure season comes around I dig for the lighter fluid. This is my love letter to the classic Zippo refillable handwarmer.

The first time I spied a friend with one of these, I was beyond intrigued. Fill it, light it, put it in your pocket? Just a sense of danger, pairs well with flannel, and it makes me feel like my grandpa. Tell me more. I bought one later that night.

Johnny Coast is the friendliest face out there, building modern classic rando bikes out of his long standing Brooklyn workshop. Bike Kill to Paris-Brest-Paris, Johnny gets it and is just a total joy to talk and gawk over bikes with. On a quick shop visit over the summer where these images were gleaned we spent way more time leafing through old bike reference materials than much else, a pretty perfect couple of hours talking aesthetics and history.

CHUNK 666 was a tall bike, chopper, trike and other self-powered hacked together wheeled vehicle club out of Portland and New York that put out this ‘zine in 1999 prior to Y2k regrettably not sending us back to the iron-age. Recycled bike collectives were in their infancy, steel frames of the ‘80s and ‘90s were plentiful, and urban bike culture across the country was brewing with an energy that would yield the bike-ped infrastructure of today. Few saw it coming in the day, but it is truly a culturally direct line from tall bike jousting to separated bike lane.

The final look at the Dirt Rag shop, where countless ideas have been explored, arguments had, wrenches turned, and beers downed. I first entered the shop as a wide-eyed 14-year-old sometime in late 1995, right about the same time that Jerry’s handprint went up, and could have never dreamed about what would play out between that moment and standing in the basement back in 2020 mourning the end of an era.

Chris Bishop builds out of his shop in Baltimore, and is a perennial favorite to see at shows as his bikes always have the details that make you stop and marvel at the finesse involved. Reformed courier and master craftsman, Chris blends classical bicycle forms and breaking the rules into remarkable final bikes. Take note of the Columbus fluted tubes, 3Rensho finned lugs, and plate seatstay bridge on this particularly memorable track build from the 2016 Philly Bike Expo.