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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 long before they were popular, or commercially successful. Don Koski would later who would go onto making the Koski Trailmaster. 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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1978 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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1982 Lawwill-Knight Trail-Blazer
Not original parts or fork. Purchased direct from Mert Lawwill in Tiburon.
1982 Lawwill-Knight Trail-Blazer
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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: 1983. See: dirtscrolls.com