[downhillzeypher]

^^^

I gotta do it for a report, from how it started to how it is now. Any info, links, or whatever would be appreciated. thanks.

 

[Pip3r]

my local library has some old school books and videos, might want to check yours out.

 

[downhillzeypher]

Books on DH?! That's crazy!

 

[eastcoastzigzag]

^^^

I gotta do it for a report, from how it started to how it is now. Any info, links, or whatever would be appreciated. thanks.

-----find someone who was racing in the early to mid 90's. look for old videos.

 

[downhillzeypher]

alllrightyyy..... Library was a waste of time... the best they had was bmx stuff... I guess I'll just bs and throw in what I know....

 

[HRDTLBRO]

Go to your LBS and ask if they have any old vids. Mine has a ton, and when not playing downhill domination, uh...I mean servicing bicycles, they are watching old school chainsmoke, chain reaction, etc. videos.

 

[Pegboy]

The history of DHing is really the history of MTBing. Fisher and the boys originally used modified beach cruisers to ride Down mountains in Marin county. Look there for a starting point. I also think cannondale made on of the first production full suspension MTB's, I remember seeing it in their catalog back in 91 or so and thought it was the stupidist thing I had ever seen, jokes on me now.

 

[Pegboy]

just re- read one of your posts and you could also argue dual crown forks originated in BMX so don't rule that out and don't for a second believe that this sport originated in the last 15 yrs.

 

[Matt D]

just re- read one of your posts and you could also argue dual crown forks originated in BMX so don't rule that out and don't for a second believe that this sport originated in the last 15 yrs.

The origins of Dual crown forks probably are in motorcycles, though I'm no expert.

 

[downhillzeypher]

The history of DHing is really the history of MTBing. Fisher and the boys originally used modified beach cruisers to ride Down mountains in Marin county. Look there for a starting point. I also think cannondale made on of the first production full suspension MTB's, I remember seeing it in their catalog back in 91 or so and thought it was the stupidist thing I had ever seen, jokes on me now.

Sweet. I'm sure I can beef that up to like 1/2 a page... What would your guy's take be on people currently into DH? Like 100,000?

 

[Tenchiro]

Two words, John Tomac

'nuff said.

 

[downhillzeypher]

OR maybe I should just make myself a cool nickname like "the yellow dart".

*COUGH* www.homestarrunner.com *COUGH*

 

[Mumbles]

Books on DH?! That's crazy!

downhillers know how to read?? no way!

 

[eastcoastzigzag]

look into this stuff.

john tomac
greg herbold
dave culinan
missie gioves pirahanna
tioga tension disc wheel
elastomers
kamikazi and reebok eliminator @ mammoth mt and 60t chain rings
rock shox judy dh

then go a lil farther back and talk beach cruizers that gary fisher, breeze and ritchey(i think) used for the first dh racing and riding. they called them repacks cause they had to rebuild the rear coaster brake all the time because of the heat.

 

[Ian F]

alllrightyyy..... Library was a waste of time... the best they had was bmx stuff... I guess I'll just bs and throw in what I know....

If you want a decent grade, this will not work. You'll need to give sources for your information. The foundation of a good "history-type" report is to state your case and then back it up with quoted information.

Two good places to start:

Stikman (www.stiksandstones.com) - He's been around the scene a loooong time and knows people.

Track down Zap at Trek. Love him or hate him, he's also been around a long time.

Basically, go to various rider's and magazine websites and send e-mails telling them what you are doing and asking for their take on the history of the sport. Don't expect responses from all of them, but you only need a few.

It's actually really easy to write the report once you've gathered information. The research is majority of the work, the paper will practically write itself. Good luck!

 

[Pip3r]

ya really, the boys back in the day didnt have bikes that could be pedaled up hill so they just rode em down! Wasnt there a race back in the day called the grease packer or something? They had to take apart the drum brakes and pack them in with grease after every run because it would heat up and just leak out.
I think there was also one woman photographer or something that was there through alot of it. That musta been a blast

 

[Tweek]

I know Instigator has a book on MTB origins (lotta detail and info) and the Repack Race from the 70s. (Had to repack their rear hubs.) PM him and he can give you the name of the book. It's worth owning.

 

[auntesther]

if you can locate a copy of the video " Full Medal Status" its almost a history of MTB origins and growth leading up to the 1996 Olympics. Has footage of the Repack races from the 70's.
Also some decent vintage footage from Mammoth on the Kamikaze video from the mid 1990's.
as far as books....try a local bookstore and look in the sports section. There is usually a few books on mountain biking in there.

Magazines are a good source of info if you can find old old copies. Also try your LBS....one shop around me has a TON of old videos that I think they will rent out.

 

[SinatorJ]

Dirt did a neat 3 part series on the history of Dh. Look into it.
Other than that 3 names:
Tomac
Vollioz
Palmer

 

[Pedalist]

Well Brent Foes made one of the first Proto-type bikes for pure downhill it was in mtb-action. Fisher and the boys did start the mountainbike craze and did ride Marin County. I would not say that people started downhilling 10 years ago but I would definatley say that 10 years ago there was no equipment that is as specialized as it is now. Perhaps another thing you may want to consider is how much of an influence the North Shore had on downhill bikes and technology. Granted pure downhill machines are often times more specialized than a freeride bike many of their mechanical setups take after there freeriding forefathers. Seems like 98 0r 99 is when the whole craze got big all over the country. Now you can see evidence of downhill mountainbiking just by looking at cross country bikes. The slack head angles and rear suspension. How about disc brakes. Probaly alot of wonderbread munchin' spandex clad cross country guys have no clue who to thank for that. Try this little bit out I have written below.
A mountain bike is a rugged, performance bicycle used for two different types of racing, downhill and cross-country.


