that hits the nail on the head, so much hype about the american builders,but not the quality to back it up

Bullsh*t.

Its a fact, sadly, that bike builders in the US were the first to properly embrace off-road riding and really push the technology and industry forward.

I wish it had been different, I really do. I wish that Geoff Apps had realised which way the winds were blowing, I wish that the guys doing this in the UK had had the vision and business sense to get on the train earlier, but they didn't. The US beat us to it.

This bike might not be the best looking or the best put together, but its an important piece in the jigsaw that is the evolution of the mountain bike and its sad that a 'retrobiker' has no appreciation of that history.

of course there wouldn't be as much interest, it wouldn't be important

"of course there wouldn't be as much interest, it wouldn't be important"


You really are a very,very naughty man.........

Haha! Nice.


Its just a Cunningham with cantilever brakes and the wrong fork. Barf.

It was never a 'race' between the UK and US, more of a downhill course in California.

As a 'Retrobiker' I can appreciate that.

...

Jesus Christ you two. Charlie Cunningham kicked the ball a decade into the future with this bike. That is where the interest lies, not the welding or country of origin.

And if you want to get all snooty, how can someone with a sig full of Taiwanese bikes possibly comment on quality?

I can't believe I'm having to type this response to such ignorant rubbish.

Well said that man.

"need i say more"

"i think you need to say a lot more"

Looks in garage - not one specialized in there at the mo. Nope. Nowt from taiwan at present.

If this was built outside the US would it still generate the same interest though. Nowt snobby going on there.


Infact whenever weld comments are banded about that gets my teeth on edge as there's many a reason why that's irrelavent. If the bike was presented a bit better maybe..

Now, back to restoring some 1977 Bose 501 speakers

Edit no 2 - don't tar me with same **** brush - no weld commenter am I! Nor snobby - its a peice of US mtb history but of little relevance to the rest of the world as so few were produced. So don't snap at those who simply see it for what it is.

Wouldn't it bebetter to educate rather than consistantly berate? Maybe that would be time better spent

When you looked in your garage, did you see your beloved zaskar?

Ever wonder who pioneered the use of 6061 for mtbs?

Ever stop to think if your zaskar would even exist if Cunningham hadn't been badly welding frames together back in the 70s?

Irrelevant? Hardly, every single quality aluminium bike can trace its heritage to Cunninghams work.

Its so much more than the frame material too. Look at a Cunningham compared to other contempory bikes and you will see so much innovation that we now take for granted...

Oversized thin wall tubing.

Geometry to suit off road riding rather than the slack 'Schwinn' inspired geo or geo nabbed from road bikes.

More compact sizings with longer oversized, stronger seatposts (ok this example is a bit of a gate, but most were smaller with generous standover). Most contempory bikes were built big because off the shelf seatposts were for road use and thus rather short.

Wide spaced bottom brackets with sealed bearings. Allowed greater tyre clearances and better chain line.

Grease port hubs and headsets.

Sophisticated braking systems that were far superior to anything else at the time.

135mm rear hub spacings for a stronger rear wheel.

All Cunningham firsts (and I'm sure there are others that I have missed). Look beyond the aesthetics and you will see bikes brimming with innovation. Innovations that shaped the modern mountain bike.

I'll just add heat treating process to all that list, proudly presented on my Zaskar's decal Well, it wasn’t his invention but he’s been first by using this technology on alu tubes.