Over the summer I posted some pics from a 1989 book called The Complete Mountain Biker and it was pretty amazing to see how much things have changed since then. Little did I know, I had another book on my shelf, Pro Mountain Biker, with full color pics of bikes from 1995, including some full suspension designs that will blow your mind.

Joe Breeze showing off a 1993 Breezer. Could this be the original Sh*t bike from Bike Magazine? It’s definitely the right color…

Outside of world record DH speed attempts, you don’t see too many mountain bikers wearing skin suits these days. The caption on this pic reads: “John Tomac is dressed in an aerodynamic skinsuit for maximum speed on a downhill course.” Good thinking.

Check out this early disc brake. The rotor looks like it weighs a pound and the overall mechanics look a little sketchy. I do like how the brake attaches to the fork – no need for disc mounts!

Notice the brilliant weight-saving circle cutout on this mountain bike frame!

When I was starting mountain biking in the mid-1990s, the Klein Mantra was the kind of bike my buddies and I would dream of owning one day. The book says “This Klein full suspension bike is one of the most radical designs around.” Rad indeed.

I’ll give everyone a moment to guess who this is. The bike looks like a Jeff Jones but in fact, it’s a Gary Fisher (who also happens to be standing behind the bike).

And you thought Lotus was only a sports car manufacturer. This bike actually features an early carbon monocoque frame and “the choicest components.”

Frankly I’m not sure what to make of this bike from Muddy Fox Interactive. “This design links the front and rear wheels so that hitting a bump with the front fork compresses the back at the same time.” Too bad the design ultimately ends up with more pivots than a tango lesson.

This bike appears to use matching shocks (front and rear) and you can just make out the Michelin sticker on the rear shock strut. Pro Mountain Biker says “Until 1995 the most suspension racers would use would be a front suspension fork. In 1995 several racers, including the ’94 World Champion Henrik Djernis, switched to full suspension bikes. Full suspension makes fast racing more comfortable.”

Aside from the white (!) tires and V-brakes, this design looks surprisingly modern for its age.

This doesn’t look like any Yeti mountain bike I’ve seen before! Note the disked rear wheel – and I’m not talking about brakes. The front chain ring on this beast is enormous – can you imagine shifting down to the smaller ring? The caption says “Yeti spend (sic) a lot of time testing their products on the race track.” I wonder if they spent any time testing this on the mountain bike trail?

This guy’s outfit (minus the exposed legs) says DH but the bike says XC baby! Skinny tires, V-brakes, and clipless pedals don’t really cut it on the slopes these days.

As a beginning mountain bike rider I always wanted a set of Spinergy wheels and it seemed like the only guys who could afford them were middle aged guys with more money than skills. Notice the circle cutout in the frame again and the chain retention device.

Another carbon fiber mountain bike, this one from Trek. Those wheels really look top of the line!

A specially designed “snow bike” with disc brakes, studded tires, and fenders. Oh, and a ridiculous looking frame and saddle that looks ready to dump the rider onto the top tube.

This type of mountain bike was probably pretty common back in 1995 and it’s awesome to see this guy getting air on a rigid bike with reflectors on the wheels. Ride on Mr. Ponytail Tight Shorts!

Another “snow bike.” This one looks more like a time trail bike than a mountain bike but I’m sure it was fast as hell in the right conditions.

Another Pro-Flex with a slightly different rear suspension configuration.

Many of the bikes shown above are in the hands of collectors these days and restoring (and riding!) vintage bikes isn’t uncommon today. We’ve even created a thread on the forum to share pics of vintage mountain bikes.

All the photos above come from Pro Mountain Biker by Jeremy Evans and Brant Richards. You can still purchase used copies of this book (in hardcover!) at Amazon.com, often for less than $4.

Photo by Leif Borgeson, 63xc.com.

Here’s something you don’t see every day at your local mountain bike trailhead: a fixed gear mountain bike. Not to be confused with a singlespeed mountain bike, a fixed gear bike has just one gear but unlike traditional singlespeed bikes it lacks a freewheel hub. This means there’s no coasting on a fixed gear bike – if the bike is moving, you’re pedaling which can get a little tricky out on the trail (watch the embeded video below to see what I mean).

Joe rides fixie through rocky trail section from ricky d on Vimeo.

I’ve been doing a little research on fixed gear mountain bikes and not surprisingly there aren’t many folks out there rocking the fixie on the mountain bike trail. Fixed gear bikes are becoming more popular with the on-road commuting set but even learning to ride a fixie on the road can take weeks. The singlespeed sage himself, Sheldon Brown, had this to say about fixed gear mountain bikes:

Fixed gear is not ideal for all circumstances, however. A fixed gear is not well suited for seriously hilly terrain, and, more importantly, is not good for technical mountain biking. A mountain biker in difficult terrain must be able to control when each pedal is down, to avoid striking a pedal on rocks, logs or other obstructions. Similarly, jumping over obstacles is much more difficult on a fixed gear. If your single gear is low enough for off-road climbing, it will be too low to spin on the descents.

That being said, Sheldon inspired quite a few riders to build up their own fixed gear mountain bikes using the detailed instructions available on his website (including this guy and this guy).

So why would anyone ever want to build up and ride a fixed-gear mountain bike on the trail? Fans of the fixie will tell you the riding experience is more pure and the feeling of a connection with the bike is unmatched. There’s a ton of experimentation happening in the MTB world these days with new wheel sizes (29er, 650b), unusual gearing choices (single speed, 1×9), and retro tech (coaster brakes, rigid forks) so it’s really no surprise that some are attempting to bring the fixed gear to mountain biking. To me this is a really exciting time and I’m stoked to see which MTB innovations (or retrovations, if that’s a word) end up sticking in the long term.

If you’ve got a fixed gear mountain bike we’d love to hear about it – send us pics or post a comment!

Via CycleSnack.

Photo of 1948 Schwinn Majestic courtesy MOMBAT.org

First Flight bikes in Statesville, NC (about 40 miles north of Carlotte) is dedicated to preserving the history of mountain bikes and recently opened MOMBAT, the museum of mountain bike art and technology. The museum has more than 400 bikes on display including an original 1981 Specialized Stumpjumper, the first mass produced mountain bike. Apparently there is also an ’81 Stumpjumper on display in the Smithsonian in Washington, DC – how’s that for MTB history?

MOMBAT showcases 250 mountain bikes and visitors can see the evolution of frame materials, suspension systems, and drivetrains through the years. They also have tons of vintage MTB parts on display and thousands of pieces of MTB product literature, catalogs, and magazines from back in the day.

In 2009 mountain biking will officially celebrate its 30th anniversary making next year a great time to make a pilgrimage to the new MOMBAT. If you can’t make it to Statesville, you can view most of the bikes on display on the MOMBAT website. I’ve already spent the morning combing the archives and found some pretty amazing and unique bikes including a 1948 Schwinn Majestic Klunker, the 1982 Specialized Stumpjumper, and a 1980 Breezer Series II built up by Joe Breeze himself.

One thing that’s amazing about these bikes is that no matter how old they are, they all still look like mountain bikes in one way or another. Mountain biking technology has changed dramatically over the years but even modern mountain bikes can trace their roots to these Klunkers and early models. It’s also incredible to see companies like Specialized are still around and pumping out the latest and greatest MTB tech. Long live the mountain bike!