Flashback Friday: 30 Years Ago

(Click on the  picture to enlarge it and read the copy more easily.)

Back in 1990, this was considered one of the most innovative mountain bikes in the world. Check out the elevated chainstays, which had been designed by future Mountain Bike Action editor Richard Cunningham. Check out the pedals, too. Shimano’s SPD pedals and cleats had yet to hit the scene in mountain biking, so riders used to slide their feet into toe clips attached to the pedals along with cages that were made with cloth straps to keep the riders’ feet from slipping off the pedals. Notice that there’s no suspension on the bike, either front or rear. Rock Shox (spelled as two words back then) forks were just starting to hit the market in 1990, but they weren’t standard equipment on mountain bikes yet. Rear suspension had been introduced a few years earlier in a few select bikes, but it would take years before rear suspension would become a common feature on mountain bikes.