The adventure and thrill of riding over a tough mountain bike trail is unparalleled. Ask any avid cyclist and you’ll have an answer for sure. But the fun of tackling the obstacles and sharp turns and bends on the trail apart, there are some interesting facts from the history of mountain biking that every avid cyclist must know. Read on to know in brief about the history of mountain bikes and mountain biking:

1. While mountain biking gained popularity as a sport towards the 1900s, mountain bikes were around for far longer. The first mountain bike can perhaps be traced back to the late nineteenth century when Buffalo Soldiers of Africa rode them. Of course, goes without saying that the bikes then were far different from the MTB bike of today.

2. Initially, mountain bikes were considered only as a functional ride, and were designed only to go in a single direction – downhill. It was only in the 1970s that mountain bikes were modified to ride in both uphill and downhill directions.

3. Imagine riding an MTB cycle around the world! Fred A. Birchmore cycled on his MTB cycle across the United States, Europe and Asia in 1935, covering some forty thousand miles in the process.

4. Mountain biking as a competitive sport emerged in the 1940s and 1950s in the United States of America. Cyclists took their best mountain bikes, modifying them to take on the trail and compete against fellow cyclists to emerge as the winner.

5. It was in 1996 that mountain biking became an official sport at the Olympic Games. You can well imagine the boost it gave to cyclists, who owned the best MTB cycle and wished to take off on it at a serious sporting level. The first gold medal in the sport was won by a cyclist from the Netherlands.

6. The Tour Divide mountain biking race is the world’s longest mountain bike race, covering some 2700 miles across the continent of North America, covering terrain in Canada, the United States and Mexican.

If you love mountain biking, then experience its thrill on the best MTBs from Kross Bikes, one of the leading cycle brands in India. Kross Bikes brings a range of innovative MTBs that are suited for professional and amateur cyclists.