The name seems a bit misleading. "Off road bike" might be more accurate, but the name came about because the bicycle was originally designed for riding down mountain trails and cross-country racing came later. (In fact, the bikes used for the two types of racing are now considerably different from one another.)

As a downhill sport, mountain biking seems to have originated with the Morrow Dirt Club, a loose organization of 10 cyclists who began riding their bikes down fire trails in Cupertino, California, in 1974.

At the time, the bicycle typically used for off-road racing was a so-called "klunker," a one-speed bike with fat, balloon tires. But the Morrow Dirt Club riders, led by Russ Mahon, had put together bikes with fat tires, thumbshift-operated 10-speed derailleurs, and drum brakes on the front and rear wheels.

Mahon and some of the other Morrow cyclists entered the West Coast Cyclocross Championships in Mill Valley, California, on December 1, 1974. Their unusual bikes caught the attention of three riders from Marin County, Joe Breeze, Gary Fisher, and Charlie Kelly.

Those three, along with Steve Ritchey, went on to create mountain biking. They began by piecing together off-road bikes similar to those they'd seen at the cyclocross race. Then they tried them out on dirt trails and on the Cascade Fire Trail near Fairfax, California.

Other cyclists had gone down the trail during the previous four or five years. They called it "Repack Road," because the ride vaporized the grease on their hub coaster brakes, which then had to be repacked with new grease.

On October 21, 1976, the first formal Repack Road race was run down the twisting, 2.1-mile trail, which drops about 1,300 feet. Charlie Kelly and Fred Wolf were the organizers. The ten riders who entered started at two-minute intervals. Alan Bonds, the only one who didn't crash, was the winner.

The race became a weekly event for nine weeks, with more and more riders showing up each time it was held. Just as important as the race itself was the fact that cyclists were gathering regularly to discuss their ideas about what kind of bike was the best for that kind of terrain.

By 1977, there was so much interest in the sport that Joe Breeze formed a company to produce Enduro mountain bikes. A year later, Kelly and Steve Ritchey founded a company called MountainBikes.

The sport spread rapidly, but cross-country riding and racing soon became its major emphasis, although there were still races down mountain trails. The National Off-Road Bicycle Association (NORBA) was founded in 1983 to govern both types of mountain biking, and the International Mountain Bicycling Association held the first world championships in 1990.

NORBA is now a division of USA Cycling and the International Cycling Union has taken over as the worldwide governing body. Mountain biking became an Olympic sport in 1996, as a cross-country event for men and women.

Two newer types of mountain competition are 4-cross and trials. Both events were added to the world championship program in 2002. The 4-cross replaced the dual slalom event.

In 4-cross competition, four cyclists race down a short course, typically 250 meters, that includes sharp turns and jumps.

In trials, the object is to negotiate difficult sections without any part of the body touching the ground. A course typically consists of five sections, each with a time limit of 2 or 3 minutes. A penalty point is incurred each time part of the body touches the ground and the rider with the fewest penalty points wins.

Mountain bikes used for downhill riding are usually full-suspension bicycles, with front and rear shock absorbers and disc brakes. The cross-country bikes are lighter in weight and they usually have a front shock absorber, but none in the rear, although full-suspension bikes that are light enough for cross-country riding have recently been developed. Another recent development is a hybrid bike on which shock absorbers can be individually locked out.

 

[auntesther]

isnt it Tom Ritchey?


here is a link to some info about bicycle history

http://www.bmxnonstop.com/mtb/history.htm

 

[Transcend]

just a thing to add..trials is in NO WAY a new form of mountain biking..ithas been around since before mountain biking was mountain biking.. FYI.

 

[.MTBsSd.]

So what came first? Trials MTB or trials Dirtbike?

 

[caboverpete]

mototrials came first then bike trials which is actually called trialsin... trials sans motor.

 

[JohnnyBoyDH]

Look up:

RePack
Jimmy Deaton
Casey Cunsulman(SP?) - Greg Herbold (who is pretty old skool) once told me that this guy was WAY old skool.


Actually...instead of listing off crap, go here: http://www.mtnbikehalloffame.com/home.cfm

 

[downhillzeypher]

Much thanks to everyone who helped. With all that stuff you guys gave me it was a breeze to write that thing.

My teacher wouldn't be able to tell the bs anyway. She teaches P.E., I'm suprised she can read at all.

 

[Potatohucker]

There's this old guy: Victor Vincente... He made some of the first proto-mountainbikes.. Look him up.. He also eats roadkill when he rides.. He's definately a legend...

 

[auntesther]

There's this old guy: Victor Vincente... He made some of the first proto-mountainbikes.. Look him up.. He also eats roadkill when he rides.. He's definately a legend...

Victor Vicente of America...the " of America" part is actually a legal part of him name. eating roadkill...thats kooky