Originally, bikes were designed for use on smooth, paved surfaces or surfaces with minor bumps. Road bikes and cruisers were not meant for heavy duty trips through rough terrain and down mountains. The mountain bike is a bicycle designed for mountain biking on either dirt trails or some other unpaved environment.
Mountain bikes have been equipped with wide, knobby tires for extra traction and shock absorption. Recently, front wheel suspension has become the norm; however, full front and rear suspension is becoming increasingly common. The bikes typically have 26 inch wheels, but 29 inch wheels have been in use since 2002. The 29 inch wheels are the same diameter as those most commonly used on road bikes.
Cycling History
Riding bikes on less than ideal surfaces goes back to the beginnings of cycling itself. The first mountain biking organization was the French Velo Cross Club Parisien (VCCP). Between 1951 and 1956, this club developed a sport that is remarkable similar to the current sport of mountain biking. In the United Kingdom, the Roughstuff Fellowship was established in 1955 by off-road cyclists.
In the early 1970s, a member of the Roughstuff Fellowship began developing an off-road bicycle that was suited to the off-road conditions found in Southeastern England. The true mountain bike has origins in the modified heavy cruiser bicycles used on the mountain trails of Marin County, California.
When this idea became popular, there were no mountain bikes available. The earliest ancestors of the mountain bike were frames from cruisers that were heavily modified. Riders used balloon tires and later added gears and motocross handlebars. These bikes were called Klunkers. The term also became a verb since “mountain biking” was not in use yet.
Contact a Bike Lock Provider
For more information on mountain biking and bike locks for mountain bikes,
contact the
bike lock experts of A & Js’ Bike Shops.
