How did mountain bikes become popular during the 1970s and 1980s?

Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

An African American family of four, all wearing helmets, rides bicycles together on a tree-lined country trail, with two children in front and two adults following behind. — bicycle Family bicycling on a country road.

The rise of the mountain bike began in northern California during the 1970s, where they were initially referred to as "clunkers" by their creators.1

These bicycles emerged as a significant evolution in design, eventually replacing the 10-speed bicycles that had dominated the market during the early 1970s. Much like the transition from "ordinaries" to safety bicycles in the 1880s, the mountain bike’s popularity grew rapidly throughout the 1980s. By offering a more versatile and durable alternative to traditional touring and road bikes, the mountain bike became the standard vehicle for cyclists in the developed world, eventually accounting for 95 percent of all bicycle sales in the United States by 1993.1