Cycling legend Jobst Brandt, author of timeless book on wheelbuilding, The Bicycle Wheel, passed on Tuesday, May 5, after a long illness, as reported by his friend Ray Hosler. He was 80 years old.
Jobst Brandt, seen in 2008. photo by Richard Masoner
Brandt’s mechanical engineering knowledge and strong opinions touched the lives of many cyclists, wheelbuilders, and usenet regulars. He worked with Porsche, Hewlitt Packard, Stanford’s Linear Accelerator and Avocet. He even helped us at Cyclocross Magazine, through his book build our first wheels. And in the early days of the Internet, provided hours of informative, entertaining and polarizing online reading about bikes.
Jobst exerted considerable influence over those he knew in the bike industry, but he was not an industry insider. Because he never worked in the bike business, he could offer his opinions about the industry without reservation. –Ray Hosler, Bay Area Bike Rides blog
He also clearly made his impact on cyclocross legend and Issue 15 coverboy, Laurence Malone. Malone wrote an eloquent bio on Brandt in 1980. Perhaps their passion for riding skinny tires on dirt roads created a bond, as Brandt’s weekly rides were legendary in straying from the paved paths.
Brandt’s vivid, almost passionate accounts of dirt road rides high in the Swiss Alps (he knows scores of obscure routes) leave little doubt as to the true nature of his involvement. He has taken his bike over snowfields and mountain meadows, and has the slides to prove it. –Laurence Malone in The Forcce Who Rides
Brandt kept riding until he was 76, when he suffered a serious crash.
He’s seen below riding the Alps in 2001, on a trip with his son Olaf.
Rest in Peace, Jobst Brandt. Better yet, keep on educating and arguing, wherever you are. The cyclists there will come to appreciate it over time.
Don’t miss: Jobst Brandt leaves behind memories to last a lifetime, by Ray Hosler
