The (anti)Blog

It’s no secret to those that know me that I have always been somewhat obsessed with old mountain bike stuff. I cut my MTB teeth during the late 80’s and eventually went to work for a couple of shops during the 90’s that really shaped who I am today. I see this particular time in cycling as significant for a couple of reasons. The eighties brought us the dawn of commercially available mountain bikes. Before this time, if you were riding off road you were probably modifying something like a cruiser or BMX bike. Companies like Specialized, Raleigh, Ross, Cannondale, etc. realized that this new segment of the cycling market had potential for growth (or at least took a calculated risk). The early production bikes were a hodgepodge of parts stolen and modified from other segments of the already well established cycling industry with a peppering of new inventions and purpose built products. In other words, everyone was taking guesses and trying to figure things out.

As the sport rolled into the 90’s, we saw a huge influx of interest in mountain biking and therefore an equally huge influx of components, bikes and accessories to “improve” our riding experience. If you were around a shop in the 90’s, you surely remember the influx of CNC’d products and the visual assault of color that was launched in the form of anodization. Some of these products were good and some were just cool but all of them served to push the sport forward.

It’s easy to take all of the technology and development for granted when you hop on your ride these days. I hesitate to say that things have become easy but I will say that the overall reliability and comfort of the mountain bike has come a long way.

Friday, October 29, 2010

So how do you get your thrills in a sport that has evolved so far? You go back in time. This is not a concept that is unique to cycling. Vintage auto racing has been around for years, hunters use bows and black powder; even the clog has made a comeback! As life gets easier, we tend to crave things that are harder to test ourselves and prove that we are still as tough as we think we are.

Look at some of the trends in cycling today. Single speed racing, fixed gear, adventure racing, etc. I think we are at the point where our sport became too easy and therefor a bit boring. The cure comes in the form of new challenges from the old dusty corners of our sport.

I keep a bunch of old parts around my shop. It’s not unusual to find me in the garage, early in the morning, drinking coffee and digging through my treasures to build some new frankenbike. It brings back fond memories of my days in the shop and provides a cheap thrill to ride the creation out for lunch or coffee. My latest obsession, however, has taken this to the next level. I recently treated myself to a 1985 Raleigh Crested Butte. If you look in the 1985 Raleigh catalog, this was the top end mountain bike available at this time. I’m not sure what my original plan was for this bike but once I picked it up and started riding it, I began to get a feel for the significance of these old mountain bikes and how much sole they possess. These bikes embody the original spirit of mountain biking. They were built strong and outfitted with rack mounts, bottle cages and even a shoulder strap in this case. When you went out on your mountain bike, you were hanging it out there a bit. Pack a lunch and wear comfortable shoes because there was more unknown than known in those days.

The Raleigh was quickly brought back to life and made trail worthy. A couple of mild rides around town reassured me that this bike still had huge potential for adventure - it was time for the trail. Yesterday I made an Almond butter sandwich with a couple of leftover pancakes, grabbed a water bottle and rolled out with no real destination in mind and no modern cycling gear (cotton shorts, t-shirt and hiking shoes). I had a loosely constructed plan of hitting a close trail and returning home but no set agenda. Long story short, I pedaled the old Raleigh for three hours and hit all of the trails I would normally ride. There was some pushing and a definite reduction in my overall trail speed but the experience as a whole was awesome! I’m not suggesting there isn’t value in cycling technology; I definitely enjoy the new expensive shiny bits as much as the next guy. What I am suggesting is that happiness can be found for much cheaper. Even running into a friend on the trail sparked conversation about my old ride; had I been on my “good” bike, this would not have happened.

Keeping things fresh, that’s what it’s all about. This time, “fresh” came in the form of a 25 year old bike. What’s next for the Raleigh? I’m not sure but I am thinking the classic “lunch run” from Crested Butte to Aspen and back is a must. Look for more on this next summer.