Still shredding after all these years
By Sal Ruibal, USA TODAY
23 Mar 06
There have been mountain bikes almost as long as there have been bikes, but the distinctly American version with fat, knobby tires and a straight handlebar was born in the late 1970s.
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the first mass-produced mountain bike, the Specialized Stumpjumper. Since the introduction of the "Stumpy" in 1981, more than 100 million mountain bikes have been sold around the world.
You can still buy a Stumpjumper today at less than the original cost. The 1981 price was $750, or $1,537 when adjusted for 25 years of inflation. The least expensive 2006 model with a front shock absorber is listed at $1,400. The top-of-the-line S-Works Stumpjumper FSR, however, will set you back a whopping $7,100.
Nobody knows Stumpjumpers like Ned Overend. He won the first-ever mountain bike world championship in 1990 on a carbon-fiber prototype. In 2004, at age 48, he placed seventh at the U.S. national championships on a Stumpjumper.
"The bike has changed a lot over the years," says Overend, who also won the 1998 and 1999 Xterra Mountain Bike Triathlon world championships. "In 1990, we couldn't have imagined the bikes we ride today."
The first "superlight" Stumpjumper weighed just under 30 pounds, was made of steel and had 15 gears and no shock absorbers.
Most of today's mountain bikes are 10 pounds lighter and have a front shock and 27 gears. A FSR Stumpjumper, with disc brakes and "smart" dual shocks that analyze the terrain, weighs 26 pounds.
"Back then we didn't think about history," Overend says. "Time flies when you're having fun."
The mountain bike is back in gear
Spring is here, but La Primavera is no time to be cycling on roads still scarred and cratered by winter's icy blasts. Our advice: stash the Lycra shorts in the closet and prepare to get dirty in the woods.
The Lance Armstrong Era is over, and mountain bikes are back in style 25 years after the first mass-produced models hit the market.
Off-road riding moved to the back burner while cyclists were watching OLN and learning French, but smart bike makers still were working to lure cyclists back with new mountain bike designs that use advanced technology to make better riders.
In the same way that shaped skis help once-a-year schussers look like Vail ski instructors, the latest dual-suspension mountain bikes can have riders carving berms and bunny-hopping rocks with the greatest of ease.
Several top-end bikes, such as the $7,100 Specialized S-Works Stumpjumper FSR Carbon, feature "smart" suspension technology that reads the terrain and adjusts the shock-absorbers to stiffen for smooth trails or climbing, then soften to suck up bumps and holes. That bike is the heir to the original Stumpjumper, considered the first mass-market mountain bike.
Unlike the rigid and finicky early models, the new bikes allow less-experienced riders to tackle technical terrain with less risk of a crash.
Other models, such as the $5,500 Trek Fuel EX 9.9, the $3,000 Kona The King and the $7,500 Scott USA Ranson Limited, give experienced riders several on-the-fly shock settings to squeeze extra energy from the terrain by compressing the shocks into berm turns or trail depressions, then releasing that energy for a speed burst.
The new bikes are lightweight, thanks to carbon-fiber frames, seatposts and handlebars. Disc brakes, borrowed from motorcycle design, give stopping power undeterred by mud and muck.
All that adds up to faster bikes that are more comfortable to ride, especially for riders who like to compete in the fast-growing genre of endurance racing, where individual riders or small relay teams compete in 12-hour or 24-hour races.
"Where once the notion of riding your bike off-road for 24 hours seemed downright preposterous, if not a not a bit masochistic, the sport of marathon mountain biking has grown in a large part to the evolution of new suspension and disc-brake technology," says Zapata Espinoza, brand manager for Trek. "These elements, combined with the sense of camaraderie and shared adventure have helped grow the sport of mountain bike racing from its individualist, short-course roots."
Cannondale, a Pennsylvania bikemaker known for its woods-whippy mountain bikes, expects the $1,300-$5,000 Rush series of lightweight dual-suspension endurance racers to be its top-selling model line in 2006.
Ibis, a well-known boutique manufacturer of beautiful, museum-worthy bikes crafted from titanium and steel, now has a carbon-based entry: The Mojo.
"A new breed of powerful computer tools allows us to effectively design, engineer and test radical new designs before a mold is even produced," says Ibis founder and industry pioneer Scot Nicol. But perhaps the best reason to get off the road bike and back on the trails is those ugly black Lycra shorts. Pull on some baggy mountain bike shorts your friends will thank you.
Breezer bikes succeed in providing alternate form of transport
What's the most socially responsible thing you can do on a bike? Commuting to work might come to mind, but mountain bike pioneer Joe Breeze says think closer to home.
"Studies have shown that we spend more time in our cars running errands than we do driving back and forth to work," he says. "And most of those errands are two miles or less from your home.
Breeze has built some of the world's best mountain bikes in his career, and now is one of the leading advocates for using bicycles as transportation. His Breezer Bikes line incorporates folding, city and transportation models and accessories that convert them to dozens of cargo alternatives.
I have used the Breezer Liberty bike for more than two years and found it to be the most useful and versatile bike in the herd. It utilizes a full-sized road bike frame that rides as comfy as a mountain bike. It has 27 gears that turns hills into bumps and a sturdy rear rack that can handle a daily grocery load. Bells, generator-driven front and rear lights, fenders and a chain-guard round out the generous $950 package.
If the Liberty can't handle your biggest loads, hook up a BOB Yak Trailer ($259) and boost your capacity to 70 pounds. The trailer attaches to the bike's rear axle, and it tracks nicely without tipping. If you like to go off-road with your groceries, the BOB Ibex ($359) has a nifty shock absorber on the rear wheel. We've hopped curbs with it attached, so don't worry about having to ride on eggshells. A nice waterproof cargo sack ($65.00) helps keep your stash dry and in order.
What's the most socially responsible thing you can do on a bike? Commuting to work might come to mind, but mountain bike pioneer Joe Breeze says think closer to home.
Scott USA Scale a light, pricey racer
The original American mountain bikes were rigid beasts that did little to shield riders from a royal beating on the trails. Progress came in the early 1990s when front-fork shock absorbers were introduced, taking some of the sting out of the ride.
The dual-suspension boom of the last five years has relegated front-shock-only bikes, known as hardtails, to suffer-happy cross-country racers and entry-level budget steeds.
But a new breed has evolved, thanks in great part to design innovations in lightweight road-bike design.
Today's hardtails are almost as light as road bikes, and the ability to adjust the front shock on the fly has tamed long climbs and short sprints.
The Scott USA Scale is a prime example of a superlight cross-country racer: its frame weighs just a hair over two pounds, and a fully built-up Scale comes in at just under 20 pounds. Only the pricetag is hefty: the Scale Limited costs $6,000. There are less expensive versions, but the weight goes up as the cost goes down.
The Dahon Flo hardtail weighs in at 22.4 pounds. It literally can fly in a suitcase, that is.
The Flo is the latest hot product from a company best known for its folding bikes. But the $2,000 Flo doesn't fold: it uses the Ritchey Break-Away system, which allows the frame to be disassembled into two pieces and packed with the wheels and other parts into a standard-sized suitcase. The job takes about 20 minutes or less, if you're handy with basic bike tools. It has great front-suspension lock-out features and was designed by mountain bike pioneer Joe Murray.
Like all Break-Away bikes, the carrying case can be checked as regular airline baggage, saving the hassles and expense of flying with a bulky bike case.
If you've been putting in a lot of miles on your road bike, a hardtail could be the perfect transition bike back to the trails for cross-training or weekend racing.
Guess I better get rid of that pesky life thing so I can be like N8.
