The story of XTR - Part 1

 Yeah man, +1 for that...

 yeah i was disappointed when it ended... i was expecting more on the new XTR

 Wait what? this is a story about the history of XTR, not a new product video. Go to the other thread for that. (surprising how people don't read the title or description on things, then complain about something... in which they wouldn't have to begin with if they just read stuff first... then watched... then commented rather than watch, then comment, then be bashed on by peeps like me, then go back and read the title, slap forehead and go DOH!)

 in the wise words of Homer: DOH!

 haha I had to call you out on it. It was too perfect

 =)

 Why'd that get deleted?

 this is going to be buried soo deep!

 holy crap dude...

 what did you think they were... french? LOL.

 heck I didn't know it was a japanese company either. Good to know a bit of mtb history.

 ok, so which country did you think they come from?

 Canada. Doesn't practically everything related to bikes come from there? lol.

 LOL

 Well if you ask me, my first impression is that biking comes from France and Italy... my second impression is that most mountain biking comes from Santa Cruz California Then my third impression is related to Canada, and that is so that this where people discovered that riding a bike is not just about withstanding pain

 Except you fail to realize that mountain biking was started in California France and Italy had absolutely 0 to do with mountain bikes. As far as I'm concerned, they actually blew us Americans off with mountain bikes for many years... laughing at us for going out of the roadie norm.

I think Canada has about as much to do with the start of mtb as well, france lol. They just caught on after we started it. (THink Marin County, San Mateo county... etc... basically the birthplace of mtb.

 What are you tyalking about Coburn? There are more bike companies in the USA than Canada. MTB also started in the USA. Remember, Fox, specialized, giant, gary fisher, jamis, marin, and probably 2 dozen other companies come from here.. including mrp, gamut, phil wood, chris king, transition, etc. In fact, I bet we have twice the companies here in the US than Canada. (not dissing canada... but since we had a decade or so head start on Canada... of course we have more of the established companies.

 rffr... I wrote biking: not mountain biking. I know it's XTR thread mountain biking stuff, so yes my comment might sound confusing. I am an Euro you see... we have this road biking thing being quite big here and sort of two most important races in the world are going on in Italy and France. Ok I actualy SHOULD mention Spain here too, sorry sorry... Furthermore there is this Campagnolo stuff for roadies and as the name suggests it's Italian

MTB did started in Cali, I know. But for me it was Vancouver guys that took it to another level, sort of making the sport BOOOM! NWD you know WHat they did is that they attracted kids a lot. And without kids there is no big industry turning around "fun stuff". Look even at downhill in 90s it was mostly PAIN! No one talked that oh it is fun to jump that way, this bicycle tail going slightly aside wuuuu: sure people did it, but average Johnson had no idea about it.

And let's forget this country thing, it's quite stupid to bi*ch on something at the same time taking credit for other thing

 Yup,it is true, the American invented mountain biking for the masses, shame the older generation of Scotland called it youth hostelling in the mountains some 30 years or more beforehand. hah.

 TBH, im not really sure you can say who started mtb cos there will have always have been people riding off-road doing new stuff with there bicycles. So although America may have been the place where biking really took off, nobody can have really invented it.

 Dude it's a known fact mongoose.... Literally... MTB was started less than 15 min from my house. If you care to do a bit of research you would already know that. Its not about where "biking" took off... its where the roots of mtb are. Before that, sure, people rode their bikes on trails... but actual "mountain" bikes first came from sunny california. But then again, I'm sure someone not from this country would know more about this countries history than us.

And "mountain bikes" are a type of bike... if you guys weren't aware of that. Deeming the first ever specific mtb bike made right here. Post up pics of companies producing mtb bikes 30 years prior to the US. Wait... there are none. Once again, look in the history books. You wouldn't call someone on a road bike riding on a dirt path a "mountain biker" now would you.

Btw, you may want to email the editors at Dirt, Ride, Mtb action, and the few other publications that have done history on mtb sections over the years.

