I raced with Tinker in Ocala, FL at a non professional 12 hour endurance race about 10 years ago. He won of course. What a great guy and long time ambassador of the sport I love.
I prefer more 1999-2006. when things developed enough .Before that many experimental machines were made and suspension was no more but foam spring with maybe 3-5 cm of travel.
@@sluzbazaorganizacijucentra4050 this was already the time when the glory was over IMO cause a lot of iconic smaller brands were already sold to the big players or privat equity firms …and with that things went down hill (these companies were mainly interested in cutting down costs ..and with that cool and great innovations also to increase their profits). The „love“ was GONE! Apart from that: you are right when you say rear suspension was oftentimes a bit „experimental“ and every company brew it’s own and told us their system as „the best“…LOL. But that’s the case even in 2022…. And I was thinking mainly about hardtails when I talked about the golden era when the original founders and developers run their own companies. Back then in the early 90s the whole spirit and the owners pride & attitude was literally oozing from every angle of their products…when they were gone and until today all frames come from one or two factories in Taiwan 🇹🇼
@@bikemike1118 Yes,the soul dissapeared as it was in many cases for many things.Consumerism started with full steam so most bikes were made to be chained to the services and replacement parts ,but they say its a weight reduction.Now its funny that many branded analysis goes to tje conclusion that coil springs have better performances so it wont be weird to go back to the 90s in some cases again.Some parts were at their maximum performance but coil doesent need much servicing than air suspension needs.Its maybe good for racing when you have sponsorship but for recreation its too complicated and expencive for nothing.
Golden era in terms of sponsorships and TV coverage, no doubt. XC MTB was still an "extreme sport" in this era...and it took skill to ride on 1.95" tires, rim brakes, and 50mm of elastomers suspension. Now XC is viewed as something everyone's uncle does for fitness on weekends, over-biked on a 140mm dual suspension riding exclusively smooth blue flow trails.
Thanks for sharing this! I raced as a junior in this event. I have this same US Team jersey in my closet, and my framed number/rider credential on the wall in my office. Sweet, sweet memories. Riding along with me in that junior race was a 16 year old Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski, who went on to do pretty well for himself with some National Championships, Olympics and what not :)
Tinker still rides the roads and trails here in Southern California. If you're on Strava you can follow him there. Nicest guy you'll ever meet - if you can catch him.
Tinker raced - and won - Dead Man Gravel here in Jackson, Mississippi back in 2019. He floated over that uphill, loose gravel finish with ease. Great racer and ambassador. Be well, All.
THIS is what MTB racing is all about!!! Climbing hills, dismounting and carrying your bike and speed. This crap that it's about downhill only and jumping off 8 foot platforms is not MTB ... it's stunt riding and BMX on a mountain bike. I was racing at this time and it was about physical challenges, not stunt riding and risking being put into a wheelchair. This is what it's about!
And you lived to ride the next day. Back flipping is cool and all, but dying and getting sent to the ER? I'm in my mid 50's now. One good fall, I'm SOL for months and likely it's going to hurt for the rest of my life.
@@ShuKatashSam You don't have to do that on a bike! Cool?! No, stupid and childish. I'm in my late 50s and raced MTB around the Midwest 30 years ago. We never did this crap! We were athletes and we valued climbing hills and trails that were fast and clear of most obstacles. If there was an obstacle on the trail, you just rode around it. Forget the BMX stunt riding and find safe trails that have physical challenges and uphills. Do grown up MTB riding. Go home from your day of riding fun in your car, not in an ambulance!
@@PhilAndersonOutside Keep in mind, none of them had lock-out on the handle bar. It was said at that time, that the suspension fork "eats" your power on the uphill, only good for downhill.
From a spectator perspective, the races are a lot more exciting now. What happens in the old school 2.5 hour races is the field gets too spread apart, by the halfway mark the results are not going to change much. The one cool thing about the old races were self-sufficiency. It was possible to change out a tube, continue racing, and you had time to make back the lost positions.
I just came here because I was curious to see how MTB's have evolved over the years. That drop section at 2:50... the bikes nowadays would eat that up for breakfast.
