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offroad heroes. rapha editions/bluetrain publishing softback.253pp illus. £35

just as the e-bike is bombarded with plaudits for saving the immediate future of the bicycle industry, so too was the mountain bike in the 1980s. many western nations, including those of britain and north america, have rarely, if ever, been fully committed to the bicycle as a means of transport, or even as an adjunct to leisure activities. and as the motor car strengthened its grip on national psyches, the bicycle was, and to a certain extent, still is, perceived as the province of the less well heeled; those who cannot afford a motor car. in many cases, it seeme unpalatable to view that as a choice, rather an apparently iniquitous state of affairs.

"The motor-age consensus was that bikes are for kids, cars are for grown-ups. And unfortunately the serious side of bike companies was run by a bunch of adult engineers who probably last rode a bike 20 years before and now drove to work..."

so while bicycles were still sold through local bike shops and the likes of halfords in the uk, in the 1970/80s, there was little to encourage the great unwashed to realise their sense of individuality and opt for life in the saddle. and then along came the mountain bike, the manufactured offspring of several days out in the hills of mt. tamalpais in california, where a bunch of eccentrics had re-purposed wholly inappropriate bicycles to screech downhill, the threat of injury and disaster only a slipped foot off a pedal distant. messrs kelly, breeze, ritchey et al were really only out to have a bit of fun; thoughts of changing cycling across the globe had never featured as a principal objective.

of course, subsequent events have elevated them to hero status, a state of affairs this latest bright green volume from rapha editions/bluetrain publishing has set out to explain and celebrate. and while we're here, it seems only fair to address the 'elephant in the room'; the fact that here is a serious celebration of the world of the mountain bike published by a cycling apparel company whose original stated aim was to make road racing the most popular sport in the world, and in a book edited by the originator of rouleur magazine.

but, if i'm allowed to paraphrase the mantra of one of rapha's british competitors, cycling is (or perhaps ought to be) 'many tribes, one clan.' demarcation is probably none too helpful for anyone; there will be many reading this review who possess not only a road bike in the bikeshed, but perchance a cyclocross machine alongside a mountian bike and possibly even a gravel bike. and at the very least, it makes sense that the over-privileged roadie accept that not only did the mountain bike sustain the industry, but several innovations featured on skinny-wheeled carbon fibre, originated in the offroad mud and dust.

guy andrews, proprietor of bluetrain publishing, and founder of rouleur magazine, is joined in this comprehensively illustrated treatise on the history of offroad by richard cunningham, guy kesteven, tym manley, geoff waugh and matt wragg. not only does that explain the impressive writing, but the depth and breadth of the book's contents. and of course, rapha's erstwhile roadie stance has of necessity become diluted at the behest of the company's american owners, both of whom are keen mountain bikers, with no noted preference for skinny tyres.

and it will not have escaped the attention of many, that rapha currently offers a sizeable range of offroad clothing, purchasers of which have every right to be as well-served as their roadie counterparts.

in a manner remarkably similar to that of david carson's raygun magazine of the early nineties, bluetrain, who have produced many books for the rapha editions imprint, have become renowned for a less than conservative stance in the visual aspect of publishing. offroad heroes is no exception, with its fluorescent green cover and robust typesetting reprised through its 250 plus pages. the initial approach attempts (successfully) to place the succeeding chapters in some sort of perspective, outlining the distinctly offroad nature of early cyclocross racing, as well as the exploits of the rough stuff fellowship.

it's a book that, of necessity, primarily traverses two continents; north america and europe, the latter experiencing the spearhead of the mountain bike boom as a directed overspill from its country of invention. testament to this is paid in the chapter entitled the repack years 1970-79, one which tells you all you need to know about the mountain bike's clunker ancestors.

"You don't think of your historical context, " laughs Charlie (Kelly). "We just woke up thinking how we were going to have fun on our bikes."

there follows several comprehensive dissertations on the individuals without whom mountain biking would not have become what it is today, be they bike builders or riders: tom ritchey, mike sinyard, the aforementioned charlie kelly, john tomac, missy giove, hans rey and many, many more, those dissertations are copiously illustrated, visually describing the great, if currently brief, heritage ascribed to the world of knobbly tyres. there is also lip service paid to the fun nature of just riding mountain bikes as opposed to racing them...

"MTBs never quite fitted into the mould of cycle sport. The charm of mountain biking is that while you can take it very seriously if you must, there remains something light-hearted about riding bikes in the mud." there's some who would claim that to be less pertinent in the present, but if nothing else, one of the notable accomplishments of this excellent volume is to show that though currently accepted as a sporting activity, even included in the olympics, that was never the original intention.

offroad heroes lends itself to the habit of dipping in and out; there's no real compulsion to read chapeters in consecutive fashion (i began by simply looking at the pictures, before delving into the nitty gritty), but if i have any criticism, it's a lack of a contents page, or possibly even an index at the back. perhaps neither were considered necessary in the laissez faire world of the mountain biker, or indeed, as an adjunct to the impressive layout of the book, or maybe i'm just too much of a roadie to appreciate radicalism when i see it?

either way, this is a highly compulsive read. if you identify as a mountain biker, you owe it to yourself to acquire this treatise of fun and inspiration. if you're a roadie, it depends to an extent on how absolutely necessary you think it is to always wear black shorts and the peak of your casquette in the down position.

rapha editions - offroad heroes

friday 10 february 2023