Bart Brentjens and his former team-mate from 1993, Henk Schipper, are breathing new life into the American Eagle brand. Exactly 20 years ago, Brentjens rode a bike of this brand to his first ever Olympic victory in mountain biking in Atlanta.
The brand name American Eagle is quite old. Older than the mountain bike, anyway. In the 1960s, West Coast Cycle originally sold bicycles manufactured in Japan under this name in the USA. However, because the American-sounding name was perceived as insincere for the Japanese products, the brand was renamed Nishiki (source: Wikipedia).
The name then faded into obscurity until the 1990s, when Brentjens and other mountain bike stars, including Sabine Spitz (1999), celebrated success on Storck bikes bearing the American Eagle label.
The current owner of the naming rights, Henk Schipper, is not only known in the bicycle industry as the founder of the Fast Forward wheel brand, but is also an old companion of Brentjens. They rode together in the national team of the Dutch army in 1993. Together, they are now bringing the brand back into the world of cycling. The first American Eagle mountain bikes should be ready for series production and available in spring 2017. Website: www.americaneagle.online
Sebastian Brust
Editor
