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Both suspension and large diameter wheels existed on mainstream bicycles more than 100 years ago. It was the marketing of pneumatic tyre from 1995, and the improvements made to road surfaces that led to the demise of both. Due to this, bicycle wheels became smaller and tyres narrower. By the time the first mountain bikes were being developed there were very few large diameter balloon tyres that were still being made.
Due to its rural nature, France in the 1950's still had a lot of poor quality roads. And because the riding of them was popular, 40mm wide 650b Randonneur tyres and strong rims remained commonplace. These tyres inspired the creation of bicycles that were very similar to modern-day gravel bikes. In the mid 1950's the young riders of the Paris VCCP used these tyres to create a sport that was very similar to modern-day mountain biking.
Vélo Cross Club de Paris
In Britain and other countries, similar MTB like off-road sports also developed. This started with cycle-speedway on the cleared bombsites of WWII, which led to the creation of 26″ X 1 3/8″ knobbly tyres which teenagers used to create their own off-road bicycles. Competitions between these 'Tracker' or dirt-track bikes often took place and sometimes were a sideshow at motorbike scrambling events.
Tracker bike thread
The beginning of this film briefly covers the origins of off-road cycling in Britain.
Film: Mountain Biking The Untold British Story
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A worthy winner.