Yeah, it's hard to believe that the best riders in the world were racing on state-of-the-art bikes and choosing to walk that section of trail. Look at the guys who are riding it-- fully half of them are eating shit. But you try that drop on a 80mm fork, without a dropper, 660mm bars, 80mm stem. These bikes were sketchy as hell. It's amazing everyone survived these races.
Ah those were the days, 1.95 tires, canty brakes and narrow bars. Epic times. These were the top guys and it all looks slow compared to today. But those bikes with the long reach stems were a bitch to ride. Met Ned Overand at a Uk race once, nice guy.
@@soarstar Yes the pro bikes would go less than 25 pounds at that time. This field has both rigid and suspension with around 1 1/2 or 2 inches of travel. I think Djernis was running a sprung stem device on the Ritchey? Some riders were at this time.
These were the good old days! Sort of. I still ride my fully rigid ‘94 Bridgestone MB-3 sometimes, but my 2022 bike is just in another league. It feels dangerous now riding on the old road geometry MTBs.
I'm old enough that I had been mountain biking since 1986, and the era of this video 94/95 at the time seemed much more refined to me, at the time. Not sure why I'm here, but it's because I'm laying on the couch with a broken ankle o have the time to watch. Anyway, look here, some of the racers have cantilever brakes. Racing with those is hard. You can see the leaders are really good drifters. Those hard tails lost traction, sometimes all of it, but always losing micro-traction. Combine that with the high-posting they had to have course and skill to charge the corners. And o be in the front they need not just that but also the aerobic capacity to keep it cool. It's tough. I ride rigid bikes but it's not racing and I have seat dropper posts. I see comments about how way the course looks. Yeah, easy, right? Not really.
I'm a 16 yo guy but I happen to have a 90s bike at home and a 2019 scott spark. I can tell you with no doubt that section is ez... As long as I'm riding the spark. If I was on the 90s bike I'd go over the handlebars in a lot of places. It's a good sensation feeling the old machinery from time to time just to get feeling of how it is and how good this guys were.
Rigid forks, narrow handlebars, rim brakes, damn. There are gravel bikes today that would’ve been more capable on that trail. Also, I would not be standing in that section right in front of the Bail out 😄
They had no idea what was to come years later when the Red Bull downhillers came around. This video is subtle compared to the Red Bull guys. But mad respect for these pioneers of mountain biking!
Ok, but that “bailout” section, where the world’s best pros were OTB’ing, could be easily ridden by any decent rider on a modern trail bike with modern technique. It’s sort of like the camera used to film this video…yeah, it technically is a camera, but a modern camera with an additional 30 years of engineering refinement would perform the function so much better.
@@GHinWI yes. but a camera with 30 years extra engineering ill still not get the shot if its in the hands of an amateur vs a pro. And the amateur doesnt need the extra 30 years to have just as much fun
I believe Djernis won that race using an Alsop Soft ride "suspension stem". Crazy!! My buddies and I were racing back then and the debate was real. Suspension fork or suspension stem? Ha!! WTF???
raced against Tinker at Crystal Mtn. A crazy hike and bike. I had run the course several times in the previous years. Tinker beat me by about 11 mins and 23 seconds. I counted that as a win. The next year I won the North West Mountain Bike Championship Series , sport class. Eric Eaton race series. 5 race, toss your worst. I raced them all . Two other riders placed well early...skipped a race. I didn't'. Got 12th, 8th, 1st, 2nd , 3rd,1st. Boo ya... Greggs Green Lake was the big ticket, but I was really just a country hick and didn't like them. Stuck up Pricks really. oooh and......I mean this...this book alone ...still works by a cycling genius ...if you want to race …..Bicycle Road Racing. By Edward Borysewicz. It IS the bible.
and ya, I was bumped to expert. Broke my arm....in several places. Was my 3rd hospital major visit. I tried to DH after and ...I had fear. So I hung it up. Now 20 years later...I am sooo happy! My back is fine and some of my buddies...well... I'm happy.
