When was the Mountain Bike Invented? And who by?

[Chris]

I invented the Mountain Bike in 1973.............I rang my mate Gray Fisher in the US and told him all about what I'd done, but he didn't seem interested.

You should of rang Gary Fisher instead, I here he was into bikes

 

[Chopper the ex Copper]

Damn it (and damn my chubby fingers and the poxy ibone), if I'd phoned him I could've earned a few hundred quid off my idea!

My next project involves turning a Raleigh Budgie into a cliff climbing off road unicycle.

 

[02gf74]

I invented the Mountain Bike in 1973.............I rang my mate Gray Fisher in the US and told him all about what I'd done, but he didn't seem interested.

You should of rang Gary Fisher instead, I here he was into bikes

ooooh, the irony.

 

[al]

I had a tracker back in the 70's, before I had ever even heared of Mountain bikes. We were running fixed offroad with tiny ratio rings back then, with forks that would snap on a regular basis!!

I wonder if anyone still has a tracker from back in the day?

al.

 

[Chopper the ex Copper]

I'm a mere sprog, born as I was in '68, but I do recall big boys in the early and mid 70's had a craze for racers with chunky over-fat touring or commuting tyres, and cow-horn bars. The basic silhouette was certainly there.

And of course, who can forget the Highparths etc, true off road go anywhere machines, not just downhill clunkers, that can trace their lineage back to the 70's. Indeed, I'd give my left nut for a Highpath, though i should think they cost a few quid these days. In terms of true off roading they were perhaps the first, but like the Neanderthals, their lineage died out and a different branch of Homo-Offroadus came to the fore.

 

[al]

I'm a mere sprog, born as I was in '68, but I do recall big boys in the early and mid 70's had a craze for racers with chunky over-fat touring or commuting tyres, and cow-horn bars. The basic silhouette was certainly there.

They were Trackers.

And I was one of the big boys, even if I am only a year older than you.

al.

 

[Chris]

I invented the Mountain Bike in 1973.............I rang my mate Gray Fisher in the US and told him all about what I'd done, but he didn't seem interested.

You should of rang Gary Fisher instead, I here he was into bikes

ooooh, the irony.

Touché

 

[zigzag]

I'm a mere sprog, born as I was in '68, but I do recall big boys in the early and mid 70's had a craze for racers with chunky over-fat touring or commuting tyres, and cow-horn bars. The basic silhouette was certainly.

Got the bars, need to figure out some fat tyres, which isnt easy with 27" wheels...

 

[dyna-ti]

Tricky to say who actually invented it as with many countries ideas 'develop' around the same time. :? [theory]
Im quite sure that although as i understand it it was the US that started the offroad movement it could be said that someone in another country was putting on wide tyres and farting about with gear ratios 20 years before.

Maybe the question is
Who marketed the concept quickest?

This is what happens 1/3 of the way into a bottle of Rum

 

[REKIBorter]

Read this > http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Birth-Dirt- ... b_title_bk

Description
Much expanded and updated new edition of the book that started out by trying to answer the question, "who invented the mountain bike." Well, it turns out the mountain bike has many fathers and mothers, and this edition of the book credits them all. Illustrated with numerous period color photographs, this book is truly a celebration of the early days of the sport.