On The Pedals
By Jason Giacchino

Deep Rooted Fascination

It’s funny how some look at mountain biking as a leisurely activity while others, especially those who enjoy the competitive aspects of the sport, consider it the epitome of physical and mental determination. I like to think I land somewhere firmly in the middle of the two extremes; a fan of the physical and mental health benefits partaking has to offer while extracting a hint of competitive hunger when the mood strikes. In photos I like to fancy myself as a member of the elite downhill crowd but certainly enjoy the weight shavings of a modern cross country bike design when huffing it out on the relatively flat trails surrounding my neighborhood. Perhaps this lack of commitment places me right into the meat of the spectrum in a class the marketing gurus coined “all mountain”. Hey, I’ve been called worse!

All contrived labels aside; I recently had an opportunity to discover such truths about myself as a rider over lunch with a fellow mountain biker who just so happens to pay the rent as an engineer. It turns out that we know several other riders who made the transition to mountain bikes while perusing their education as mechanical engineers, physicists, and fabricators. Coincidence? Maybe not.

Our conversation led to asking what elements about the sport attracted each of us most. The answer, not surprisingly, seemed to have a lot to do with the technology that has become standard fair on off-road bikes these days. And who can blame us? Ultra-trick carbon fiber bonding processes, hallow forged frame members, hydraulic disc brakes with more stopping power than recent automotive entrants, and suspension dimensions that have, until now, been the stuff of monster trucks and rally cars. It’s pretty wild to compare the spec sheet of a modern trail bike with even the most excessive downhill designs of merely a decade ago (even more amazing is comparing those figures with what the pioneers of the sport were romping in the 1970s).

I’m all for the growth and advancement of the sport that such comparisons hint toward, but even on a more basic level find the hardware that we take for granted while slamming through a rock garden unfettered or softly landing from an eight foot drop-off pretty darn neat. Does this insinuate that the attraction would be less intense if, like early mountain bikers, we were limited to “dumpster hopping” spare parts and rigging up devices such as brakes to work from discarded motorcycle pieces? Tough to say- Not because I don’t respect the origins of the sport but rather because I fear that neither man nor machine would survive many mountainside runs if the engineering involved was performed by yours truly.

That doesn’t mean I can’t gawk at the innovations and improvements that have turned a small movement of hippies looking for a legal rush into a multibillion-dollar business. And that takes us back to the point I was making earlier. It seems like the simultaneous simplicity and complexity of the modern mountain bike goes a long way in terms of attracting the likes of mechanical engineers. As a first taste of technology in the real world, mountain bikes are machines quite inviting in their charming simplicity yet contain enough complexity for long-term fascination as well.

Now I never claimed to be an engineer myself, but I can certainly understand the logic there! That also explains why, unlike my engineering buddies, I actually get out and ride the specimens in question.

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