 I will agrre with you, but tbh i think that a lot more can be achieved on a road bike than you think.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5z1fSpZNXhU />Martyn Ashton on a fully carbon road bike, trials and a backflip.

 btw, it's also funny that when you google the history of mtb, every site agrees with me. Here is a few from page 1... outa the hundreds of pages on the topic. May be wise to start sending emails out to all these guys since they are wrong. =)

http://library.thinkquest.org/11569/html_home/html_mbiking/history.html
http://mountainbike.about.com/od/mountainbikehistory/ss/MTB_history.htm
http://www.byjamesraia.com/articles/11/1/The-History-Of-Mountain-Bikes-It-Was-Called-The-Stumpjumper/Page1.html
http://www.dreambike.com/history1.htm
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/brandt/mtb-history.html

But then again, it MUST have not been. O no, it MUST have not. I don't care who rode dirt trails... because in reality... it's been done since bikes have been around. This is 100% about bike type... after all that is what made mtb mtb, and not road bikes on dirt.

 It doesn't matter if you could huck cliffs on road bikes, the fact is, it's a road bike and not mtb. I can ride my skateboard down some pretty rough crap, does that mean I'm mountain boarding? No, it means I'm riding a skateboard on dirt. Now if I were to hop on a mountain board... that would be mountain boarding. See what I'm saying. Or could you get a guy on a 10in travel dh bike and call him a road biker? Doubtful.

 moongose did you know they make fishing reels aswell!?

 no i didnt, im starting to feel more and more like a fail every day.

 What is the difference between a road bike (touring bike) and a mountain bike (29er)?

 the name, and that is all

 eee... how about: everything damn thing is different

 Loved the Martyn Ashton video.
Just proves that it is not the bike but the rider :o)

 It's only a components group, but hey how exciting we are all getting to see something new coming out from such a market leader!
Can not wait to see it all!

 89 years?!!!!

 not really because you have to think who they ae showing these vidoes to most mountain bikers that i know could care less about the big city in fact i think that the old stuff caught my attention more that the cities because they all look the same......

 I don't think it's stereotypical to show the old temples. Japan, although ultra-modern and WAY more advanced than North America, has a rich history which is still embraced today. The video shows both the cities and the old temples, which, in my mind, reflects both the history and the advanced technology that Shimano has to offer. That's what I got from it anyway.

 It does , but remember that new alloys and materials in general have improved their resistance/bulk ratio

 There is a reason I have a mid 90's LX der on my bike... because all the brand spanking new XT and XTR shit I used has been trashed in only a few bad dings on rocks, but my old der has been smashed endlessly for more than a decade and it still shifts and works solid.

New alloys don't make up for lack of material, they allow for different geometric designs... which do make up for lack of material... which a der just don't incorporate. (now, what does... for example is the new dorado lower crowns... but a der aint gonna get any stronger by changing alloys... its a prone to break part, so the more metal you remove, means the less material that needs to be shaved off by rocks to fail. Try wearing through a 90's der... talk saint tough... or tougher.

 beacause biopace was an epic failure!

 maybe if you're referring to the fact they're both homo sapiens. after that, the similarities end.

 I hear you on that. I still have an original set of XTR shifters and a rear derailure that work nearly as good today after MANY miles of riding as they did when first released. XTR is the benchmark.

That video simply ooozes coolness.

 and i remember having a set of the first ever sram gripshift

 huh? I have a set of XTR crank arms on my desk that weigh close to what my profile arms weigh. XTR shit used to be STOUT as hell. Like the video on the history of XTR mentioned... older bikes used to be do it all bikes... and the cranks were strong and heavy as shit... even for xtr. (4 seasons of bmx racing on XTR arms from 96-2000, then put the arms on my mountain bike and beat the hell outa em for a few more years and I only chewed up a single spline on them. In fact, only chewed up half a spline).

XTR got light when specific purpose bikes really started emerging in the late 90's early 2k's.

 Xtra terrestrial racing

 Xpensive To Replace!

 hahaha

 the R stands for racing.