>>1754540Based a f
Early mtb was such a rare happening, a brand new sport, sprouting from a handful of isolated groups doing there own thing to a global phenomenon in less than a decade, think about it, Raleigh, who were at that time one of, if not the, biggest global force in cycling were so caught out by this new craze, that they had to set up a special projects division just to figure out what a mountain bike is and how to get the fuck into the game.
These days fads and crazes are invented top down, thought up by marketing departments and pushed onto the public in the hope that something sticks, the days of kids doing something that they love and that just takes on a life all of its own, completely bypassing the megacorps, forcing them to take notice and play catch up while enthusiasts are already out there pushing the envelope, they're long gone.
Mountain Biking was the last true grass roots consumer revolution, imagine that, a time when people were forced to cobble together the bikes they needed because the industry was too busy inhaling their own farts and churning out cookie cutter BMX, road and commuter bikes to notice what the world was actually crying out for.
Amazing, a golden age indeed, and some of the bikes and parts that emerged from that tumultuous period are simply some of the best ever built.
