Finding period-correct tires has become next to impossible or prohibitively expensive when restoring vintage mountain bikes. Bike industry veteran and vintage bike enthusiast, Wakeman Massie, recognized this void and founded House of Looptail to fill it. Wakeman has painstakingly recreated some of the most iconic tires in mountain bike and BMX history.

In today’s Bikes and Big Ideas conversation, Wakeman talks about some of the other well-known products he designed before getting into vintage tires, like the Travel Agent, Tooth Fairy, 1x1 Blowerdrive, Surly Singleator, and the legendary Surly 1x1 frame. Wakeman and Simon discuss the challenges of recreating tires when the drawings and molds no longer exist, why the new tires are better than the old ones, why vintage mountain bikes deserve to be ridden and not thrown in the landfill, and a whole lot more. 

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TOPICS & TIMES:

Starting out in Bike Shops (2:31)

Industrial Design Degree and Working for QBP (4:11)

Earning Trust with the Travel Agent (8:52)

Designing the Surly 1x1 (11:18)

Starting House of Looptail (23:53)

The Snake Belly Tire (30:53)

Working with Panaracer (34:40)

The New Tires are Better (37:56)

The Ritchey Megabite Z-Max (45:04)

How to Remake a Tire with No Drawings or Molds (48:53)

What's Next (52:24)

What Wakeman is Riding (55:33)

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