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Lawwill-Knight Overview
Motorcycle racing legend Mert Lawwill and Terry Knight were convinced by Don Koski to go into making mountain bikes. Don Koski would later who would go onto making the Koski Trailmaster. Long before they were popular, or commercially successful. By 1982, Specialized and Univega's entry into mass production squeezed cheaper makers, especially those who had other lucrative careers to pursue.
Mert Lawwill circa 1979 at Corona Raceway on his Pro Cruiser.
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Lawwill-Knight Pro Cruiser
Inspired by the Schwinn Varsity, early Pro Cruisers had “these itty bitty Sturmery-Archer street drum brakes with spiral wound cable housing.”1) Later upgraded with cantilever brakes and a front derailleur. A clear evolutionary link between cruisers and mountain bikes. Original cost was $500.
Lawwill-Knight Pro Cruiser.
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Production Notes
[1]. First bike in 1978, 600 made by 1982: Cycle World
[2]. 75 bikes in 1979: The Birth of Dirt (3rd ed.) by Frank J. Berto
[3]. 600 made in total. Last year: 1982. See: dirtscrolls.com