Motorcycling and mountain biking lost one of their most influential architects this week. Mert Lawwill, a man whose name is synonymous with speed, suspension innovation, and the golden era of American racing, passed away on May 6, 2026, at his home in Idaho. He was 85 years old and surrounded by family and friends. Now I know why all the flags here in Idaho were at half mast yesterday…
To many, Mert was the smooth-riding star of Bruce Brown’s 1971 classic On Any Sunday. To those in the mountain bike world, he was the visionary who helped pull our sport out of the “klunker” era and into the world of high-performance suspension.
Born and raised in Boise, Idaho, Mert was the son of a house painter and a schoolteacher. He grew up as one of seven children, developing an early reputation for using his creative ingenuity to dodge chores in favor of mechanics and motion. That drive eventually led him to the pinnacle of motorcycle racing.
A Mountain Bike Pioneer
When Mert transitioned his engineering mindset to the bicycle industry, the results were nothing short of revolutionary. Long before mountain biking became mainstream, Mert produced the PRO CRUISER in 1977, one of the world’s first production mountain bikes.
The Four-Bar Linkage: Lawwill designed and patented a four-bar suspension system that became a cornerstone for brands like Yeti Cycles and Schwinn…