Tomac is one of the most famous names in mountain biking, largely down to the iconic race career of John of that ilk. Shortly before retiring, John Tomac launched his own bike brand. This ran for a good few years before it all went a bit wrong. But now it's back. Joel Smith, formerly of Answer Products, bought the Tomac brand from owners American Bicycle Group last year, and since then the company has been rebuilt from scratch with all-new bikes due out in June.

Obviously JT himself is heavily involved in the company that bears his name. And there are some industry heavyweights working on the design side, too. The forthcoming XC and trail bikes are the works of David Earle, former Director of Engineering at Santa Cruz Bicycles, while the DH bike is the product of a collaboration between long-time Tomac ally Doug Bradbury and former K2 designer Mark Landsaat.

UK riders will be able to get hold of Tomac bikes through freshly-announced exclusive UK dealer Stif Mountain Bikes. "We're extremely pleased to have been approached to launch Tomac in the UK," says Stif's Ian Phillips. "The new team behind Tomac secured our immediate confidence and respect for what is lined up to be a great new prospect."

The official UK launch will be at the tenth anniversary T-Mobile Giant Mountain Mayhem in June. Demo bikes will be available and a Stif/Tomac team will be racing.

Want to know more? Tomac Bikes is at www.tomac.com. And while you're clicking around, check out photographer Tom Moran's site for loads of great shots of John Tomac in action over the years...