{"id":49,"date":"2020-02-13T21:35:01","date_gmt":"2020-02-13T21:35:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jralong.com\/MountainBikeMadness\/?page_id=49"},"modified":"2021-01-29T21:54:51","modified_gmt":"2021-01-29T21:54:51","slug":"excerpt-mountain-bike-history","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/mountainbikemadness.net\/?page_id=49","title":{"rendered":"Excerpt"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

CHAPTER 1: THE GROOVY ROOTS<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

How did it all begin?\u00a0 The question comes up repeatedly.\u00a0 It\u2019s often asked at bike shops or to crusty guys who claim to have been there when it all began.\u00a0 If you\u2019re lucky, you posed the question to a raconteur.\u00a0 Here\u2019s what you might hear:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The Creation Myth<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Not so long ago, in a place somewhat far away, a bicycle was born. Just as the 1970s oil crisis was fading, in a far-western province named Marin, on a mountain called Tam, some enlightened folks brought forth the mountain bike.\u00a0 Three hippie hedonist free spirits were pushing their old bikes to the top of the mountain to bomb down it.\u00a0 These bikes were heavy, one-speed, coaster-brake deals that most people would be embarrassed to own, let alone ride.\u00a0 These bikes were known as \u201ccruisers\u201d or \u201cnewsboys\u201d\u2014sometimes \u201cballoon tire bicycles\u201d because the two-inch tire with an inner tube was a revolutionary bicycle product in the United States in the 1930s.\u00a0 These old steeds were the antithesis of the skinny-tired, drop-handlebar road racers that had taken the country by storm due to the oil crisis.\u00a0 These were the bikes they tossed when they left childhood behind. Klunkers.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Appearances didn\u2019t matter to this band of thrill-seeking souls.\u00a0 They wore heavy boots and layers of thick clothing to protect them if they biffed.\u00a0 Danger?\u00a0 It was present, but the rush was worth it.\u00a0 It was the embodiment of freedom.\u00a0\u00a0 It was like they were kids again, in the woods behind their house.\u00a0\u00a0 Only their mom wasn\u2019t going to complain if they came home scraped up.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 They told a few friends and their friends told a few friends, and before you could say Eddy Merckx, they had an event.\u00a0 The Repack was the ride because they\u2019d have to repack their ancient coasters brake hubs after each run.\u00a0 They\u2019d have to repack because the heat generated by employing the brake overheated the hub to the point that the grease liquefied and then dried out.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Repacking was the least of it.\u00a0 Finding bikes suitable for the task was difficult.\u00a0 Most of the coolest frames were old and rare and so unappreciated that even junkyards weren\u2019t taking them.\u00a0 Replacement parts were hard to find.\u00a0 Breakage was common, so available stock was running out fast.\u00a0 This gang was not familiar with limits, so they learned how to weld so they could fix broken frames.\u00a0 Then they started improving frames before they broke.\u00a0 Next, somebody added a rear derailleur and a five-speed freewheel.\u00a0\u00a0 Presto! The bike could go uphill as well as down.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The junk supply was almost gone.\u00a0 Shazam!\u00a0 Somebody went out and built a frame just for the task. It was such a good idea; everybody of the Repack gang wanted one.\u00a0\u00a0 The bikes were built and bought.\u00a0 And the new bikes were lighter and didn\u2019t have to be overhauled after each run.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 And word started to go out.\u00a0 Whispers reached beyond Marin to other parts of the Bay Area.\u00a0 The bike was aggro.\u00a0 The bike was cool.\u00a0 Maybe everyone would want one.\u00a0 Somebody in a CBS office out in San Fran heard about the hippies, and wanted to shoot it. CBS Evening News did a segment on this new phenomenon in 1979.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Specialized Bicycle Components introduced the Stumpjumper in the fall of 1981.\u00a0 Amazingly, everyone wanted one.\u00a0 The revolution had begun.\u00a0 These \u201cmountain\u201d bikes sold like hotcakes, so every manufacturer had to build one.\u00a0 Bike component makers created new parts to replace the cobbled-together parts kits on the early bikes.\u00a0 The bike got lighter and faster.\u00a0 The world championships took place in 1990, less than a decade after the first mountain bike was mass-produced.\u00a0 The worlds were in Colorado, the winners were Americans.\u00a0 The revolution was done.\u00a0 The world would never be the same.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Now, do you want to buy the bike that changed the world?<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Myth doesn\u2019t matter<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Creation myths are easy to believe.\u00a0 They explain everything in a nice bundle.\u00a0 The narrative makes sense because we\u2019re looking to fill in all the blanks.\u00a0 The truth is that there isn\u2019t really a beginning.\u00a0 Many people were doing many similar things in the same time.\u00a0 Somehow, the basic idea caught on.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0People rode together, busted stuff, and came up with solutions to their problems.\u00a0 Communication then sped the process of evolution.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 There are two separate issues.\u00a0 One is off-road riding, the other is mountainbiking. Off-road riding really began with…<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Looks like you\u2019ll have to buy the book<\/a> to find out more.<\/em><\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CHAPTER 1: THE GROOVY ROOTS How did it all begin?\u00a0 The question comes up repeatedly.\u00a0 It\u2019s often asked at bike shops or to crusty guys who claim to have been there when it all began.\u00a0 If you\u2019re lucky, you posed the question to a raconteur.\u00a0 Here\u2019s what you might hear: The Creation Myth \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Not … <\/p>\n

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