Back then, mountain biking was all about downhill. They wanted speed and exhileration. Too bad their aren't that many Dh trails in So Cal because there's nothing more exciting than going 1,000 feet of mountain in less than five minutes, reaching speeds of 60mph. That was the case of the Repack. They called the trail the Repack because after every run the bike would need to be "repacked" with grease. The crazy, free-minded mountain bikers who rode this trail were no other than Joe Breeze, Charlie Cunningham, and Gary Fisher.
Back in 1976, Breeze introduced cantilever brakes and flate handlebars. In 1977 Joe Breeze built a fat-tire bike with lightweight tubing and state-of-the-art parts. This created the first Breezer, and to most, the first mountain bike. A fat-tire bike is one thing, and a lightweight fat-tire bike is another. By June 1978 ten Breezers were built. Breezer #1 is currently displayed at the Oakland Museum. I believe in 1976 or '78 gears were introduced on mountain bikes. This greatly helped trails: no more driving your truck up you favorite trail.
In 1979 mountain bike mountain bike history was made. Alloy rims became avalible and shaved off more than 30lb. off each wheel.
Specialized made the first production mountain bike called the Stuntjumper. Crappy name, I know, I know, just remember this was in the early 1980's and people were desperate for a mountain bike. They didn't care about the name.
Back then, racing was a party. You met with your freinds, made new friends, eat too much, get wasted, and usually the next morning you raced.
As compition grew, NORBA was made. NORBA stands for National Off-ROad Biking Association. NORBA set rules and was made a governing body for mountain bike competetors.
In the mid 80's, television leaders refused to see cross-country mountain biking as a sport. They thought it was uninteresting for the onlookers, and therefore, unprofitable (so how did golf become a sport?). They liked down hill mountain biking, though. They liked all the big jumps. exciting tricks, and extreme freedom which is DH mountain biking. The TV buffs didn't go for it, though, they went for BMX, which is better for allmountain bikers. If mountain biking became commercial, then the sport would be ruined with wannabbes who litter, widen single tracks, smooth out jumps, bumps, and technical sections, and would give us a bad name. The shere number of mountain bikers would over crowd the trails, so lets keep this sport a "discover it on your own" sport. :)
Remember, do all you can to keep trails open, and maybe one day you'll be one of the names in here.
Advice on mountain biking
Message Boards
Visit my new message boards. No more pop ups! No need to register!
Mountain Bike History
A complete guide to the history of mountain bikes.
Trails <<1 2 3>>
Mountain Biking trails in the LA Area
Rantings
Life through the eyes of a mountain biker.
Repair
Advice and tips on repairing your bike
Workouts
A list of workouts to help your biking skills
