mtb-timeline - tech

barends

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2022-10-04T17:21:10+00:00

---------- Bar-Ends Handle bar extensions first appeared on mountain bikes in 1983 to expand the bar area and help with climbing and comfort. Aerodynamics was likely not an issue . By the mid-90's, at the height of the very-narrow flat bar era, every MTB company offered them, along with

bmx

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2025-04-30T21:00:15+00:00

---------- BMX Before Bullmoose bars, mountain bikes were spec'd with handlebars from the motorcycle, road bike and BMX parts bins. Mountain bikes needed strength and lightness. BMX gave cheapness and motorcycles the strength. Many BMX makers shifted to making MTBs with very BMX-like styles. BMX bars were usually high risers, as the bikes were tiny with 20-24

bull

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2024-02-20T19:14:23+00:00

---------- Bullmoose Handlebars ---------- [1980 Ritchey bullmoose handlebars] 1980 Ritchey bullmoose handlebars vintagemtbworkshop .. ---------- When Tom Ritchey introduced bullmoose bars in 1980, they instantly became standard equipment for all new MTBs, defining today what a vintage mtb should look like. The inspiration for this design came after Tom suffered an equipment malfunction while racing down

derail

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2025-11-11T19:32:38+00:00

---------- Changing Gears Riding off-road demands quick changes across a wide selection of gears. The complex machinery of derailleurs and shifters has gone through continual growth, much of which has been driven by mountain biking. Elsewhere, mtbtimeline already has a

disc

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2022-01-04T17:58:49+00:00

---------- Disc Brakes Shimano introduced mass produced, cheap, disc brakes in 1972 with the Shimano B 700, followed a year later, in 1973, with the hydraulic B900 - and then many other manufacturers jumped on board. Unfortunately, they were usually placed with low end, department store bikes, and hence never rose above obscurity and respectability.

drop

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2022-12-28T04:40:58+00:00

---------- Drop-bars & MTB Most early racers were comfortable with drops: they're aero, have more hand positions, easier to shift fore and aft for climbing, were easily available, looked cool and racers were used to winning with them. Yet, MTBs are

front

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2022-07-10T19:43:45+00:00

---------- Front Shock Absorbers Suspension, which has been fitted to velocipedes since at least 1891, needs shock absorbers to dampen the recoil or it risks turning the bicycle into a pogo stick. Mountain bikes initially borrowed suspension inspiration and hardware from motorcycles. The trick was to make something light weight which could handle going down

handlebars

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2022-12-29T23:59:38+00:00

.. ---------- Bullmoose Handlebars ---------- [1980 Ritchey bullmoose handlebars] 1980 Ritchey bullmoose handlebars vintagemtbworkshop .. ---------- When Tom Ritchey introduced bullmoose bars in 1980, they instantly became standard equipment for all new MTBs, defining today what a vintage mtb should look like. The inspiration for this design came after Tom suffered an equipment malfunction while racing down

moto

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2022-10-04T14:03:10+00:00

---------- [1979 Ritchey ] Magura L476-21 bars with crossbrace on a 1979 Ritchey facebook .. ---------- Motocross Before Bullmoose bars, mountain bikes were usually equipped with motocross handlebars. Both motocross and mountain bikes needed the strength to tame the stresses fighting the rider to keep things going straight. Motocross offered affordable strength with perhaps more weight than needed for a bike.

pedals

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2023-06-30T21:24:50+00:00

---------- Pedals In 1990, Shimano's new mountain pedal system, Shimano Pedaling Dynamics, completely changed how people connected with their bikes. Prior to SPD, most people strapped their street shoes to their bikes using metal cages and leather straps. They relied on toe straps to keep them bound to their bikes even throughout a crash. Stop signs were tricky and remounting required strap fiddling while pedaling. Even today, toe straps continue to be used by some sprinters and track race…

post

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2022-01-04T17:11:39+00:00

---------- Dropper Posts A truly and uniquely mountain bike specific invention. The first incarnation, the Hite Rite [1984] from Joe Breeze, usually required you to slow down and fiddle with the seatpost quick release - all without putting a foot on the ground. Soon came remote cable activation for the Hite Rite from

rear

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2023-09-09T19:14:20+00:00

---------- Rear Shock Absorbers The 1983 Skinner Descender, which was also a pioneer in the use of disc brakes, used a motorcycle Honda XR200 Pro-Link shock, which had 16 compression settings and 4 rebound adjustments, which was originally made for Honda's 220 pound, 30HP “light weight” motocross racing motorcycle. The 1983 bicycle built with those shocks weighed 50 pounds and was lucky to get 1/2 HP powering it. Nonetheless, it was raced downhill and should get the prize as the first rear s…

slingshot

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2022-12-29T23:58:49+00:00

---------- Slingshot Stems In 1982 Sakae Ringyo (SR) introduced two new “mountain bike stems”: the MTS-100 “slingshot” and the MTS-101 “golf putter.” The MTS-100 mated a typical BMX 4-clamp stem with a Bullmoose stem and came up with the Slingshot. It mimicked the look of bullmoose bars with more adjustability, lower cost and perhaps eliminating Ritchey's observed Repack rotation problem with the two clamps and four bolts on the bars

start

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2024-03-24T21:14:21+00:00

---------- Mountain Bike Technology Mountain bikes, with their new and demanding requirements, have driven much bicycling innovation. Or have they? As with most invention, it's not so much novel inventions but combinations of existing solutions and being first to market. The following will show the first use of new mountain biking tech and their origins.

tires

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2022-03-14T23:38:59+00:00

---------- Tires mountain bikeAn all-terrain bicycle with wide knobby tires, straight handlebars, and typically 18 to 21 gears. mirriam-webster.com Fat, knobby tires define a mountain bike. They are perhaps the most important single component to a mountain bike's handling yet are often neglected, maybe because of their non-durable nature or low relative expense. So much print is spent reviewing expensive frames and components - but where are the articles or books devoted to bike tires?

tomac

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2026-05-05T16:32:30+00:00

---------- John Tomac The history of MTB handle bars via John Tomac's career. [Tomac & Geometry] Tomac, age 19, fine tuning bike geometry. 1988 Mongoose ad. mbaction ---------- [Tomac BMX] Tomac raced BMX before turning pro with Mongoose in 1987. This is a newer pic to sell the retro BMX