Sloping top tubes

[beavis]

Talking to my mate about this, I happened to mention that Marin lay claim to the first production mtb to feature a sloping top tube (check out the blurb in their '93 brochure in the gallery&archive) - but the word is that the Kona guys did it first? Discuss... :roll:

 

[w00dy]

I'm going to hate myself for chipping in on this because the bigger brains on this forum will set us straight but I reckon it was Kona

 

[SF Klein]

What year did Kona launch a sloping top tube? I know Klein was one of the earliest mfg's to feature a sloping top tube (1990 maybe?).

 

[FluffyChicken]

Kona wasn't around till 1988. From the catalogue they had sloping in 1990, I do not know about the years before, I've seen the 99 catalogue but I cannot remember if they did to be sure.
Rocky Mountain had sloping tubes around that time as well certainly in 1998, and reading that catalogue it implies they certainly had it in 1997.
They had two types though
Sloping (as you see on most Rockies) and Full Sloping (wedge/avalance/blizzard)


Of course it's how you define 'sloping' to which to try to claim came first.

Kona 1990
http://www.retrobike.co.uk/gallery2/mai ... emId=12058

Rocky Mountain 1988
http://www.retrobike.co.uk/gallery2/mai ... emId=21889


EDIT
'88 Brodie vs Avalance (STT's)
http://www.pooterland.com/retromtb/MBA_ ... lanche.pdf

'87 Rocky
http://www.pooterland.com/retromtb/Rock ... n_1987.pdf (option for the Blizzard / Team, though I also assume the '97 Thunderbolt had it according to '88 catalogue)

 

[Anthony]

Paul Brodie introduced sloping top tubes to Rocky Mountain before he introduced them to Kona. But even he wasn't the first.

This was his take on the Blizzard (which previously had a fairly flat top tube). The 1987 RM catalogue actually had two alternative versions of the Blizzard - his version and the previous version. He soon left the company, but his version stuck.

 

[FluffyChicken]

But even he wasn't the first.

Of course not, they've had them on girls bikes and gentlemen's bikes for a long time


and theses bike in my local museum are pretty old with STT's

 

[mechagouki]

Charlie Cunningham

 

[Iwasgoodonce]

It's a prehistoric 'Thudbuster.'

 

[gump]

...and if anyone just happens to have one of these brodie RM, let me know

 

[lewis1641]

I was thinking cunningham too