I still ride a 26 hardtail xc, modern front fork, no seat dropper, only recently went to tubeless using old school method for a wile. I bought in 2010. I ride all over Colorado. on a few really rocky tech spots I cant handle. seems to me the only thing I notice is that new tech gets more people out on the trails...a good thing, I guess. most don't seem to have earned the skills or the respect. just want to downhill. earn the downhill. but live and let live. BTW. I have seen dudes go single speed, no shock up and down some stuff that would blow your mind.
John Tomac, Ned Overend and Tinker Juarez are legend of MTB.
You forgot Dave Wiens in that mix
Bart Brentjens too. I can't believe Ned Overend was already 39 years old in this video. Crazy.
Nicolas V. Regina Stiefl, Giovanna Bonanzi .. :) Missy Giove, Miles Rockwel Bart Brentjes and Bas the Bever!
Ned and Tinker are still tearing it up today almost 30 years later.
I raced with Tinker in Ocala, FL at a non professional 12 hour endurance race about 10 years ago. He won of course. What a great guy and long time ambassador of the sport I love.
This was the golden era of XC mountain bikes ! No doubt !!
I prefer more 1999-2006. when things developed enough .Before that many experimental machines were made and suspension was no more but foam spring with maybe 3-5 cm of travel.
@@sluzbazaorganizacijucentra4050 this was already the time when the glory was over IMO cause a lot of iconic smaller brands were already sold to the big players or privat equity firms …and with that things went down hill (these companies were mainly interested in cutting down costs ..and with that cool and great innovations also to increase their profits). The „love“ was GONE!
Apart from that: you are right when you say rear suspension was oftentimes a bit „experimental“ and every company brew it’s own and told us their system as „the best“…LOL. But that’s the case even in 2022…. And I was thinking mainly about hardtails when I talked about the golden era when the original founders and developers run their own companies. Back then in the early 90s the whole spirit and the owners pride & attitude was literally oozing from every angle of their products…when they were gone and until today all frames come from one or two factories in Taiwan 🇹🇼
@@bikemike1118 Yes,the soul dissapeared as it was in many cases for many things.Consumerism started with full steam so most bikes were made to be chained to the services and replacement parts ,but they say its a weight reduction.Now its funny that many branded analysis goes to tje conclusion that coil springs have better performances so it wont be weird to go back to the 90s in some cases again.Some parts were at their maximum performance but coil doesent need much servicing than air suspension needs.Its maybe good for racing when you have sponsorship but for recreation its too complicated and expencive for nothing.
@@sluzbazaorganizacijucentra4050 absolutely correct ! ✅
Golden era in terms of sponsorships and TV coverage, no doubt. XC MTB was still an "extreme sport" in this era...and it took skill to ride on 1.95" tires, rim brakes, and 50mm of elastomers suspension. Now XC is viewed as something everyone's uncle does for fitness on weekends, over-biked on a 140mm dual suspension riding exclusively smooth blue flow trails.
Thanks for sharing this! I raced as a junior in this event. I have this same US Team jersey in my closet, and my framed number/rider credential on the wall in my office. Sweet, sweet memories. Riding along with me in that junior race was a 16 year old Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski, who went on to do pretty well for himself with some National Championships, Olympics and what not :)
As an avid mountain biker, it's really cool to see a piece of history in mountain biking. Thanks for sharing!
Tinker still rides the roads and trails here in Southern California. If you're on Strava you can follow him there. Nicest guy you'll ever meet - if you can catch him.
Tinker raced - and won - Dead Man Gravel here in Jackson, Mississippi back in 2019. He floated over that uphill, loose gravel finish with ease. Great racer and ambassador. Be well, All.
The best ever vintage 90s cross country mountain bike! Greeting from XC rider Malaysia!
It’s amazing how many of these guys don’t have suspension forks. I was riding on sus forks for two years by this point. Crazy!
Yeah, this feels like 1990 to me.
THIS is what MTB racing is all about!!! Climbing hills, dismounting and carrying your bike and speed. This crap that it's about downhill only and jumping off 8 foot platforms is not MTB ... it's stunt riding and BMX on a mountain bike. I was racing at this time and it was about physical challenges, not stunt riding and risking being put into a wheelchair. This is what it's about!
