The somewhat fuzzy image at the left is the only known photograph of the very first attempt to create a modern mountain bike. By the time downhill racing started at Repack in 1976, many of the local off-road riders had already modified their old one-speeds by adding front and rear drum brakes and derailleur gears. We had taken the bikes as far as we could on the frames we were using, and we had run into the problems with using old frames for off-road riding. The supply was limited, they were not very rugged, and they were two or three times as heavy as they needed to be. I broke a frame every few months, and I realized that whatever it cost to have a special frame built, it would be cheaper in the long run if I didn't have to replace it two or three times a year. The price of an undamaged Schwinn Excelsior frame in Marin County was suddenly through the roof, if you could even find one to buy. Craig Mitchell built the frame in the photograph for me in 1976 and I raced it at Repack a couple of times. It was a standard diamond frame made of straight-gauge chrome-moly tubing, and it weighed about the same as a road frame, a saving of four or five pounds and a dramatic improvement in strength. It is remarkably similar to the Ritchey frames that would become the basis for the industry starting three years later. The components are moved straight over from my Excelsior frame, including the drum brakes and motocross bars. Unfortunately for my collection, I wasn't happy with the bike and eventually Craig took it back and sold it to someone else. The frame has long since disappeared, and Craig Mitchell is now deceased, so it is lost to bicycle history except for this photo. Since I still needed a frame, I then asked Joe Breeze to build me one, which is s hown further down the page . The oversize jacket was intended as protection from falls, along with the kneepads, boots and work gloves, but it was obvious to me after this run that the speeds were high enough so this aerodynamic disaster slowed you down too much. After that I switched to elbow pads. (Larry Cragg photo)