Tom Teesdale, Renowned Bike Designer, Dies During RAGBRAI

An internationally-known bicycle designer who grew up in Niota and attended Western Illinois University died while riding on RAGBRAI Monday.

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Sixty-three-year-old Tom Teesdale of West Branch built custom frames for bicycles. University of Iowa professor Steve McGuire taught design classes with Teesdale and says a cyclist who got a Teesdale bike frame was like a violinist who got a Stradavarius.

Some of Teesdale’s innovations are now standard components of mountain bike frames. A bicycle Teesdale built is in the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame in Europe and there’s one in the U.S. Mountain Bike Hall of Fame, too.

McGuire now builds bicycles, too, after learning the craft from Teesdale. McGuire has gone through about 23 Teesdale bike frames over the years and four remain in his garage, ready for a ride.  McGuire spent time on the phone Tuesday, talking with friends and admirers of Teesdale.

RAGBRAI officials say Teesdale suffered from a medical condition while riding his bicycle near Graettinger Monday and was pronounced dead at a local hospital. Teesdale began building bike frames in 1976. His business is called T-E-T Cycles and the company’s website says he has built “thousands” of custom bikes during his career.