And you lived to ride the next day. Back flipping is cool and all, but dying and getting sent to the ER? I'm in my mid 50's now. One good fall, I'm SOL for months and likely it's going to hurt for the rest of my life.
well, you may like modern XC, CX.
@@ShuKatashSam You don't have to do that on a bike! Cool?! No, stupid and childish. I'm in my late 50s and raced MTB around the Midwest 30 years ago. We never did this crap! We were athletes and we valued climbing hills and trails that were fast and clear of most obstacles. If there was an obstacle on the trail, you just rode around it. Forget the BMX stunt riding and find safe trails that have physical challenges and uphills. Do grown up MTB riding. Go home from your day of riding fun in your car, not in an ambulance!
@@rattatumor XC is what MTB riding was years ago, and still is. It's not about putting yourself in a wheelchair!
@@seatkinson890 ah, i thought you are against modern xc also. hope you will have fun while XCing.
Awesome to see this. What an incredible crowd!
That crash at 6:50, insane!
The one at 2:37 is horrible too! Slammed back first into the ground like an upturned turtle!
and he wasn't even using a suspension fork.
@@DeckMower True! When I saw the video of the first Leadville 100 MTB race I noticed most riders had no suspension. None!
Take my bike, please!
@@PhilAndersonOutside Keep in mind, none of them had lock-out on the handle bar. It was said at that time, that the suspension fork "eats" your power on the uphill, only good for downhill.
3 hours! That’s how long a World Championships mountain bike race should be! These 1.5 hour sprints they do now are too short.
From a spectator perspective, the races are a lot more exciting now. What happens in the old school 2.5 hour races is the field gets too spread apart, by the halfway mark the results are not going to change much. The one cool thing about the old races were self-sufficiency. It was possible to change out a tube, continue racing, and you had time to make back the lost positions.
Clavicle breaking extravaganza. 3 hours on 1" travel bikes
"The bailout section" - absolute carnage!
When I bought my Cannondale MTB in 1996, Tinker was all over their literature. This is why I still mountain bike!!
caad 3 frame set was a good value
I just came here because I was curious to see how MTB's have evolved over the years. That drop section at 2:50... the bikes nowadays would eat that up for breakfast.
Till you had to pedal them uphill. Some guys made it even in this video. There was a sharp left right after the rocky steep start.
10 years later...my XC bike is more capable than a DH bike back then 🤣
Yeah, it's hard to believe that the best riders in the world were racing on state-of-the-art bikes and choosing to walk that section of trail. Look at the guys who are riding it-- fully half of them are eating shit. But you try that drop on a 80mm fork, without a dropper, 660mm bars, 80mm stem. These bikes were sketchy as hell. It's amazing everyone survived these races.
@@DocBlastoexcuse me 400mm bars. 660 is far too wide for this era.
Ah those were the days, 1.95 tires, canty brakes and narrow bars. Epic times. These were the top guys and it all looks slow compared to today. But those bikes with the long reach stems were a bitch to ride. Met Ned Overand at a Uk race once, nice guy.
no suspensions, no disk brakes, steel frames - perfect!
Narrow handlebars too
@@soarstar Yes the pro bikes would go less than 25 pounds at that time. This field has both rigid and suspension with around 1 1/2 or 2 inches of travel. I think Djernis was running a sprung stem device on the Ritchey? Some riders were at this time.
@@soarstar Yes unless I remember it wrong, Team Ritchey was using the flex stems on rigid forks for a couple years including in this video probably.
Tinker's Cannondale was aluminum
V brakes showed up pretty soon, they were game changers. Trek Y and the Proflex soon showed up. Rode those with glee.
Thanks for the upload, i only know this races with Johny, Tinker,...from Bike Magazin and pictures :)
I come here to see the bikes. They're classic!
These were the good old days! Sort of. I still ride my fully rigid ‘94 Bridgestone MB-3 sometimes, but my 2022 bike is just in another league. It feels dangerous now riding on the old road geometry MTBs.
I was there in 94. Tinker was so fast uphill he would catch air over small rocks. All the pros were so approachable. Great experience.
