History Of The World’s First Mass-Produced Mountain Bike

As long as there’s been mountain biking, there’s been the Stumpjumper… sort of. Mountain biking really began in the 1960s and 70s with custom builds from old balloon-tires and other vintage bikes. Early pioneers of the sport were grafting thumbshift-operated derailleurs and motorcycle-lever-operated drum brakes onto their old bikes, helping them get down the mountains with less and less trouble. But the first mass-produced mountain bike was the Specialized Stumpjumper, and it helped to shape the sport.

The Stumpjumper is still made and sold today, though it’s changed quite a ton throughout its lifetime. The bike starts around $3,000, with the cheapest frame starting at around $2,099. Specialized makes a whole lot of mountain bikes, but the Stumpjumper remains one of the most popular bikes in the world.

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