Mountain bike legend John Tomac rarely did just one thing. And that’s exactly what makes a new episode of Insider MTB worth a listen. In episode 25, host Austin White sits down with Tomac for a wide-ranging conversation that traces his path from BMX prodigy to one of cycling’s most versatile pioneers.
“Well, yeah I’m human. I guess I’m pretty ambitious at the same time and and enjoyed, you know, a lot of different aspects of cycling.” Tomac says.
When asked how he would present himself “as a racer,” Tomac shrugs off the idea of a formal resume.
“Well, I was in a position where I really didn’t need a resume most of my life.”
Mountain biking before it was a sport
Tomac describes stumbling into mountain biking in mid-1980s Southern California. Races were loosely organized and equipment would barely hold together.
Timing systems? A stopwatch. Courses? Rough fire roads. Bikes? Rigid frames with sketchy brakes.
“Man, it was gnarly… sketchy cantilever brakes and no suspension.”
He also remembers promoter-run events that felt more underground than official.
“There were all these crazy bootleg races all over the national forest or whatever.”
Gravel before gravel and suspension
The episode revisits one of Tomac’s most iconic experiments: racing mountain bikes with drop handlebars. He explains it as a practical decision while juggling road and off-road racing, not a statement about style.
“That was one season.”
Tomac also points out that his winter training bikes closely resembled what riders now call gravel bikes.
“We built cross bikes. But it was a gravel bike basically.”
Perhaps the most relatable moment comes when he describes the arrival of suspension.
“You don’t know what you’re missing until you have it”
Choosing his own path
The conversation also touches on Tomac’s road career and why he stepped away from Europe’s pro scene. By the early 1990s, he says, it no longer provided what he wanted from racing.
“That’s not for me. Do I want to race against a bunch of dopers?”
Why it still resonates
Tomac comes across not as an untouchable legend but as a rider who kept chasing whatever looked fun, fast or new.
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Canadian Cycling Magazine…