It’s amazing how much better the bikes are today compared to just over 25 yrs ago
I'm old enough that I had been mountain biking since 1986, and the era of this video 94/95 at the time seemed much more refined to me, at the time. Not sure why I'm here, but it's because I'm laying on the couch with a broken ankle o have the time to watch. Anyway, look here, some of the racers have cantilever brakes. Racing with those is hard. You can see the leaders are really good drifters. Those hard tails lost traction, sometimes all of it, but always losing micro-traction. Combine that with the high-posting they had to have course and skill to charge the corners. And o be in the front they need not just that but also the aerobic capacity to keep it cool. It's tough. I ride rigid bikes but it's not racing and I have seat dropper posts. I see comments about how way the course looks. Yeah, easy, right? Not really.
I'm a 16 yo guy but I happen to have a 90s bike at home and a 2019 scott spark. I can tell you with no doubt that section is ez... As long as I'm riding the spark. If I was on the 90s bike I'd go over the handlebars in a lot of places. It's a good sensation feeling the old machinery from time to time just to get feeling of how it is and how good this guys were.
Rigid forks, narrow handlebars, rim brakes, damn. There are gravel bikes today that would’ve been more capable on that trail. Also, I would not be standing in that section right in front of the Bail out 😄
this looks so exciting, back in the time when people dont have big bikes it's still fun as hell
we still ride like this...we are athletes...not adult BMXers
I like how at the start of the race some guy just yells “goooo” lol
🚴🚴♂️😄😅
This is badass. Hey youtube ai, you need to suggest more stuff like this.
UA-cam AI is a big mystery but it does wonders every once in a while
Great race, Tinker! Can’t believe it was 30 years ago.
1994, the year I started bikin‘ . Good old times. 🚲🚲🚲
I was there
2:50 - o unico que desce, seria marcio ravelli (Brazil) ? Top!!!
ouvi dizer que a R. Falzoni foi atingida por uma bike ai nesse local...
Ele mesmo
Que chingón, viendo las bicicletas de ese tiempo me di cuenta que tengo una bicicleta de competencia mundial 😎👍🏻
They had no idea what was to come years later when the Red Bull downhillers came around. This video is subtle compared to the Red Bull guys. But mad respect for these pioneers of mountain biking!
And somehow hobbyists now need 7000$ fully's to go hit some trails and have fun 😄
Ok, but that “bailout” section, where the world’s best pros were OTB’ing, could be easily ridden by any decent rider on a modern trail bike with modern technique.
It’s sort of like the camera used to film this video…yeah, it technically is a camera, but a modern camera with an additional 30 years of engineering refinement would perform the function so much better.
@@GHinWI yes. but a camera with 30 years extra engineering ill still not get the shot if its in the hands of an amateur vs a pro.
And the amateur doesnt need the extra 30 years to have just as much fun
ah yes the 90s. era of the sky high seatposts.
That's why there was Hite Rite.
I cant live without my dropper post. How the times have changed.
6:58 bike launch into crowd!
Instant giveaway
Good times
Americans xc were really able to compete well for the world to see then... Thanks for posting
30 years later the 1990s Grundig series is why I mountain bike.
Beautiful. This marked the days where the Europeans started to dope heavily in mtb racing and soon Americans couldn't even break top 30 positions
Was that Greg Herbold eating dirt at 2:34?
Yep.
2:22 it's the impossible section to ride on that old school MTB.
6:57 bike flies into crowd. Thumbs up if you like.
6:55 this race gives out a “class b” vibe!
I met Tinker twice. Real nice guy.
스기노 텐션디스크도 보이네요.
추억의 영상.... 감사합니다. ^^
that hill at 3 minutes is no problem today, even for beginners with a fully. Crazy!
Tinker literally lives a few block from me...dude is still quick!
LOL, classic XC racing. Good times. Tinker looks so young!!
I was there the day before watching them scout out the course and that rocky drop off.
(Looks at the local bike park trails I ride in the Northeast). Wow, we have come a long way.
So exciting to watch for the first time.
If not for EPO Tinker would have won at least 1 World Championships. Cool share!
