were was the birthplace of mountain biking

haynes1

i have been trying to work out were was the birthplace of mountain biking?
any ideas?

BlackSpur

I believe it dates to the 1600s when a man named Edward Hope decided to take his good old penny farthing to Morzine for a jolly good romp.

haynes1

do you now which country is regarded as the birthplace of mountain biking?

stumpyjon

Marin County, Califonia, USA.

haynes1

thanks for that

stubs

was it b*llocks invented in marin county they might have come up with the name but not the idea of mountain biking
ive got a photo somewhere of my dad at the top of garburn pass with his sunbeam fixie taken in 1948 with his RAF buddies
people have been riding up and down mountains since the invention of the safety cycle

paulswilliams2

Absolutely. Got rid of a Trail Magazine recently that had some 1930's guys riding bikes over a rough trail wearing their Dog Tooth Plus 4's in the Lake District. Can't remember the exact pass though. I bet some idiots raced boneshakers down some hill somewhere, probably with compressed vertebras!!!

toontra

I think the OP meant mountain biking as we know it today - 26" fat tyres, frames and forks built like brick s**t-houses, high bottom brackets, etc, designed specifically for serious off-road trails.

That being the case, stumpyjon is correct in saying Marin County, at least according to a couple books on the origins of modern MTBing that I've read (both American, admittedly).

Sure there were people cycling off-road up hills since pneumatic tyres, but that's not quite the same thing.

stubs

cycling offroad up and down hills is mountain biking

have you ever seen a clunker that they used to ride down the trails in marin it is closer to
a rover safety cycle than it is to your modern mountain bike

Matteeboy

My Dad and his mates used to modify bikes and loon down hills on them.

Reckon it's been around for ages, but the good old US 0f A likes to grab things and brand them its own. Just like surfing.

stumpyjon

Cheers Toontra

whether you all like it or not the general perception is that modern mountain biking started in Marin County, California. Of course people rode their bikes off road before this (poeple used to run before the modern Olympics were introduced).

It's just one of those 'facts' that isn't really based on a lot of erm, fact.

Google 'Birthplace of Mountain Biking' first hit brings you bak to this thread so it must be true (Google never lies )