Previewed: Tomac DB10 Limited Edition

The JT Cinelli signature drop bars

The actual bike the Johnny used to win the World Championships in 1991 still exists—it happens to be the prized possession of magazine veteran Zapata Espinoza (who currently works at High Torque Publications), as it was a gift from Yeti co-founder John Parker. Joel knew that Zap had the bike and talked him into shipping it off to be reunited with Chris Herting, who took all the frame measurements off of it.

“We really wanted it to be a modernized version of the old bike, so while we kept the basic geometry the same, we wanted to have improvements to make it rideable by today’s standards,” Smith said. “The DP10 has disc brake tabs, 73-millimeter-wide BB and standard head tube for a threadless headset.”

The DB10 is built by Chris Herting from straight gauge chromoly steel. It has original Johnny T signature Cinelli bars that Smith and company bought brand new out of someone’s private stash in Germany. The frame and fork were painted by Spectrum Powder works in Colorado Springs, Colorado, to mimic Tomac’s legendary eagle’s wing design. The fork is a Manitou R7 model custom painted to resemble the early Manitous that Doug Bradbury built and Tomac raced. The only branding on the frame is Tomac’s signature on the top tube. Due in part to the very limited supply of Tomac Signature Cinelli bars, there will only be 10 of these bikes made, in celebration of Tomac Bikes’ 10-year anniversary.

The build includes a Dura Ace STI rear shifter and rear derailleur matched with a Bar-con front shifter and XTR front derailleur, cranks, cassette and pedals. Avid mechanical disc brakes are used to maintain drop bar compatibility, the wheels are Mavic Crossmax SLR, and the cockpit is held together courtesy of a Thomson stem and post. The price is estimated to be $5700.

It doesn’t have a Horst Link, an Instant Center or anti-squat, but to those who remember John Tomac as one of the brightest icons during the early years of competitive mountain biking, the Tomac DB10 is a nostalgic kick in the pants. Keep your eyes peeled for these very limited edition bikes, and consider yourself lucky should you spy one.

The signed top tube.

The custom painted Manitou fork

The rear Dura Ace derailleur

Reader Comments 

Posted Thu May 8, 2008, 12:03 AM — By sevy

fucking sickbird that Tomac was. I remember seeing him sweep the 90 Norba Nat. @ Mt. Snow on that rig. Uphill TT, XC & DH - a true bad ass of the era. I can't imagine another rider EVER being talented enough to be able to pull off a sweep like that today.

Posted Tue May13, 2008, 10:45 PM — By chad

Love the Tomac DB10. I would love to see the north shore boys try to do a 15 ft.drop on that ram horned hardtail.

Posted Fri Jun 6, 2008, 1:14 PM — By hoon

i remember those days..... i defniitely would pick one up.

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