(Originally published in the August 26 to Sept. 1, 2012 issue of the Baguio Chronicle ---
a weekly newspaper based in Baguio City, Philippines ---
by Sly L. Quintos, Associate Editor.)
ALTHOUGH most of the credit to the beginnings of mountain bikes is given to a northern California group that was around in the ‘70s, people have been riding bikes off-road for nearly as long as bikes have been around.
One of the earliest references you can find was a group of black soldiers in the 1890s.
Known as the 25th Infantry U.S. Army Bicycle Corps stationed at Fort Missoula, Montana and set out in 1896 until 1897 across the country on their single-speed bikes that were modified for long distance travel with supplies over rough terrain. They weighed about 70lbs-120lbs when loaded.
Lt. James A. Moss led the company of black soldiers on several obstacle intensive test runs of the iron two-wheeled alternative to horses for transportation. Their two greatest trips of note were a nearly 800 mile round trip ride from Missoula to Yellowstone and a 1,900 mile one-way trip to St Louis, Missouri and returning to Missoula by train.
The 25th Infantry gained fame and was nicknamed the Buffalo Soldiers who were probably in better shape than most of us are today.
Another well-known group of “mountain bike pioneers” was the Velo Cross Club Parisian (France) in the early 1950s that developed a bicycling sport that was similar to modern mountain biking.
This group of cyclists was customizing their 650-B bikes with some remarkable modifications for their time. They had handlebar shifters, fat tires, and even some suspension.
650B is an old tire size designation for what is known today as 584mm ETRO --- a currently obscure size, at least in North America, that has been used in the past on some of the finest bicycles. The 584mm sits nicely between the standard road bike wheel size --- the 622mm ETRO (i.e. 700c) --- and the standard 559mm ETRO (i.e. 26”) for off road bikes. The tires currently available in the U.S. range from about 30mm wide to 38mm wide, though there are other sizes available in Europe.
Just several years later, in 1955 in the UK, the Rough Stuff Fellowship or RSF was formed by cyclists who focused on off-road and hard terrain biking. Bikes then were a world away from their modern-day counterparts. Steel frames, no suspension, no disk or V-brakes. The RSF promotes responsible access to the countryside. It has a Code of Practice which members are asked to adhere to.
Further credit goes to a guy named John Finley Scott who modified his bike “The Woodsie” in 1953 for fun rides in the outdoors. He too had shifting gears, fat tires, flat handlebars etc.
Although all of these sources sound much like mountain bikes, nothing really ever developed from their efforts.
Most of the credit for the success of the modern day mountain bike goes to a group of riders from Marin County, California who were developing their own versions of mountain bikes in the 1970's. They even had their own races that they liked to call the Repack Downhill. The name Repack came from when they always had to repack their rear hubs/brakes after burning them out on the way down.
Although they weren't the first to put big tires, flat handlebars, cantilever brakes, or even derailleurs, on a bike built for the mountains, they did spawn all of mountain biking as we know it today. From a few of these pioneers came the marketing, innovations and technologies that tipped mountain biking into the mainstream.
To most, names like Joe Breeze, Otis Guy, Gary Fisher, and Tom Ritchey don't mean much, but those of us who know the industry, these guys are the ones who built it. Mike Sinyard who joined in just a little later should also get quite a bit of credit for bringing the first real mass produced mountain bikes to the market.
From there, it's just been one innovation after another for nearly 30 years.
While the general layout of mountain bikes such as flat handlebars, derailleurs, big tires, and powerful brakes, has not changed, a lot of the details of mountain bikes have evolved over the years in ways that have altered the sport immensely.
Probably the biggest changes that have influenced the user experience in mountain biking have been with the introduction of front and rear suspension.
Suspension forks (front suspension) were introduced in the late 80's and our hands have been happy ever since. Suspension forks have proven to not only increase control but make a much more comfortable ride, and are now included on nearly every modern mountain bike.
Rear suspension (also introduced in the late 80's), like suspension forks, has also proven to keep riders under control in more situations. The rider comfort level is greatly improved with rear suspension as well. There are numerous different types of rear suspensions and rear suspension linkages that perform at different levels.
Disk brakes were introduced in the early 90's and have also made quite a difference when it comes to performance enhancing innovations. Disks are more reliable in more situations and have nearly limitless power when compared to some of the older cantilever style brakes that they replace.
Other innovations have come in materials and manufacturing that have resulted in increased performance, part life, and significant weight reduction. Some of the biggest advancements have been in frame materials such as carbon fiber and advanced Aluminum alloys. Other advancements such as indexed shifting, the threadless headset, and better bottom brackets, have made bikes easier to work on and longer lasting.
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The mountain bikes of today are much faster, lighter, reliable, and way more expensive than the bikes of the past.
The typical modern day mountain bike has 4, 5, or 6 inches of travel in both the front and rear. The weight of a full suspension cross country race bike can easily be as low as 22 pounds with no compromise. Downhill race bikes may have as much as 10 inches of travel and can take 30 foot drops.
Our bikes and the parts on them are engineered to perform flawlessly and will last much longer than anything we had even 10 years ago.
There will be plenty of advancements in suspension and materials in the future, but what will probably make the biggest difference to us will be a replacement of the front and rear derailleur and maybe even the chain.*
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