Mountain bikes weren't called "mountain bikes" in the 1970's. Category 1 road racers and hippies alike took their old cruiser bikes out on Mount Tamalpais, in Marin County, California, and rode them on the dirt trails and fire roads. They called them Clunkers, Bombers, Ballooners, Beaters, and many other names but the sport of mountain biking had been born. This is a great documentary film about the very beginnings of mountain biking. Director William Savage is at his finest, capturing the thoughts of the men and women who brought this sport into the public's eye with the world's first mountain bike race, the famed "Repack" downhill.
Interviewed in the film are mountain bike pioneers Joe Breeze, Gary Fisher, Charlie Kelly, Tom Ritchey, Otis Guy, Alan Bonds, Wende Cragg, Chris Lang, Craig Mitchell, and Fred Wolf, including others too many to be named. The Larkspur Canyon Gang and The Morrow Dirt Club are two more groups that rode on Mt. Tamalpais in the early days. Klunkerz has some great footage of the old days; shots from helmet-mounted cameras, bombing down fire roads, cameramen being wiped out by out-of-control riders, and the festivities at the end of the race. Whether you're curious about the history of mountain biking or not, this is a entertaining and informative film to see.