Charlie Cunningham (born August 23, 1948) is a

mountain biker Mountain biking is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and pe ...

from

Fairfax, California Fairfax is an incorporated town in Marin County, California, United States. Fairfax is located west-northwest of San Rafael, at an elevation of . The population was 7,605 at the 2020 census. History The Coast Miwok Native Americans occupied ...

. Along with frame builder Steve Potts and his helper Mark Slate, Cunningham co-founded

Wilderness Trail Bikes Wilderness Trail Bikes (usually shortened to WTB) is a privately owned company based in Marin County, California, USA. Founded in 1982 as a company that specialized in mountain bike parts, today WTB sources and sells its product worldwide supplyi ...

(WTB). Cunningham and Potts were forced out of WTB in 2002 for undisclosed reasons, at the urging of WTB's CEO, Patrick Seidler. Cunningham and his wife,

Jacquie Phelan Jacquie Phelan (born December 10, 1955 in San Francisco, California) is an American road and cyclocross racer, and was the NORBA champion three consecutive years—1983, 1984, and 1985. Phelan is known through the US mountain bike community for h ...

, are charter inductees to Crested Butte's Mountain Bike Hall of Fame.

Early life

Cunningham came from an air force family and lived in Alabama, Virginia, Japan, and San Diego during his childhood, ultimately settling in

Mill Valley Mill Valley is a city in Marin County, California, United States, located about north of San Francisco via the Golden Gate Bridge and from Napa Valley. The population was 14,231 at the 2020 census. Mill Valley is located on the western and ...

Mount Tamalpais Mount Tamalpais (; ; Miwok languages, Miwok: ''Támal Pájiṣ''), known locally as Mount Tam, is a mountain, peak in Marin County, California, Marin County, California, United States, often considered symbolic of Marin County. Much of Mount Tama ...

, Marin County. His father, Bruce Cunningham, was a World War II and

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

fighter pilot who won the Thompson Trophy in 1949, the only year military jets (F-86) competed. His mother, Carol, was a book artist whose imprint ''Sunflower Press'' is found in several museum collections. In his twenties, Cunningham studied nutrition, water quality, and chemistry, as well as engineering. At 25, he became interested in bicycles.

Inventions

In the early 1980s, Cunningham invented a number of features for use on modern mountain bikes: * tubular-style fork crowns * 135 mm lower-dish rear wheel for mountain bikes, which are now the standard * identifying the fundamental tread design principles needed for well-performing mountain bike tires. Cunningham co-designed Ground Control, a tire incorporating these principles. * the Grease Guard Bearing System that allows bicyclists to replace the dirty grease that gets into bicycle bearings with clean grease in seconds, thus extending component life and saving time and money spent fixing and/or replacing parts. * the Roller Cam Brake. The brake arms, the pivot mounting location, and the linkage combined to eliminate flex in the fork blades and frame stays. This brake also featured the linear spring he invented, now used on almost all V-Brakes. The cam was eventually replaced with the Lever Link.

Competitive career

Cunningham raced competitively in 1984, placing tenth overall at the NORBA championships in

Nederland, Colorado Nederland (, ) is a statutory town located near Barker Meadow Reservoir in the foothills of southwest Boulder County, Colorado, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census it had a population of 1,445. History Nederland was established in ...

. He became National Vet Champion at the age of 36. Cunningham built a total of 187 aluminum bicycles (the Indian, the Racer, and the Wombat for smaller people) between 1979 and 1992. They were guaranteed for life and cost about six times as much as custom (steel) bikes. He is now a freelance inventor working on environmentally sustainable projects.

References

External links

Cunningham's page
at the MTB Hall of Fame {{DEFAULTSORT:Cunningham, Charlie Living people American male cyclists Cycle designers Mountain bike innovators Cyclists from California People from Fairfax, California Sportspeople from Marin County, California Tamalpais High School alumni 1948 births