>>2046809Again: No.
Things that happened in marin county circa 1970 being widely popularized as 'birth of MTB and MTBing' and being the only thing that NPCs and casuals think of when asked about are not the definitive birth of MTB. This being the first instance where it took off as a phenomenon does not make it the start of the MTBs lineage. If anything it hints at: Marketeers and also a point in time where the disconnect between people and early bicycling grew to whwre the roots of bicycling were erased from said NPCs minds.
The bicycle existed long before modern roads were a common thing. Most early bicyclists, especially on safety bicycles, can be thought of as gravel- oder even MTBikers. And many even purposefully engaged in MTBing and constructed or modified bicycles for the expressed purpose. Those were made by many around the globe not to get to a place using shitty roads but to go to places where mo road leads as a leisure activity. This is mountainbiking.
Also many other types of bicycles have existed for a long time were the products of a convergent evolution, while not really being MTB. For example cycle speedway has been documented as early as 1920s. Riding a bike in circles over uneven surfaces. It's almost as if zoomers would call that a 'pump track'.
So yeah we know of:
Bicycles for offroading that existed long before schwinn first made their abomination.
An activity where you go to remote and scenic places off road on your bicycle for the hell of it, long documented before 1960.
Bicycles and components specifically optimized for loose surfaces that date back to long before 1960.
Mentions of bicycles specifically intended for offroad use in all sorts of languages, dating way back.
And so on.
But of course the first time anyone ever thought of going where the fuck they wanted and having fun doing it, on their bicycles and then also optimizing their bicycle to be even netter at it, was 1960. Right?
