The tech, riders and events that helped make mountain biking the best sport ever
Words James Costley-White Pics Various
1 REPACK
Where it all began. Had Californian rock’n’roll-band roadie and road cyclist Charlie Kelly not begun venturing off-road with his roommate Gary Fisher on modified singlespeed town bikes, then organised a downhill time trial to find out who in their ‘klunker crew’ was quickest, our sport could have been very different. As it was, the Repack races – thus-named because riders’ coaster brakes got so hot they had to re-pack them with fresh grease after every run – held on Marin County’s Mount Tamalpais led to the development of mountain biking as we know it.
2 BREEZER SERIES 1
Wanting to get one up on his Repack-racing rivals, Charlie Kelly offered fellow ‘klunker crew’ member Joe Breeze $300 to build him “a proper frame”. The result was the Breezer Series 1, arguably the first purpose-built mountain bike. This custom ‘ballooner’ bike, now on display at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, was made from tough chromoly steel, rolled on 26in wheels and was kitted out with a mix of hardwearing road/touring parts (Phil Wood hubs, SunTour gears, Dia-Compe brakes) and repurposed motorbike components (Magura brake levers, steel riser bar).
4 SHIMANO DEORE XT M700
In 1981, Yoshizo Shimano, president of the US branch of the business (and later of the whole company), reported back to Japan about this new craze in San Francisco for riding down mountains. His call was taken by Yozo Shimano, the vice president responsible for marketing (now president of Shimano Inc), who began visiting local riders to gather information and get feedback on prototypes. It turned out mountain bikers wanted more robust components and more powerful brakes. The result was the first MTB-specific groupset – Deore XT M700, with its easy-to-reach thumbshifters, tougher 2mm gear cables and improved sealing.
3SPECIALIZED STUMPJUMPER
Seeing the Breezer 1 inspired Tom Ritchey to begin making 26in-wheeled off-road frames and set up MountainBikes – the brand that gave the sport its name – with Charlie Kelly and Gary Fisher in 1979. That same year, Englishman Geoff Apps’s Range-Rider Cross Country Cycle went on sale, after a decade of modifying bikes for off-road use. Both were beaten to the punch by Mert Lawwill, whose BMX/MX-influenced Lawwill Knight Pro Cruiser hit shops in 1978. These bikes were produced in small batches, however, and it wasn’t until 1981 that Univega and, more famously, Specialized took mountain bikes mass-market. Often dubbed the first ‘proper’ pr
