Today, we are sharing the sad news out of Fairfax, California. Bike industry pioneer Charlie Cunningham has passed away at the age of 78. Eleven years ago, Charlie was riding bikes with his wife, Jaquie Phelan, and was involved in an accident. He suffered life-altering injuries and has been living in a care facility since.

(Photo / Charlie Kelly Facebook)

Unfortunately, in my many years in the industry, I never had the opportunity to meet Charlie in person. But, as I ride my mountain bike, I’ve definitely enjoyed his many contributions to the sport. And, in so many different ways.

1988 Cunningham Racer (Photo / Vintage Mountain Bike Workshop)

Way back in 1982, along with master framebuilder Steve Potts and Mark Slate, Charlie co-founded the brand Wilderness Trail Bikes (WTB). And he and Potts ran it from 1982 to 2002. WTB was one of the pioneers, and arguably one, if not the first, aftermarket brand to start making mountain bike-specific parts during the emerging sport’s infancy.

(Photo / Cunningham Bicycles)

A lot of these inventions in bike parts came from Charlie Cunningham’s visionary mind, and they played an instrumental part in steering mountain bikes away from their roots in road biking. Charlie was also one of the very early adopters, proponents, and builders of aluminum frames.

Charlie may be gone and will be missed by many. But he leaves a monster legacy behind that helped make mountain biking the amazing sport it is today. And that legacy will never go away.

Pedal in Peace Charlie.

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