Mountain Biking “Its not just a new bike, it’s a new sport!” Jasmin Michaud, June 2009 I love this sport!

From humble beginnings, to giving the sport of biking… new life. California, 1970s, that’s where and when it all started. Going up and down the Marin county south bay hills on their “Klunkers” Gary Fisher, Tom Ritchey, Mike Sinyard (Specialized), Joe Breeze and Charlie Cunningham are just a few names from those “thrill seekers” that gave birth to a new sport.

From To Many things happened in between. Mountain bike builders were innovative, inspired and …reckless.! Fat tires Wheel size and shape Front suspension Rear suspension Lever breaks to disc brakes high performance derailleur 27 speeds seat post (quick release) Handlebars Frame geometry Pedals Crack arms Equipment Clothing and now… 29ers

In 1981 Mike Sinyard, founder of Specialized Bicycle build a commercial version of what would be a the first mass produced mountain bike. 250 units of the “Stumpjumper” were produced and sold with the slogan: "It's Not Just A New Bicycle, It's A Whole New Sport" At $750, 250 units more were produced and sold that year. In today’s day and age, some will pay up to $20,000 for a bicycle… According to the National Bicycle Dealers' Association, nearly 45 percent of the 18.3 million bicycles sold in the United States in 2004 were mountain bikes. (8.2M) New sport means new $ The phenom is all over the world now

4 types of MTB 1. Fully rigid: A frame with a rigid fork and fixed rear, no suspension. 2. Hardtail: A frame with a front suspension fork and no rear suspension.

3. Softail: A frame with small amount of rear suspension, activated by flex of the frame instead of pivots. 4. Dual or full suspension: A front suspension fork and rear suspension with a rear shock and linkage that allow the rear wheel to move on pivots.

New bikes, new races Mountain bike (MTB)  Cross country racing (XC) (30-45KM)  Downhill racing (DH) (3-9 minutes)  4 cross racing (4X) (2 minutes)  UCI World Cup  Olympics – Cross country (1996 – Atlanta) Alyson Sydor took silver  Freeride-biking

MTB brought a new kind of tourism. Ski resort National parks Indoor facilities Studies reported in the IMBA (International Mountain Bike Association) Trail Solutions manual found that a mountain bike's impact is comparable to that of a hiker and substantially less than that of an equestrian Moab Slickrock trail, Utha

MTB main purpose is to be active, get exercise and have fun! 1.You also get to see beautiful locations 2.Meet people that shares the same passion 3.Live some exciting moments 4.…and you want to go back and do better the next time around

From humble beginning,

To exciting new sport!

Thank you Marie-Hélène Prémont 2008 WC XC Champion