Bryn Johnson: Comfortable without Fame

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The Rocky Mountain parts warehouse was cobbled together in an old office space with a ratty beige carpet and rough 2X4 benches quickly nailed together for the packing / shipping of Japanese bike parts. As one of our first employees, Chris Turton was the Parts Manager, and he was trying to maintain sales and viability of this department, a legacy from the company’s beginnings.

When Chris came to me in 1991 to request additional help for the upcoming busy spring season, I reluctantly agreed to continue for one more season to support this dwindling division. Chris had heard about a young guy named Bryn Johnson who was seeking full-time work. Bryn was an unassuming, sandy-haired 20-yr.-old, who came with a passion for designing lightweight titanium parts for mountain bikes, but he had no mechanical engineering or design experience.

Bryn remembers the call from Chris Turton, inviting him to come and work for the parts department, “In those days and hopefully still today, anyone into bikes wanted to work for Rocky. Being part of the coolest team and having that name on your hat, and your bicycle, you were talked about.”

Bryn, like all of us, looked up to Carlos, who had exceptional bike handling skills. One morning, Carlos came back through the warehouse to the plywood counter that Bryn packed and shipped parts from. Standing there in his wet gear, he tilted the bike on its side and displayed the damage, “Sunday, I came off when I was riding a slick log. All the weight came down onto my pedal. Look at this, I bent the crank arm pretty badly.”

A “crank” is one of the crucial parts of a bike that attaches you to your frame via pedals and the rear wheel via a chain. In the early 1990’s engineers focused on keeping cranks light, but this often created issues with durability. If cranks flexed too much, they could break, bend, or cause the chain to fall off. Bryn felt that the big company designers were placing too much emphasis on weight. He wondered why a rider should sacrifice stiffness and durability.

Bryn came to visit me in my office with a couple of pencil sketches on 8 ½” X 11” paper. In a deferential manner he said, “Hey sorry to bother you, Grayson. I know you have more important things to do, but I wanted to get your go-ahead on machining some prototypes of a new crank I designed.”

“It’s Bryn, right? Good to see you.” I motioned him to sit down. “Do you think we can out-design the engineers at Shimano XT cranks?”

“Yeah, I’m no engineer,” Bryn said. “But from what I know, I-beams are widely used in engineering due to their high strength-to-weight ratio. These cranks will be machined from 7005 aluminum, but it will be heavier than the XT.”

I picked up the paper with the pencil drawings of a crank, then looked across my black arborite desk at Bryn’s warm, expectant smile. “Bryn, we’re bike manufacturers. Can we start producing parts, especially cranks? I don’t have time for more innovation.” And I thought to myself, “What does this guy know?”

“Yeah, it’s going to be a lot of work, but this winter I’ll have time. If you give me the contacts and finances, I promise I’ll deliver you ten machined prototypes.

Two years later, in the winter of 1994, Bryn's "Turbine" crank design marked a significant shift in design for the industry. The newly established company, called “RaceFace” quickly became known for this rugged-looking crank. Test riders from magazines lauded the durability and rider-centric design, compared with the big brands who were highly polished and weight-focused. But Bryn's design and engineering reputation was somehow never celebrated.

Recently, I asked Bryn, “That was a radical shift you made in bicycle parts design. Do you ever mind that your pivotal role hasn’t been fully recognized?”

Bryn calmly redirected the conversation, saying, “Grayson, you were the one who brought the vision for RaceFace to life—everything from the name to the strategy and the funding. None of it would have happened without you.”

It was a pleasant moment of disagreement, where neither of us felt the need to claim the title of “number one.”

I've worked with people who gravitate all the attention towards themselves, constantly seeking the spotlight. But being around Bryn is a refreshing change. He is generous with sharing the credit and confident enough to accept—and give—honor where it’s due. Many of us have spent a lifetime showing others “what I do”. Bryn possesses a quiet self-assurance that allows him to live fully, inspiring those around him to feel confident and valued.

As Bryn said to me about his role in RaceFace; “It’s not about who’s getting the attention; it’s about getting things done and celebrating everyone who has played a part.”

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I would love to connect with you on LinkedIn, Facebook, or Instagram​

See you next week,

Grayson

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