It may be hearsay, but I believe the (book, not old zine/mag) FTF describes a batch of Ritchey-built Moutainbikes that had incorrect ht angle / rake... which were sold at discount t to their friends @Specialized. Curiously, the first-gen batch of Japanese stumpjumpers appeared! replicating the "error". And then everybody and their uncle jumped into the business... and the rest as they say is history!
=- Joe Bunik Walnut Creek, CA On 11/6/14, 'Chris Lampe 2' via RBW Owners Bunch <rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com> wrote: > I couldn't agree more. My tastes in bikes have evolved but I've pretty > much arrived at wanting an mid-to-late 80's style All-Rounder bike. I > struggled with the idea of buying a full-fledged MTB for over a year but I > finally got out and tried true single-track and discovered I did not enjoy > it at all. Pavement, dirt roads, gravel roads, fire trails and even > relatively smooth but wider single-track sounds fun. I'm more into the > journey and the scenery than the high speed, high adrenaline rush of > shredding. > > I think the closest thing in my price range is going to be a 26" Long Haul > Trucker and that's what I plan to purchase in the Spring. I'm thinking it > will have the benefits of my Takara Highlander but with much more nimble > and responsive steering. I'm hoping it's my "perfect" bike. I'll probably > > keep my Takara as a dedicated single-speed because it is just SO MUCH FUN > to ride!! > > I almost forgot to ask, but do you remember if your Schwinn Typhoon had the > > horrendous wheel flop that many early ATB's shared and also DID many of the > > early 80's ATB's have that characteristic? I might replace the Takara as a > > single-speed if I can find a mid-to-late 80's ATB with longer chainstays > but a steeper headangle and with forward facing dropouts. > > > > On Thursday, November 6, 2014 9:06:13 AM UTC-6, Montclair BobbyB wrote: >> >> Eric: >> >> Indeed, Mountain Bike WAS an excellent magazine, and (having grown up on a >> >> fat-tired Schwinn Typhoon), I remember in 1985 how smitten I became with >> the whole idea of mountain bikes... WOW, the mere notion of riding bikes >> in >> the back-country just blew my mind. For the entire month of June 1985 I >> was on a business trip in Pueblo Colorado, where I would hang out every >> day >> after work at the local bike shop talking mountain biking with the staff. >> >> I bought a copy of Mountain Bike mag, and there was a feature article >> about Crested Butte and the emerging mountain biking scene. I checked the >> >> map (hmm, just a few hours away), made hotel reservations for the weekend >> >> in Crested Butte, found a local shop to rent me a Rockhopper, and spent 2 >> >> glorious days riding the high country above CB (Schofield Pass, etc.)... I >> >> was HOOKED for life! >> >> Now 30 years later, while my mountain biking has evolved somewhat, and I >> followed the industry trends for awhile (dabbling with full-suspension, >> aluminum, titanium, etc) I've gone back to riding a simple, fully-rigid >> steel frame/fork (kinda like the original 80s bikes), not because I'm >> nostalgic, but because it just FEELS right. And as for the original 80s >> designs, I think the industry absolutely nailed it in designing perfect >> workhorse all-rounders build to last... And think about it... the frames, >> >> shifters, brake levers, derailleurs etc of the 80s are still around (I >> actually prefer them) because they were built to LAST! It's a shame that >> >> most of the industry (starting in the late 80s) seemed to drift away from >> >> building these super-high-quality, overbuilt bikes and components in favor >> >> of evolving designs, and (IMO) cheaper-quality... I hope we're seeing this >> >> trend reversed... >> >> >> >> >> On Thursday, November 6, 2014 7:01:52 AM UTC-5, EricP wrote: >>> >>> While Fat Tire Flyer was my main influence into riding bikes with wider >>> tires, the short-lived magazine "Mountain Bike - for the Adventure" put >>> out >>> by Hank Barlow was more my style. It focused more on touring back roads >>> >>> and recreational riding, moreso than racing. Although racing did show up >>> >>> in the magazine. The