User Guide

1
1963
Gary Fisher was an active cyclist at a
youthful age. At age 12, Gary started compet-
ing on both the road and track. The follow-
ing year, he discovered cyclo-cross racing.
He also finished 2nd in the Intermediate
age group at the Northern California Road
Championships.
1968
Several years later Gary was suspended
from bike racing because his hair was too
long. As an alternate outlet for his energy,
he built a light show, and played major rock
venues around San Francisco.
1972
The “long hair” rule was overturned, and
Gary commenced road racing.
1973
Gary’s finishes were good enough for him
to become a Category 1 USCF road racer.
1974
It was for this busy time that Gary
Fisher would become known as “The Father
of Mountain Biking”. He earned the title
through a series of events.
Gary, his friends and their fat-tired bikes
were attempting to ride in the hills near his
house in Marin County, California. Due to
the heavy-duty nature of their bikes (about
42 pounds of duty), they spent 20% of their
time in the hills riding, and 80% pushing.
Gary wanted to reverse the ratio. He put
some wide range gearing and Tandem drum
brakes, along with motorcycle levers, longer
cranks, and a seatpost quick release, on an
old 1930’s newsboy bike fondly known as
“The Clunker”. Its wide gear range and heavy
duty braking make it the first true off-road
bike; ridable up mountains as well as down. A
new sport was born.
1975
Gary was busy helping his roommate,
Charlie Kelly, stage the Repack off-road down-
hill race series. To get even more involved in
cycling, Gary began writing a monthly road
test article for Bicycling Magazine.
1976
Gary’s early road racing results were fol-
lowed by bigger successes. Gary won the
Tour of Klamath Lake, a 125 mile Olympic
development race. He also placed 12th in the
national road championships.
1977
Gary kept road racing. Gary finished fifth
in the National Cyclo-cross championships
and finished the Red Zinger stage race in
Colorado.
Off road, Gary set the Repack record of
4:22:14, a record that still stands.
1979
Gary started his own bike business. He
did a “bad job” at trademarking the name
“MountainBikes”. His brand name rapidly
became the generic term for the sport. That
first year he made just 165 bikes, but at the
time those few bikes comprised 85% of the
market share.
1980
Gary’s business pushed out 1000 bikes.
That’s a pretty steep growth curve.
Gary coins the term “Bullmoose handlebar”
which he did trademark. Gary is the first
to use a Shimano freehub and “Bear Trap”
pedals on a mountain bike.
Also in 1980 he won every cross-country
mountain bike race held in California, includ-
ing the Reseda to the Sea off-road race.
Gary and Charlie Kelly edit the bicycle sec-
tion of the “Last Whole Earth Catalog”.
1981
Gary wins the second Reseda to the
Sea off-road race. Gary wins the first
Rockhopper Off-Road Race and sets the
stage for Fisher riders to claim the next six.
Gary wins the Paradise Divide Criterium in
Crested Butte, Colorado.
Fisher sponsors a women’s team in the
Coors Classic stage race.
1983
The National Off Road Biking Association
better known as NORBA was born in the
living room of Charlie Kelly at Jack Ingram’s
insistence. Gary was one of the founding
members.
1984
Gary develops and names the Unicrown
fork. Fisher has the first production bike
with a brake under the chainstay. Gary
A BRIEF HISTORY OF OFF-ROAD RIDING