John Cowan Launches Cowan Bikes, Debuts Carbon Dirt Jump Frame

We all remember John Cowan as the original new school freerider and the guy who thought tricks were the way to go when everyone else was still trying to huck and skid. Spending more than a decade as a pro-rider/designer, grinding out the framework of what is slopestyle today, Cowan designed and built the lion’s share of the most memorable courses and features during the Bush years of freeride.

Cowan was also the brainchild behind one of the first dirt jump specific hardtails he Kona Cowan and the first slopestyle bike, the Kona Cowan DS.

Now, the long-time legend of the sport has officially launched his own bike company -Cowan Bikes. The company's first product? A carbon fiber dirt jump frame weighing in at less than five pounds.

Who says jump bikes need to be made with 19th Century technology? Steel is great... if you are making a trailer hitch. - John Cowan

As seen in this image, the seatpost is a fixed part of the frame. The height is not adjustable.

Cowan is aware that this bike might not suit everyone's tastes, as he mentions in this video:

We've gathered that the company is developing four full suspension models in addition to the dirt jumping frame in both carbon and aluminum varieties.

Cowan Bikes' mission is to make the most technologically and artfully advanced park and freeride bikes, regardless of profit or marketability. When working with Product Managers, Cowan was often called the 'Anti-Consumer.' To that he says, "Henry Ford said, 'If I listened to my customers we would all still be riding horses.' "

For more information on Cowan's new company and the carbon fiber dirt jump frame, visit www.cowanbikes.com.