Marcio Ravelli number plate 172 Brazilian race very nice old school.
If i only had my modern bike in that times... I could get my ass kicked in very embarrassing way. 😂
OMG, how different are those bikes compare to today's geometries, handle bars are so tiny, v-brakes, short suspensions...uff
not for snowflakes
I was just 9 month old that time. Steel is real guys
My heroes...
26" perfecto
It looks like riding a trekking bike on the trail
2:47 o brasileiro representou ali haha
Djernis, 1994, and whatsoever... but no suspension at all taking the championship!
Actually, he had a Softride stem, you can see it in the video.
This is the real XC. Brutal on hardtail bike not on suspension.
a dropper post would have come in handy. Looks like a lot of shoulder injuries. Ouch.
Hey they where all riding my current bikes .
Top bikes and bikers
2:48 the brazilian Ravelli descends like a mad man
Not so long ago V brakes 6mm travel and hard tail exclusively
they were still using cantilever brakes in 94
Mostly rigid, my man.
Mostly used rigid fork.
MTB XC needs to go back to where race times are closer and or above the 2hour mark than what they currently are under 1:30 hrs
No big gears then. Mtb xc was huge back then id say bigger than today.
Those bars were so skinny. YIKES.
Did the bike use the 26 wheelset, Sir, in 1994?
2 things.
1 - Ned Overend was 39 in 1994??
2 - Ned Overend is using a disc rear wheel.
Both of these things make Ned Overend awesome.
The good old times ^^
I believe Djernis won that race using an Alsop Soft ride "suspension stem".
Crazy!! My buddies and I were racing back then and the debate was real. Suspension fork or suspension stem? Ha!! WTF???
Semangat jossss gandos....
Golden era!
cool ) video is really fun, kinda CX race
mind uploading the 1994 DH WOrlds Mens race, too?
This was soo cool!!
My arms feel fatigued just watching these ol' days.
Where can I find this video complete, with womans race, trial, etc...? I want buy, download, whatever... =D
Back when we rode rigids and elastomers.
How wide where the bars back then , 25” i think .
Man, I thought that motorbike was going to stack it
John Tomac with Tioga disc drive kelvar
Legends with Springs
Specialized Ultimat Carbon .... Ein Traum .
I can't get over how narrow the handle bars where.
And the stems long..
Tinker was the king of the big chain ring hill climb. 😅
raced against Tinker at Crystal Mtn. A crazy hike and bike. I had run the course several times in the previous years. Tinker beat me by about 11 mins and 23 seconds. I counted that as a win. The next year I won the North West Mountain Bike Championship Series , sport class. Eric Eaton race series. 5 race, toss your worst. I raced them all . Two other riders placed well early...skipped a race. I didn't'. Got 12th, 8th, 1st, 2nd , 3rd,1st. Boo ya... Greggs Green Lake was the big ticket, but I was really just a country hick and didn't like them. Stuck up Pricks really. oooh and......I mean this...this book alone ...still works by a cycling genius ...if you want to race …..Bicycle Road Racing. By Edward Borysewicz. It IS the bible.
and ya, I was bumped to expert. Broke my arm....in several places. Was my 3rd hospital major visit. I tried to DH after and ...I had fear. So I hung it up. Now 20 years later...I am sooo happy! My back is fine and some of my buddies...well... I'm happy.
Yep bought that book in 85' and it moved me into cat 3 immediately .
awesomely crazy
6:53 best moment)))
Your all winners
I still ride a 26 hardtail xc, modern front fork, no seat dropper, only recently went to tubeless using old school method for a wile. I bought in 2010. I ride all over Colorado. on a few really rocky tech spots I cant handle. seems to me the only thing I notice is that new tech gets more people out on the trails...a good thing, I guess. most don't seem to have earned the skills or the respect. just want to downhill. earn the downhill. but live and let live. BTW. I have seen dudes go single speed, no shock up and down some stuff that would blow your mind.
Tinker is the legend!!!
But he never won?
If my bike made that much noise drive me crazy they sound like a little tinker toys back then
How in God's name did we ever ride bikes like that!