#mtbhistory

1989 Trek 7000 Dirt-Drop Conversion

Was long to find all these components from the long #mtbhistory: @rideshimano XT Hubs from 1991 with greasegard, @mavic_mtb M231 rims, same year, original #deoreXT skewer and @panaracer #dart #nos and most important @dtswiss butted spokes and the mandatory #purpleanodized nipples!! One more item for my new MTB Project #vintagemtbparts #vintagemtb #oldschoolmtb #restoremtb #90smtb (à Düsseldorf-Düsseltal) https://www.instagram.com/p/CUSITgRIh-k/?utm_medium=tumblr

#35yearsmtbhistoryproject Now comes the time to unveil the final component, the soul of a bike, the frame: @ritcheylogic #ultrateamedition ❤️ As for the fork I have reposted the second half of the components, as a reminder. Next step will be the sharing of the complete bike. Thanks to @steelfightsback for the inspiration and the support. Now some history: In the late 70's, Tom Ritchey, Charles Kelly, Gary Fischer and Joe Breeze, rode together in Marin County, along Mt Tamalpais with bikes they had transformed to withstand the abuse of off-road riding. This was the start of Mountain Biking (MTB). Tom, who also had welding skills started to build frames for Charles and Gary. Those sold instantly. Tom moved on and created his brand already in 1979. From that moment on, Ritchey has always been standing for high quality steel frames as well as "Spot on" geomtry. In the early 90’s, aluminum frames where hype. Tom was still believing in steel, and his World Cup riders helped him prove he was ride, winning a lot of podium and overall titles. And the colors of these frames were worldwide known: Tom Ritchey handcrafted his P-22, P-21 and P-20 team models and the riders had the privilege to have the famous Blue/white/red color scheme. Since then, as a good businessman, Tom Ritchey regularly releases "Team Edition" versions of his frames. They are not fill brazed by him anymore, but the special attention to details, and the specific tubing still carry the magic. So when I was able to find a 2021 Ritchey Ultra frame, in Team Edition, I could not resist: "Ultra", a model from 1986 with the Blue/White/Red colors inherited from the 1988 Super Comp and later P-2x models that won dozens of World Cups. More info below: https://www.steelfightsback.com/ritchey/former-projects/ https://ritchey.vintagebicycledatabase.com/catalogs/ritchey/1986/index.php #MTBHistory #neoretro #vintageMTB #NewBuildProject #sportislife #MTBForever @apple #iphoneXR @nikon #D5300 @gopro #hero7Black, Mountain Bike (à Düsseldorf-Düsseltal) https://www.instagram.com/p/CNUgSmhL2ZJ/?igshid=1us3hq2k2zu49

#35yearsmtbhistoryproject Founded 42 years earlier, the Gore Company stepped in 2000 into the bike clothing business with the Goretex fiber. Water repellant, breathable, light, these clothes made riding in northern European conditions a bliss. Another usage of the fiber was experimented: as it was smooth as silk, @gorewear used it to create a derailleur cable and liner set, where the friction was extremely limited. The liner running through the entire cable, also ensuring a protection from mud and dirt. This cable set was more expensive than others but promised a maintenance free usage for several seasons, as opposed to standard systems that required under hard conditions changes twice a year. Unfortunately, the product did not receive enough success and Gore stopped it in 2012, sold the last ones to SRAM who continued to propose it a few years for their road red groupset before definitely stopping it. There is unfortunately no replacement to this option today. #MTBHistory #neoretro #vintageMTB #NewBuildProject #sportislife #MTBForever @apple #iphoneXR @nikon #D5300 @gopro #hero7Black (à Düsseldorf-Düsseltal) https://www.instagram.com/p/CNB8780LHcT/?igshid=1ids0tgkkpwu2

#35yearsmtbhistoryproject In 1996, @magura_bicycle , a German brand who had already established hydraulic rim brakes as a standard, launched one of the first hydraulic disc brakes. And this product stayed in their line up for more than 12 years, unchanged! This proves how good the product was. Massive braking power, but still progressive, reliable, very easy to service were some of the qualities that helped forget a heavy weight and a stratospheric price. These brakes were rapidly adopted in the downhill community and it took some years until other brands could bring some competition to Magura (Formula stole the fore-front for some years). Magura launched them in Raceline yellow. And in 2015 with the release of the MT7, Magura managed to recreate a similar iconic model: simple, reliable, with tremendous power, modular, and this time also lightweight. And Magura released a limited number (500) in Raceline Yellow as a tribute to the historical #GustavM #MTBHistory #neoretro #vintageMTB #NewBuildProject #sportislife #MTBForever @apple #iphoneXR @nikon #D5300 @gopro #hero7Black, #MountainBike (à Düsseldorf-Düsseltal) https://www.instagram.com/p/CM7TB06r_u4/?igshid=1xvidccjep6c0

#35yearsmtbhistoryproject First freewheels in the Hubs were often weak spots: they could hardly withstand the hard pushes on pedals in hilly rides. The oldest ones surely remember coming home walking when the freewheel had collapsed on a ride. In those times, most common work around was the usage of a tandem rear hub, insanely heavy, but robust enough to hold irregular torque. Until 1994, when a German mechanic brand "Union Fröndenberg" invented a freewheel with 8 coupling points instead of the classic 3 or 4. More info:  http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/UNION_Fröndenberg These first hubs were often produced under the "Hügi" brand. These luxury hubs equipped the Ritchey Pro MTB riders as they were racing the Grundig World Cup. And this continued some years after DT Swiss bought the patent in 1995. "Hügi by DT Swiss" meant high quality hubs. Since those times, DT evolved his lighthouse hub and the also famous "Ratchet" freewheel system is the standard on all DT Swiss high-end hubs, almost 30 years later. #MTBHistory #neoretro #vintageMTB #NewBuildProject #sportislife #MTBForever @apple #iphoneXR @nikon #D5300 @gopro #hero7Black, Mountain Bike (à Düsseldorf-Düsseltal) https://www.instagram.com/p/CM6YReuLBSU/?igshid=15xj0z5e9336k

#35yearsmtbhistoryproject At the beginning of mountain biking, in the 80’s, the only way to increase power to ground efficiency were toe clpips, as on road bikes. This was not at all suited for off-road usage. The older ones will remember the challenging moments in muddy conditions, never knowing when or how to tighten toe-clips, while maintaining yourself on the bike with both wheels slipping all over. Shimano (again) disrupted the market in 1990 with the release of the M737 pedals as part of the XT line-up: these were the first automatic pedals for MTB, and the proposed standard (SPD) is today still unchanged and has defined a market standard! Hard to think of another innovation that changed the sport as much (maybe disc brakes or suspended forks). These pedals stayed years in the Shimano catalog. Today, after having tried various other options (crank bros, Look, time), SPD is really my preferred choice, either as XC or Enduro pedals, what ever the conditions. #MTBHistory #neoretro #vintageMTB #NewBuildProject #sportislife #MTBForever @apple #iphoneXR @nikon #D5300 @gopro #hero7black (à Düsseldorf-Düsseltal) https://www.instagram.com/p/CM1j4BFLgV7/?igshid=j7vf78rfs3yq