30 years in the saddle: from bicycle to mountain bike

«Would you like to go for a ride?» It was the summer of 1992 and my then-girlfriend had just moved to Basel from London. As well as a penchant for fish and chips and marmite, one of the things she’d brought to Switzerland was a mountain bike. If I remember rightly, it was a Muddyfox model, which we kept in the bike shed. It might’ve been advanced enough to have an aluminium frame. Or it might’ve been one of the old steel ones. I can’t remember exactly. The thing I do remember vividly to this day is the fascination the bike ignited in me. Until that sunny Sunday morning, mountain bikes or MTBs were the stuff of legend to me.

Then, all of a sudden, I had the hefty bike in front of me. Beholding it, my eyes were like saucers. In hindsight, it almost makes me laugh. Technologically speaking, my budget-friendly beginners’ gravel bike, the 2020 Revolt model from Giant, is worlds apart. As well as a slightly wider set of tyres than the kind typical of racing bikes at the time, the main feature of my girlfriend’s MTB was the two bar ends on the handlebars. After all, if there are no bar ends, it’s not a mountain bike.

Do you bike or are you a biker?

As for where we’d go on bike rides back then, we cycled on unpaved paths through the forest. The mix of angry, bewildered and curious looks we’d get from walkers were part and parcel of mountain biking 30 years ago. These days, my gravel bike sees more challenging terrain. My fascination for my girlfriend’s MTB partly stemmed from my dad’s staunch commitment to riding racing bikes and racing bikes alone. He kept his beloved turquoise, steel-framed Peugeot in our basement. When the MTB trend took off, he was seriously sceptical. He’d turn up his nose at «wannabe cyclists», as he liked to call them, adding that real bikers ride on the road. Period.

And now? My girlfriend became my wife, my wife became my ex-wife and my fascination with mountain biking turned to a sort of indifference. Then, when I (not entirely of my own will) switched from jogging to cycling a few years ago, everything changed. In the three years I’ve been exploring the world around me on two wheels instead of two legs, I’ve gained new insights. To give you an example: 30 years ago I’d say «I go biking», today I’d say «I’m a biker».

I discover something new with every extra centimetre I pedal into the rabbit hole of the bike world. And at the same time, it’s dawned on me how little I still know about bikes. A friend of mine also started biking 30 years ago, but unlike me, he’s been doing it consistently for three decades. In that time span, he’s probably forgotten more about bikes than I could still hope to learn.

Quantum leaps in technology

I recently got the opportunity to test an e-mountain bike for Galaxus, a model from Swiss manufacturer Bixs that I’ve been putting through its paces on the hills near my home. Riding the Sauvage EX, I can bank on dirty looks from both hikers and bikers riding non-electric MTBs. I can practically hear their thoughts as I overtake them on the way uphill: «Wannabe! A real mountain biker relies on muscle power alone. Period.» New technologies always seem to get a rough start. I wonder what today’s e-bikers will be turning up their noses at in a few years’ time?

My girlfriend’s Muddyfox in the bike shed of 30 years ago has been swapped for a Bixs Sauvage EX in the garden. But when I look at my current bike, my sense of wonder is just as strong as it was back then. It’s amazing how bike technology has developed over the last three decades. The frame is made of carbon, there are hydraulic disc brakes at the front and rear, the built-in motor has a torque of 85 newton-metres and the bike’s kitted out with 29-inch wheels with tyres over 60 millimetres wide. I could list its features until I’m blue in the face.

Still, whether it’s a Muddyfox, Revolt or Sauvage, a bike is a bike. A mode of transportation with a frame and two wheels that gets me from A to B. They’re all the same and yet, at the same time, it feels like they’re universes apart. My journey down the rabbit hole has only just begun. I’m bursting with curiosity to see what else will be in store for me along the way.