A fellow ride on our local blog (Cresdawg) linked up some great articles on the roots of mountain biking, so I thought I’d share them with you guys. They really are great reads, and it is always fun to look back on how it used to be. Most of these pictures are before my time, so it makes it even more interesting in my opinion.
Charlie Kelly’s Article
In 1977 freelance writer Richard Nilsen discovered the proto-mountain bike scenes taking place in Crested Butte, Colorado and Marin County, California. He was the first person to put into print the possibilities of off-road bicycling.
This article from the Spring, 1978 issue of the Co-Evolution Quarterly, with photos by Mike Castelli, is the first written reference to mountain bikes, before that name was even applied to them. Note the title of the article. Apparently the name “clunker” didn’t quite catch on.
See at the end the sidebar about the Crested Butte to Aspen ride and the Repack Downhill.
The rest is found here…on Charlie Kelly’s Website.
Video preview of Klunkerz off of Pinkbike.com.
I founded Bike198 back in 2008 and started riding bikes seriously in 1994. A lot has changed since that time and one of the greatest releases is still getting out on the bike and shredding trail or tearing up the road.
From the Bike198 shopHate Bike Love Bike$24.99Shop