Below is an in-progress summary of online collections of interest to anyone wishing to learn more about the history of mountain biking. If you have suggestions for links to add, please email me.
Film and Photos on Mountain Biking
Evening Magazine Film on Klunking: The first aired video footage of mountain biking, Repack racing featured.
Klunkerz is a fantastic documentary about the emergence of mountain biking from the hills of Marin County made by Billy Savage.
Mountain Bike Roots, Gordon Bainbridge's collection of mountain biking in the 1980s, along with some race results.
Gary Sprung, aka Gnurps, helped found IMBA, the International Mountain Bike Association advocacy organization, and amassed an impressive photograph collection of early mountain biking.
Stories of Mountain Biking
Charlie Kelly's website on mountain biking: Full history of much of early mountain biking including: Repack, Pearl Pass, Fat Tire Flyer magazine, and much more.
Alan Bonds built many of the early clunkers, using his expertise in painting and bike mechanics to turn junkyard scraps into beautiful, rideable machines.
Mountain Biking Museums & Collections
Mountain Bike Hall of Fame located in Crested Butte, Colorado run by Don Cook and Kay Peterson-Cook.
Marin Museum of Bicycling will open soon in Fairfax, Calfornia thanks to the work of Joe Breeze, Otis Guy, Marc Vendetti and others. The museum will be the new home of the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame.
The U.S. Bicycling Hall of Fame offers a growing wealth of information on bicycling history.
Old Mountain Bikes is dedicated to collecting information on early mountain biking and contains many early catalogs, with particular focus on the work of Tom Ritchey.
The Fat Tire Trading Post has an interesting collection of bicycling memorabilia, and is the remnants of an early mountain bike shop run by Chris Ioakimedes.
Early Bike Builders
Charlie Cunningham has a website maintained by a longtime admirer. Cunningham pioneered aluminum frame building for mountain biking long before anyone else would consider it. He is known for his close attention to detail and craftsmanship.
Joe Breeze made the first still-existing purpose-built mountain bike and founded Breezer Bikes.
Chris Chance helped fuel the mountain biking craze on the East Coast with his company, Fat Chance Cycles. Though he is no longer in the bike industry, his brand retains a loyal following.
Classic Rendezvous offers a wealth of information on bike builders across the generations, including many fine mountain bike frame builders.
Scot Nicol founded Ibis Cycles that saw its frame material shift from steel to titanium, and then finally onto carbon fiber. Ibis Cycles is famous for its own unique features such as Moron tubing, hand job cable hanger, and pivot free titanium suspensions. Scot Nicol writes about his 30 years experience with Ibis Cycles.
Jacquie Phelan is one of the first female racers and the first person to put on mountain bike clinics through her organization, WOMBATS (Women on Mountain Bikes and Tea Society. She continues to ride and blog today.
Cindy Whitehead is an early female mountain bike racer.
Hans Rey pioneered trials riding and emerged from the cult of the Laguna Rads.
Mountain Biking Before It Was Mountain Biking
The riders of Marin county were far from the first to ride bicycles off-road. A few stories of Mountain Biking Pre-History can be found floating around.
Early Mountain Biking Components
Disraeli Gears of UK amasses collection of rear derailleurs including models used by early mountain bikers.
Sheldon Brown's impressive collection of articles from installation processes to bottom bracket size database have taught many riders and mechanics in general biking.
General Bike History (Including more on Mountain Biking)
Howie Cohen amassed an impressive collection of bicycling memorabilia at Home of Everything Bicycles.
Retrobikes contains numerous manufacturers' catalogs. It also features an active "Retro MTB" forum.
Classic Lightweights UK archives pre 1970s UK road bikes.