No one can contest the saying that necessity is the mother of invention. When looking at the history of mountain biking this necessity becomes the chief inspiration for making the sport competitive, fun and popular.



The three factors that inform the history of mountain biking are the people passionate enough to pursue the sport, the geographical terrain, and the invention of the mountain bike.

The People:

It was in the late 1960s when a couple from San Francisco grew tired of the grinding life they were leading. Their departure from urban life took them to Marin County where life was calmer and less hectic with a rustic escapade.

Over time, their passion for cycling together with the mountainous prospect landed them up with competitive bike races which were organized through a 3 mile fire trail track in the city of Fairfax. Other bikers soon joined the race with the hope for creating new records. There was a downward slope of 1600 feet that was included in the race. Thus began mountain bike racing.

Soon the word spread around but in the face of possible threats the sports manifested it had to be canceled. This was because the racers failed to meet insurance requirements. This was how the race came to an end.

The Geographical Area

However, the popularity did not die. The official birthplace of mountain biking was accorded to Mount Tamalpais in California.

In the beginning, bicyclists would race down Mount Tam and take the bikes to the top of the mount by other means of conveyance. Later, they not only came down but also explored uphill trails too. This was a good thing because it stretched the scope of the mountain biking race - not only racing down but racing up as well.

The Equipment

The bike also went through a metamorphosis. Modifications began to take place on the mountain bike like tires, seat, safety arrangements. One of the changes included the replacement of typical braking system in an ordinary bike with cantilever brakes. This gave the bike the strength to pause quickly to brave extreme terrains. If you are an avid mountain biker you must agree that a mountain bike does need to brave it out on severely dangerous terrains.

Another modification included more gears for the biker to enable scaling of higher mountains and hills. Because all bikers do not use their mountain bikes for scaling mountains of the same height. A competent enough bike, therefore, needs to be tough enough for all kinds of heights. When you are ready to purchase a bike, if you are like most bikers, you start reading mountain bike reviews.