first issue actually had reviews of small tents for >>> >>> mountain bike touring. >>> >>> Eric Platt >>> St. Paul, MN >>> >>> Eric Platt >>> St. Paul, MN >>> >>> On Wed, Nov 5, 2014 at 2:15 PM, 'Chris Lampe 2' via RBW Owners Bunch < >>> rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com> wrote: >>> >>>> I pre-ordered mine on Amazon back when a first came available and >>>> devoured it once I got it. You are right, I almost got the Kindle >>>> version >>>> but that would ahve been such a waste on a library quality, coffee table >>>> >>>> sized book full of illustrations and photos. I've watched Klunkerz, >>>> read >>>> Barto's "Birth of Dirt" as well as a lot of articles but I still learned >>>> >>>> some fascinating stuff. I also highly recommend it to anyone interested >>>> in >>>> bike history. >>>> >>>> On Wednesday, November 5, 2014 1:31:12 PM UTC-6, jbu...@gmail.com >>>> wrote: >>>>> >>>>> Chris, all- >>>>> >>>>> Re: the Marin-legacy and it's influence on bike culture, check out >>>>> Charlie Kelley's new memoir, "Fat Tire Flyer". It's a book of both >>>>> lavish production quality as well as a compelling storytelling. >>>>> >>>>> =- Joe Bunik >>>>> Walnut Creek, CA >>>>> >>>>> On 11/5/14, 'Chris Lampe 2' via RBW Owners Bunch >>>>> <rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com> wrote: >>>>> > Nice article. So basically we are just going back to the >>>>> All-Terrain >>>>> > Bikes that came out of Marin County in the late 70's and early 80's. >>>>> > >>>>> I've >>>>> > >>>>> > done a bit of reading about the history of the MTB (as well as >>>>> watching >>>>> > Klunkerz) and those guys (and a couple of girls) were really just >>>>> doing >>>>> > exactly what Guitar Ted is talking about........developing bikes that >>>>> > >>>>> could >>>>> > >>>>> > be ridden almost anywhere. The whole downhill/extreme terrain thing >>>>> > >>>>> came >>>>> > about when the racers took over. I know that Repack was all about >>>>> racing >>>>> > and was a huge influence but it seems those guys were doing a lot of >>>>> > >>>>> what >>>>> > would now be called expedition biking. >>>>> > >>>>> > I've evolved to prefer just that type of bike and no longer have any >>>>> > >>>>> > interest in riding anything less than 55mm tires. When I picked up a >>>>> > >>>>> 1984 >>>>> > MTB last year, I did some research on bikes from that era and in 1985 >>>>> > >>>>> > Bicycling put out a book and they were still referring to them as >>>>> ATB's, >>>>> > which is actually much more appropriate than "mountain bike". >>>>> > >>>>> > >>>>> > >>>>> > On Wednesday, November 5, 2014 11:21:18 AM UTC-6, Noah Deuce wrote: >>>>> >> >>>>> >> Hyperbole, sure, but the drum GP has been beating for decades >>>>> (better tire >>>>> >> >>>>> >> clearance, too much emphasis on racing, etc.) has finally turned >>>>> into a >>>>> >> product "category" that may save the industry from itself. >>>>> >> >>>>> >> Just see the latest by Guitar Ted: >>>>> >> http://www.gravelgrindernews.com/less-about-the-rock-and- >>>>> more-about-the-roll/ >>>>> >> >>>>> > >>>>> > -- >>>>> > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>>>> Groups >>>>> > "RBW Owners Bunch" group. >>>>> > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, >>>>> send an >>>>> > email to rbw-owners-bun...@googlegroups.com. >>>>> > To post to this group, send email to rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com. >>>>> > Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. >>>>> > >>>>> > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >>>>> > >>>>> >>>> -- >>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>>> Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. >>>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send >>>> an email to rbw-owners-bun...@googlegroups.com. >>>> To post to this group, send email to rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com. >>>> Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. >>>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >>>> >>> >>> > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. > Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. 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