The History of the Energy Return Bicycle, ERB

The History of the Energy Return Bicycle, ERB

The history of the ERB is really a story about its inventor Mark Groendal’s passion forperformance.

It all began when Mark was a just a kid riding his minibike (see picture). His hours of fun changed when the down tube broke causing the top tube to flex. The minibike bowed, like a spring, like a suspension frame. Though he had the framed welded up, he always remembered that feeling.

When Mark was 19 he saw kids riding BMX bikes going off jumps and making hard landings. That minibike moment came back as a way to make a smoother ride. He cut apart a BMX frame and incorporated a small section of snow ski into the top tube. This was too flexible, so he added a cable and spring to control the flex.

Then he took his new bicycle to a BMX track to perform time trials. His bike out-performed the conventional bikes and so began the Erbolution. Mark got a physics book from an engineering friend and learned about springs and friction. He studied energy transference and dampening to understand how his idea worked. It basically increased the powerstroke through non-dampened frame flex.

At age 22, Mark patented the Sling Shot bicycle and in 1981 began building his vision. Mark left Slingshot in 2000 to work with Robert Shook, a retired aerospace engineer from McDonald-Douglas, and together they created the Energy Return Bicycle System- the driving technology of the new Erb bicycle.

Mark’s designs have always been fast. His bikes have won many BMX, Mountain, Road and Triathlon races. In one of the NORBA national finals three of Mark’s pro team members, Martin Stenger, Will Black and John Shell all placed in the top twenty. That was more than any other manufacturer’s team could claim that year. At the same venue, one of Mark’s team members Bobby Lawson won the national final Trials event.

Now with the new ERB system Mark says the bikes are even faster, smoother and now very light weight. The Erb truly is the next logical step in the evolution of bicycle frame design. Smart and Simple… less to break, easier to maintain and best of all… FAST!

Join the ERBolution

E-mail: sales@energyreturnbicycle.com