In 1981 Gary Fisher and Charlie Kelly chartered a bus to take them and their friends to Crested Butte for the Pearl Pass. According to Charlie "The driver was insane, the bus barely ran, and the trip was...a trip." These photos are from one of the participants, Mike Jarschke, who was kind enough to give me permission to share them.  This is a peek at an incredible moment and time in mountain bike history, as the culture was really starting to take off. The bikes, the smiles, the fashion. It's all so wonderful and inspiring. 

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Recently on one of the vintage MTB Facebook groups I frequent I came across a stunning bicycle and claim.... That bike was a yellow 1976 Andy Gilmour made mountain bike. The popular narrative is that Joe Breeze created the first purpose built mtb's in the late 70's with his Breezer Series I's. Here's a quote from the Marin Mountain Bike Museum website: "His Breezers were the first all-new bikes built with rugged frames specifically for mountain biking (1977 and 1978)." And here was a road racing frame maker in Tucson, Arizona beating the Marin boys to the punch. What's the deal? And why is this history so unknown? Well first, let's decide what makes something a purpose built mountain bike. The best...

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And here is the truly stunning 1995 Croll as I passed it on to it's next caretaker.  For those not familiar, Croll was founded by Walter Croll and was a manufacturer of high end steel frames in Minneapolis throughout the 90's. I am unclear as to when Croll formally shuttered their business. Early Croll's were often lugged, but mid and later Croll's were Tig Welded by Erik Noren of Peacock Groove fame.  I estimate this to be a 1995 based on the parts present, but am unsure of the accuracy of the date. The build features a full XT parts kit, however the owner opted to upgrade to M950 shifters in order to obtain the remote bar end shifter.  This...

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My partner loves it when we match, so in that spirit we built her up this sweet 16" Surly 1x1 which is a perfect compliment to my black 1x1 Thunderbolt (names derived from our cross bar pads which were taken from some kids bikes).  Being that she's the Otso Sales Manager which is the sister company to Wolftooth of course she elected to bling it out with some sweet gold accents.  After searching for years for a lockup / winter bike that she's comfortable on and trying a couple different vintage mtb setups, it looks like this one is going to stick.  I think it's a real gem...  

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I recently took in this stunning mid-90's Croll mtb and I just had to document it's condition as I decide what to do with it. Bikes like these are always a challenge as it's an absolutely perfect time capsule of the time it was built and is in essentially new condition. The owner literally only rode it eight times on pavement before hanging it up, this is evidenced in the brake track and cassette which show absolutely no signs of use. The frame itself is scratchless as is the painted to match fork, and therein lies the quandry for me.  Now, I need to make my money back on this thing, and the original plan (before I knew it had...

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Way back in 2017 I received permission to share this gallery from Jim Merz of a cross country bicycle tour from Portland to Denver that he and a companion undertook in 1964. As that blog has been lost to time, I thought it was a good idea to once more make sure these amazing photos were viewable.  I find them incredibly romantic and charming...

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Friends, this is one of the coolest bikes I have ever seen, I ran into it and Wakeman at a bike swap in Denver earlier this Spring, and it’s my absolute joy and pleasure to bring it to your attention. As I am way out of my depth when it comes to the early stuff I’ve asked Wakeman to explain why this bike is so cool and all the interesting mods it possesses. Words by Wakeman Massie: This machine hails from the very earliest days of the activity that we now call mountain biking. At the time, there weren’t any mtb-specific parts to buy, and there wasn’t any one way to build a bike; Pieces and parts from vintage American...

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Today I'm going to give you the rundown on my most cherished vintage mtb, a true forever bike. My 1995 Yo Eddy! that I turned into a super sweet townie. Now some may see it as sacrilege, using a high end race frame for such mundane tasks as going to the market, but what I see is a bike that gets ridden almost everyday and is living its best life. I'll take a rider over a display bike any day of the week. It's fast, comfortable, and stylish.  I purchased it from Craigslist in the Boston area after my buddy Opie passed me the ad. Being connected in the industry is a very wonderful tool so I was able to...

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This race was John Tomac‘s very first pro mountain bike win. He was just a BMX kid from Michigan with a mohawk when I first met him at a downhill race in SoCal. His win took everyone by surprise since he was an unknown at this point. The race had such a unique format that nobody really knew who would succeed, motocrossers, downhill mountain bikers, cross country racers or BMX racers. In this photo you can’t see it but somebody was ahead of John at this point. I’m not sure who is directly behind Tomac here, but then it’s Kye Sharp, Joe Sloup, and then Jimmy Deaton. Here’s what Rob Rupe remembers : “Trying to get the memories straight in...

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*Registration can be used for any of the three distances, 26, 50 or 85 mile Routes. Entrants will receive two nights of camping, t-shirt, sticker, and patch, as well as dinner and refreshments on Saturday*  September 9-11th The 1st Annual Hodag Country RambleTwo nights of swimming, camping, community, riding and revelry on our family's property outside of Rhinelander, Wisconsin in the heart of the beautiful Northwoods.  This is the land where I was born and raised and I'm incredibly excited to share it with my far flung cycling friends both old and new. Soaring trees, rolling hills, and beautiful lakes await you. Route: A mix of two track, gravel, and pavement - 26, 50, 85 mile options. A gravel bike or...

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