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DBR

If you've known me for any length of time, then you've likely heard me talk about DBR bikes and how awesome they were.  For anyone who hasn't heard, here's a quick lesson: DBR stands for Diamond Back Racing.  The bikes were made in the mid-late 90's, the golden age for mountain biking.  This was before there was XC or trail, enduro or free ride.  This is when you just bought a mountain bike.  And when you did, you got an aggressive bike.  A quick handling, scary-to-ride-down-a-hill bike.  Sure, they were uncomfortable, but the were fast.  And fun.
Like anything that etches ones memory, these bikes more than define the top of the market, they define the time.  This is when Ned Overend and John Tomac were battling it out every weekend.  When Cadel  Evans was tearing it up on the world mountain bike circuit.  When Tinker Juarez was...well, he's always been awesome.  Anodized colors were the rage and suspension was just gaining acceptance.  
This is also when road trips with friends to far-off trails for epic rides began.   And that, more than anything else, defined those bikes for us.  The good times we had on and off these bikes during those road trips made memories that we still talk about.  This was the time of our lives, some of the most memorable moments ever.  Moments we had on our DBR mountain bikes.  To us, that made these bikes the best ever made.
We're all older now and we've all switched to newer full suspension bikes.  Comfort is the rule of the day.  Every one of us still has the DBR bikes that we used to ride and still ride them occasionally.  I still love riding my yellow Team Issue.  I can't ride it as long as I used to, or as fast.  But it sure brings back the memories.

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