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Rock Lobster

The Rock Lobster brand was coined by Paul Sadoff in Santa Cruz in 1984 to differentiate his new custom mountain bikes from his existing road bike efforts. Paul starting making road frames in 1978 while apprenticed to Ross Shafer of Salsa, branding them with either “Routier”¹⁾ or simply “Sadoff.”

I used to hand paint my name on the bikes but in 1984 I started building mountain bike frames. I thought, “Well, they can’t have my name on them. They have to have some sort of other name.” And I came up with the name of using Rock Lobster because I thought, “There’s Rockhopper, there’s Stumpjumper, Diamondback… all these macho names.” I thought, “Screw that. I want something that’s irreverent. Call it a Rock Lobster. It has nothing to do with riding in the dirt but it has the name ‘rock’ in there.” Paul Sadoff bikerumor

Paul Sadoff produced about 25 bicycles each year from 1978 to present, with total output about 400 road bikes, 250 cyclocross, 200 mountain bike, 100 single speeds and about 50 others.

Sources:

Paul Sadoff, April 2022 outspokencyclist

silver head tube badge headbadges

1984

Frame #2. Paul: “I am now the first and subsequently fourth owner as I got the frame back about 2011 and restored it for the 2012 NAHBS in Sacramento. The equipment is almost exactly what I put on the bike when I first built it up. The pedals are modern as the originals are long gone and were not all that great anyway. The bike first had a Campagnolo rally rear der. but a stick destroyed it after a year of riding in the forests around Santa Cruz. ”

1984 rocklobstershop

1985

Frame #029. All rebuilt.

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1986

1986 MTB #16. Correct XT front derailleur and newer, short cage rear XT. Below handle bar XC thumbies.

1986 rocklobstershop

1987

Serial #045. XT M732? (1989) derailleur, other components are M730 (1987-88). Full XT, including hubs. Paul states that the components, except the saddle are original.

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1988

Serial #046WB. Shimano Sport LX? gruppo, fillet brazed frame.

1988 rocklobstershop

1989

Mostly Shimano XT

1989 mtbr

1990

Fillet brazed, Shimano Deore MT-62 rears.

1990 crankbased

1991 Bike

Fillet brazed, Deore XT

1991 Bike mombat

1992

Full Shimano LX components. Signed by Paul Sadoff. Built for Interbike to show off the orginal suspension fork, since replaced with a Tange. “Manhattan Squares” custom paint job. As shown in the Novemeber 1992 Bicycle Guide.

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