Rest in piece Mr. Blackburn. Your racks were prized and imitated.

Jim Backburn was another bike industry person that changed things. Prior to Blackburn racks, there were Eclipse or Pletcher. The Blackburn racks were sturdy enough for touring, the rack was triangulated side to side. It was a clever design and all welded construction made it stiff. The they followed that up with low rider racks and bottle cages. Good stuff.

At some point, Jim Blackburn sold the company and their products. "Blackburn" named products are sold in places like Walmart. I've got a Blackburn pump and tool kit. Both are excellent values. So, Bell sports is doing a decent job of keeping the name and quality going.