How Mtn Biking’s Gone from Goofy Hobby to Olympic Sport

A mountain bike may cost you your first-born, but owning one’s worth the price. And today’s models are so plush, the thousands of dollars is totally worth it. Plus, you may never have to buy a lift ticket again!

But mountain bikes haven’t always been as comfortable as your recliner. They started off as salvaged paper-boy bikes–their fenders and chain drops removed to lighten them about 50 pounds–and since those are barely easy on the ol’ bum on flat roads, you can only imagine how they felt tearing down rocky descents.

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Mountain bike pioneer Charlie Kelly dishes on how the first bikes progressed from clunkers to ultra-light carbon fiber machines decked out with precision shifting, powerful disc brakes, and responsive suspension. Meanwhile, biking clothing has also evolved; turns out riders these days are too cool for the head-to-toe denim that once dressed Kelly and his fellow bike innovators.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the first mountain bike race, Repack (duly named because your bike would take such a beating you’d have to go home and re-pack the hub). Kelly, the rest of the innovators of the race, and other cyclists will gather at the top of Pine Mountain in Marin to celebrate what the biking pioneers say was initially just a “goofy hobby,” or, as one paper from 1978 put it, “mountainside surfing.”